Photo: Slow-Cooker Pork Tacos Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 whole ancho chiles
- 3 whole pasilla chiles
- 4 cloves garlic, unpeeled
- 2 to 3 chipotles in adobo sauce
- 1/2 medium white onion, roughly chopped
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
- Kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano, preferably Mexican
- 3 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 4 pounds boneless pork shoulder (untrimmed), cut into chunks
- Freshly ground pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- Corn tortillas, warmed, for serving
- Assorted taco toppings, for garnish
Directions
Put the ancho and pasilla chiles and the garlic in a bowl; add 2 to 3 tablespoons water. Microwave on high until soft and pliable, 2 to 3 minutes. Stem and seed the chiles; peel the garlic. Transfer the chiles and garlic to a blender.
Add the chipotles, onion, 2 tablespoons olive oil, honey, vinegar, 1 tablespoon salt and the oregano to the blender; puree until smooth. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over high heat; add the chile sauce and fry, stirring, until thick and fragrant, about 8 minutes. Pour in the broth and reduce until slightly thickened.
Season the pork all over with salt and pepper and transfer to a large slow cooker. Add the bay leaves and cinnamon stick, then pour in the sauce. Cover and cook on high until the meat is tender, about 5 hours. (Or cook the meat in a large Dutch oven, covered, for 1 hour 45 minutes at 350 degrees; uncover and cook 30 more
minutes.)
Discard the bay leaves and cinnamon stick. Shred the pork with 2 forks; season with salt and pepper. Serve the shredded pork in the tortillas, along with toppings.
Per serving (does not include tortillas or garnishes): Calories: 399; Total Fat: 15 grams; Saturated Fat: 4 grams; Protein: 51 grams; Total carbohydrates: 14 grams; Sugar: 5 grams; Fiber: 3 grams; Cholesterol: 147 milligrams; Sodium: 212 milligrams
Photograph by Tina Rupp
Review This Recipe
You must be logged in to review this recipe.
or Sign Up to Review
Newest Ratings and Reviews
Read all 156 reviews
By kenandlinda_4999964
Vienna, VA
on April 23, 2013
Flag
Flag This Review?
Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.
or Cancel
A great change from beef tacos with packaged seasoning! I was concerned that this might be too spicy for the kids, but I made it exactly as stated in the recipe and it was delicious. The entire family thought this was a winner. I made the sauce the night before and refrigerated it. Then I just had to throw everything in the crock pot before work the next morning. My kind of meal!
By sdkelly38
on April 19, 2013
Flag
Flag This Review?
Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.
or Cancel
I made these tacos today and they were delicious! I made a few substitutions in that I used jalapeños instead of the chilis, and I baked the finished meat for about 15 minutes after it was done, as per other reviews. I only added about a teaspoon of salt and omitted the 3rd TB of oil because the pured mixture already had plenty. It's a little fussy, but definitely worth the effort.
By thisgurlluvs2cook
san luis obispo, CA
on April 14, 2013
Flag
Flag This Review?
Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.
or Cancel
This was a really good recipe. I made a few changes. First off, I couldn't find ancho chili's so I used serrano instead. After it cooked in the crock pot I took the pork out and shredded it, spread it out on a greased cookie sheet, salted it, peppered it and sprinkled a bit of the liquid from the crock pot all over the pork. Then I cooked for 40 mins at 400 degrees until it was almost crispy but still moist inside. Served on corn tortillas with a jalapeno/kiwi fruit salsa I made and fresh guacamole. It was excellent! I think cooking it in the oven gave it a great flavor, almost like carnitas!
Read all 156 reviews