August 10, 2008

Shredded Pork Tacos

One of the people I follow on Twitter is Deb, editor-in-chief of Martha Stewart's Everyday Food. She recently shared a link to a recipe for shredded pork tacos. And since I've been craving Mexican food, I decided to give it a try last weekend.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
2 bay leaves
Coarse salt and ground pepper
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 (3-pound) boneless pork shoulder, cut in half lengthwise *
1 can (28 ounces) whole tomatoes in juice
1 large chipotle chile in adobo sauce (from a small can), minced (about 4 teaspoons)

* I couldn't find a boneless shoulder, so I used a 3 1/2 pound bone-in "picnic" roast. I did not cut it in half.

Directions:
  • In a large (5-quart) heavy pot, heat oil over medium. Add onion, garlic, thyme, oregano, and bay leaves; season with salt and pepper. Cook until onion has softened, about 5 minutes.
  • Stir in tomato paste, tomatoes (breaking them up) and their juice, chipotle, and 1 cup water. Add pork.
  • Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until meat is very tender, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. (I cooked mine more like 3 hours). Discard bay leaves.
  • Using tongs, transfer meat to a cutting board; shred with two forks, discarding any large pieces of fat or gristle.
  • Return meat to pan, and simmer until sauce is thick, 30 to 45 minutes more. Season, if necessary, with salt and pepper.
I made soft tacos with the meat using toasted corn tortillas (you can simply heat them right over a gas burner on the stove or in a non-stick skillet), shredded pepper jack cheese, shredded cabbage, and sour cream.

I also used the meat--this recipe make A LOT--to make nachos & tostadas (fry a corn tortilla in a bit of oil until crispy).

The tacos were so good, I didn't wait to take pics. Here are the nachos, though.
Holy god, they were good!

This slow-cooked pork is very tender, and the sauce is flavorful with a bit of a kick. A few of my friends tried the tacos & nachos, and everyone liked them!

Thanks, Deb!

3 comments:

White Sugar Brown Sugar by Rachel Garlinghouse said...

I LOVE Mexican! Can one ever have too much of it? I think NOT!

Will you be able to work on your blog at your new job???

See you soon!

SusanG said...

Yum, Kelly. I think I've found this weekend's cooking project. Or, the banana bread sounds amazing too.

Like Rachel, I'm hoping your new job doesn't take too much time away from your blog.

Sue

Anonymous said...

Delicious. Mexican food is always so comforting even if I'm not Mexican.