Taco Tuesday - Pulled Pork Tacos

It seems my meal preparation montior is a little off-kilter this week. Monday I had pot roast on the menu, but didn't think much about it until I got home, and then realized it would take 6-8 hours to cook. Picture me with my alarm set for 3 am to get up and turn the burner off. Pretty smart of me, huh? Yeah, not so much. And last night, for Taco Tuesday, Pulled Pork Tacos were on the menu. Not a 6 hour dish, but still was going to take 2 hours. Fortunately I get home at a decent time so I was able to fix a delicious new taco dinner and eat it by 8 o'clock. Not to shabby for a poorly planned few days of meals, if I do say so myself.

I have never made pulled pork before, though I have made pulled chicken, but I have to say that after making these tacos, I am definitely on the pulled pork bandwagon now! The seasonings were just right, and the sour cream and salsa were the perfect way to top it off. I will definitely be making these again!! And lucky for me, it made plenty for me to have leftovers, and to take to work to share with my friends.

Pulled Pork Tacos
Source: Healthy Food for Living

Ingredients

• 3 lb boneless pork loin roast, cut into large (3-4 inch) pieces (do NOT trim away the small amount of fat)
• 2 tsp Kosher salt
• 4 tsp ancho chile powder
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
• 1-2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, or enough to cover the bottom of the pot
• 12 fluid oz beer, (white wine or chicken stock), preferably with citrus notes
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• warmed flour tortillas
• Avocado slices
• Sour cream
• Cilantro
• Hot sauce (I used Louisiana Hot Sauce) 
• Salsa (I used salsa verde)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Combine salt and rest of spices in a small bowl. Spread spice mixture onto a plate. Evenly coat the pork pieces on all sides with the dry rub.
3. Heat oil in a dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add in the seasoned pork pieces, and sear all sides until browned (about 1 minute per side). Remove pork from the dutch oven.
4. Pour in the beer, wine or chicken stock and scrape the bottom of the dutch oven to deglaze and release the browned bits of pork. Add in the orange juice, and bring mixture to a boil.
5. Add in the seared pork. Cover dutch oven and place in oven for 1/2 hour.
6. Remove lid, turn pork pieces over, and return to oven–uncovered–for about 1 1/2 hours, or until the pork is fork-tender, turning the pork pieces 1-2 times during the cooking process.
7. Shred pork right into the sauce using two forks. Toss the pulled pork with the reduced sauce. 
8. Serve with your choice of toppings.