Oh man. Oh man, OH MAN! If you love tacos, or Tex-Mex, or…food; then you’re going to love these pulled pork tacos! Look no further, because here is the best darn taco I ever put in my pie-hole. Seriously! I’ve never been much on pork…it doesn’t do a whole lot for me, honestly. So naturally, I was a little unsure about these…but I’m so glad I didn’t wimp out and skip them – BOY, would I have missed out! Ok, ok, I’ll stop being dramatic – onto the facts. These seriously, couldn’t be easier to make – just throw everything in a dutch oven, let it cook for an hour and 45 minutes and you’re done! I made these Saturday night for our “Mexican Night” (which you can read about in the post below. Don’t miss out on the homemade salsa and guacamole, my friends!), and hubby and I had ourselves a GRAND time! I mean come on – pulled pork tacos, homemade salsa, guacamole and margaritas (Big Gulp, please!)? It just doesn’t get any better than that! Try these. Try them today. Then send me your hearty thanks for introducing you to the new love of your life. You’re welcome.
Pulled Pork Tacos
-adapted from The Neelys
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pork loin (about 1 1/2 pounds), cut into big chunks
1 small onion, peeled and quartered
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon honey
dash liquid smoke
1 orange, halved and juiced
1 lime, halved and juiced
1 package corn tortillas, warmed
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Mix the oregano, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper together in a small bowl.
Season the cubed pork chunks with the spice mixture and put into a large Dutch oven. Add the onion, garlic, chicken stock, the tomato paste, honey, liquid smoke, orange and lime juice, and the juiced orange and lime halves. Stir together with a wooden spoon. Put the pot on medium heat and bring the mixture to a simmer. Transfer to the oven and cook, covered, until the pork is tender and easily shreds, about 1 hour and 45 minutes.
Remove the meat from the Dutch oven to a cutting board. Set the Dutch oven over medium heat and reduce the liquid until it becomes slightly syrupy, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, shred the meat and add to a bowl. Drizzle the reduced cooking liquid into the pork and toss. Serve with tortillas.
*Garnish with shredded cheese, sour cream, lettuce, and cilantro
Don’t even think about serving these without some homemade salsa and guacamole! Scroll down a ways to get some great recipes! 🙂
I’ve made a similar recipe where you put it the whole pork loin in the crock pot and then pull it apart with a fork when it’s done then stick it back in the juices for a few minutes…really good. I love your recipe’s liquid smoke, honey and orange and lime. Sounds really tasty! I will so be trying the homemade guacamole and salsa!
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Comment by Hayley — February 22, 2010 @ 4:45 PM
These look delicious! We have Mexican night all the time! I’ll have to try these.
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Comment by Erin — February 22, 2010 @ 5:11 PM
Great recipe, I prefer flour tortillas but I guess both is fine?
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amy Reply:
February 22nd, 2010 at 6:51 PM
Dave- I actually used flour too; I just went ahead and listed corn, since that was in the original recipe. It tastes great with flour, though!
-Amy
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Comment by Dave -nibbleanibble — February 22, 2010 @ 6:21 PM
Can I just say I have been waiting for you to post these since you mentioned it on FB. Oh goodness! So trying these very soon!
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Comment by Tabitha — February 22, 2010 @ 7:35 PM
You MUST, Tabitha! They were seriously so good!! 🙂
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Comment by amy — February 22, 2010 @ 7:41 PM
I love to add diced potatos to my tacos.It gives an interesting textural contrast.
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Comment by Ed Schenk — February 22, 2010 @ 9:14 PM
These look amazing and your site is adorable!
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Comment by shelly (cookies and cups) — February 23, 2010 @ 9:58 AM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM….these look SO good!!!!
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Comment by Jennifer — February 23, 2010 @ 1:59 PM
These look awesome!! I heart pulled pork 🙂 Will definitely be adding them to the menu soon – thanks!
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Comment by Tracey — February 23, 2010 @ 2:36 PM
My mouth is watering! I wouldn’t have thought about adding orange and honey to the recipe – YUM.
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Comment by Mother — February 24, 2010 @ 12:31 PM
this sounds fabulous! i’m definitely going to try it! love that it uses a small pork loin rather than like 4 lbs of roast!
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Comment by ashley — February 26, 2010 @ 12:05 PM
i made these last night! they’re delish! thanks for sharing the recipe!
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Comment by ashley — March 1, 2010 @ 8:56 AM
I love your blog! I am hosting a dinner get together with my neighbors this weekend and I am inspired by this recipe along with some other festive Tex-Mex dishes of yours. I was just wondering…I looked up the original Neely’s recipe, and found that they used 1 small can of tomato puree instead of the 1 tbsp of tomato paste that you recommended. Any reason why? I have tomato paste on hand, but no puree. What is the difference in taste btw?
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amy Reply:
April 9th, 2010 at 8:09 PM
Leelee- the difference between tomato purĂ©e and tomato paste is that the paste is much more concentrated in flavor – a little goes a long way. I didn’t have purĂ©e on hand so I subbed it with a much smaller amount of paste. Ultimately, you still get the same amount of “tomato-ness”. Hope this helps! I’m so thrilled you are going to try these- please let me know how it all turns out for you! Also let me know if you have any questions!
-Amy
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Comment by Leelee — April 9, 2010 @ 7:55 PM
YUM! I finally got around to making these pork tacos, and they were delicious! I mentioned both you and Ashley from Delish on the post since you both had made it recently. Sooooo good, very juicy! Thanks Amy for posting this!
http://mrsregueiro.blogspot.com/2010/06/pulled-pork-tacos.html
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Comment by Krystal — June 8, 2010 @ 2:48 PM
That’s wonderful, Krystal! I’m so thrilled you enjoyed them!!
Thanks for letting me know! -Amy
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Comment by amy — June 8, 2010 @ 3:02 PM
These tacos were so delicious! My family really enjoyed them for dinner last night. My husband said these would be perfect for a dinner party. My 9 year old daughter (who turns her nose up at everything) really loved them too. She told me she could taste the “lemon”. I kept telling her it was lime and orange, but she kept talking about the lemon. When I told them I found the recipe online on a blog, Chloe told me I should post a comment telling you how much we all enjoyed dinner.
Thank you for sharing!
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Comment by Cathy — February 4, 2011 @ 8:26 AM
Oh how sweet, Cathy, thank you!! I’m thrilled your family (your daughter, especially!) enjoyed these! We love them too- in fact, I’m making them for the Super Bowl! Thanks so much for letting me know! 🙂
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Comment by amy — February 4, 2011 @ 10:31 AM