(17) Slow-Roasted Pork Tacos

This is like crock-pot pulled pork, but in the oven. I ended up roasting the pork closer to 4 hrs - another use for my favorite Le Creuset :) I wanted SO BADLY to pour my prized bottle of Carolina BBQ Sauce over the pork, but I restrained myself! I cooked the night before we were going to eat these, shredded (It was VERY tender!!), stirred in the cilantro and then put it in the fridge.

For my taste, this needed something else on the pork. I should have made a good pico de gallo or homemade salsa. I had a jar of green salsa, so that and a dash of hot sauce made the tacos complete!!

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Slow-Roasted Pork Tacos

Yield: 10 servings (serving size: 2 tacos)
Source: Cooking Light Magazine, October 2000

This simple recipe was inspired by the traditional kalua pork of Hawaii, for which a whole pig is rubbed thoroughly with salt and baked in an underground pit. In this dish, the salt combines with the slow cooking to make the pork incredibly tender and flavorful. Don't use a leaner cut of pork, such as pork loin or tenderloin, or the meat will be dry. These tacos are also terrific with a mango or other fruit salsa.

3 1/2 pounds Boston Butt pork roast
3 tablespoons kosher salt
20 (6-inch) corn tortillas
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
10 lime wedges

Preheat oven to 275°.

Trim fat from roast; rub surface of roast with salt. Place meat in a large Dutch oven; cover and place in oven. Cook for 3 hours or until pork falls apart when pressed with the back of a fork. Remove from oven; let stand, covered, 15 minutes. Remove meat from bones, and shred with 2 forks. Set aside.

Warm tortillas according to package directions. Fill each tortilla with about 1 1/2 ounces pork; serve with cilantro and lime wedges.

CALORIES 333 (40% from fat); FAT 14.9g (sat 4.9g,mono 6.4g,poly 2.2g); IRON 2.2mg; CHOLESTEROL 88mg; CALCIUM 97mg; CARBOHYDRATE 23.4g; SODIUM 486mg; PROTEIN 25.9g; FIBER 2.7g