So I have this nice pork blade roast, which cooks beautifuly in a crockpot. Very tender and moist. I usually put barbecue sauce and onion in it to make shredded bbq sandwiches. But I’m in the mood for something different and am thinking it would make some awesome pork tacos. I don’t want to use a taco mix though, I am feeling a bit adventurous.
I am looking to give my pork a southwest/mexican/tex-mex kind of flavor. Here’s what spices I have on hand atm:
Ground Cumin
Corriander
Chili Powder
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
Ground Sage
Oregano (regular, not Mexican oregano)
Parsley
Paprika
Thyme
Salt
Pepper
I can pick up additional spices if needed. Any ideas? I am Not hugely into Cilantro btw, and don’t want to use it much in this, if I use it at all. Tomatoes are right out also.
I was also thinking of making a sauce. I had a delicious almost clear colored sweet/hot sauce in a restaurant once that obviously contained honey and habanero peppers but am at a loss as to what else to put in it.
You can make a good Mexican pork roast by plopping it into the crockpot and adding:
as much garlic as you can stand, minced
1 tb cumin
1 tb Mexican oregano
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 onion, chopped
some chopped cilantro
chilis (I prefer Cascabels, but you can use Pasillas just as well), chopped
salt and pepper to taste
Cook the pork roast until the bone pulls loose easily. Degrease the roast, then add 2 tb lime juice and 1 tb chopped parsley. Cook another 30 minutes. Remove from pot, let rest 15 minutes (tented), then shred. Reserve cooking liquid (defatted) for a table sauce that you reduce over medium heat for 15 minutes or so.
You can play with this easily. Don’t use Greek oregano, though. Totally different flavor profile. I love cilantro, but it can be omitted easily as well.
Green chiles are a classic ingredient to combine with pork in southwestern cooking…I’d also add some garlic (not powdered!), onion (not powdered!), cumin, salt of course.
Keep it simple. Salt, pepper, oregano (ground is best), cumin and garlic powder. Rub that all over the pork, then add chicken stock to cover about a third of the meat and cook for 4 hours or so at 250 in the roaster. This is what we do at the deli.
Then for tacos, season the pork with a little more cumin and fry it up a little. It’s yummy.
I like to add lemon or lime too, but we don’t do that because we use the pork for several applications.
My recipe: adapted from Rick Bayless’s original carnitas recipe (he’s since moved on to other ways to prepare it). It’s easy and it’s awesome.
Place pork in a pot. Cover with water. Add a little salt.
Simmer the pork with the pot partially-covered for about 45 minutes (make sure the pork stays fully covered by water through) Uncover the pot and turn up the heat. Let all the water boil off.
Here comes the magic. You will hear the pork begin to fry in its own fat. Let that happen for 30 minutes, turning to get the exterior crispy and brown. Shred the meat with a couple of forks. Sprinkle with salt and squeeze lime juice over to taste.
This recipe works amazing with those little country style ribs, but I’ve done it with a pork shoulder before (long as it’s not too big). If it’s too big, just chop it up into three or four nice big chunks.