Not if you have carnitas cooking in your slow cooker, just waiting for you to arrive home and assemble the most delicious tacos you have ever had in a mere 15 minutes! Healthier, tastier, cheaper, and much more satisfying than picking up Chipotle. Trust me.
Not a whole lot is better than a homemade carnitas taco, my friends. Not. A whole. Lot. Confession time. There was a time when Zach and I first started dating that we ate out a lot. Nope. That’s an understatement. It was like every night. No joke. We had lots of excuses for our all-too-typical 20-something millennial behavior. Roommates with whom we shared the kitchen and didn’t want to disturb. We were tired and hungry and needed food NOW. We were in love and wanted to go on a bazillion dates. But most of all, we were working our butts off teaching long hours and didn’t know how to balance that with healthy home cooking. We’ve come a long way, which is why I started this blog! To share with YOU, all you busy, hard-working people! Back to the tacos.
Juicy and flavorful pulled pork is cooked in the slow cooker all day with jalapeno, onion, orange, and spices. When you get home, just remove the meat from the slow cooker and pull apart with two forks (this will be extremely easy, as the meat will be extremely tender from slow cooking all day).
Then comes the best part. The pork is fried until the outsides are crispy, then piled high on a toasted corn tortilla with delicious fixings (I used avocado, sour cream, finely diced onions, cilantro, and hot sauce). Thank goodness I made a ton of this (and I mean a TON. I have enough for two more meals in my freezer!*) Now. If you want to, you can skip the frying part and simply have the pulled pork topped with the fixings in a taco (um, or in a salad? or in a burrito? OR IN A QUESADILLA?!). It will be extremely delicious, albeit less authentic. Alas, sometimes you must forego authenticity for convenience. Such a struggle.
Recipe below. Enjoy! *I made a 6 lb pork shoulder because frankly, that was the smallest my grocery store had! This made enough for 3 meals for four people (8 tacos/meal). To freeze the leftovers, put the pulled pork in an airtight container and cover with the juices from the slow cooker (there will be a lot of them!). When ready to eat, defrost and drain the liquid.
