Real Recipes From Real Home Cooks ®

pulled pork tacos with pickled red onions and cilantro pesto

(8 ratings)
Blue Ribbon Recipe by
Danielle Williams
Newport, RI

This recipe takes some time but is well worth the time. It tastes great and is an inexpensive way to please a game day crowd.

Blue Ribbon Recipe

My goodness, the rub recipe on this pulled pork is a real knock-out! Filled with brown sugar, Adobo seasoning, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, and paprika, it gives the meat an authentic Adobo Mexican flavor. After marinating overnight, the flavors permeate the meat. The pork is pulled and placed into toasted soft corn tortillas. Top with yummy cilantro pesto and delicately pickled red onions and you have got one truly incredible bite in each pulled pork taco.

— The Test Kitchen @kitchencrew
(8 ratings)
yield 20 serving(s)
prep time 30 Min
cook time 6 Hr
method Slow Cooker Crock Pot

Ingredients For pulled pork tacos with pickled red onions and cilantro pesto

  • 10 lb
    pork butt, bone in or boneless
  • 1/2 c
    brown sugar, firmly packed
  • 4 tsp
    salt
  • 4 tsp
    black pepper
  • 2 tsp
    cayenne pepper
  • 2 tsp
    cinnamon
  • 2 Tbsp
    cumin
  • 2 tsp
    Sazon adobo seasoning
  • 2 tsp
    paprika
  • 1/4 Tbsp
    olive oil
  • 2 c
    dark beer
  • 2 c
    chicken stock
  • 1/2
    red onion, sliced
  • 3 1/4 c
    fresh cilantro
  • 2 c
    apple cider vinegar
  • 3 clove
    garlic, chopped
  • 1/2 c
    pumpkin seeds, toasted
  • 1/4 c
    water
  • 2 Tbsp
    sour cream
  • 1 Tbsp
    lime juice
  • 20
    tortillas, corn

How To Make pulled pork tacos with pickled red onions and cilantro pesto

  • Scoring the fat in the pork.
    1
    Puncture a few slits in the fat of the pork.
  • Rub ingredients in a bowl.
    2
    Mix together the first 8 ingredients.
  • Rubbing the pork with the rub.
    3
    Rub all over the pork.
  • Rubbed pork covered in a slow cooker.
    4
    Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours, but best overnight.
  • Browning each side of the pork.
    5
    Heat a large skillet to medium-high. Add olive oil. Brown pork on all sides.
  • Adding beer to the slow cooker with the pork.
    6
    Place in Crock Pot. Add 1 beer and 2 cups chicken stock. Cook on high for 6 hours or until falling apart.
  • Slicing the onion.
    7
    Thinly slice 1/2 of a large red onion.
  • Salt, black pepper, and cider vinegar added to mason jar with onions.
    8
    Place in a large mason jar with apple cider vinegar, 1 tsp salt, and 1 tsp black pepper. Let sit for at least three hours or overnight.
  • Pumpkin seeds, cilantro, and garlic. Add salt, pepper, olive oil, water, sour cream, and lime juice in a food processor.
    9
    In a food processor pulse together the pumpkin seeds, cilantro, and garlic. Add salt, pepper, olive oil, water, sour cream, and lime juice.
  • Mixture pulsed until consistency of pesto.
    10
    If the mixture is too thick, add a little more water, it should be the consistency of pesto.
  • Shredding the cooked pork.
    11
    Heat oven to 350 degrees. Once the pork is done cooking begin shredding the meat with two forks.
  • Adding juices to the pulled pork.
    12
    Place in a bowl and add a few cups of the pork juices to the meat so that it is very moist. Wrap tortillas in tin foil and heat in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.
  • Assembling the pulled pork taco.
    13
    To assemble the taco, place a generous amount of pork in the tortilla. Add a few dollops of cilantro pesto and top with pickled red onions.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT