I saw that rain a comin’, comin’ ’round the bend, so I fired up my crock-pot since I don’t know when.
Asian Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Tacos
4-5 lb. pork shoulder/pork butt trimmed of excess fat
1tablespoon olive oil
Butt Rub
2tablespoons toasted sesame seed oil
2tablespoons ginger powder
1tablespoon garlic powder
1tsp onion powder
Kosher salt and fresh-ground pepper, to taste
Slow Cooker Sauce
1/2cup coconut milk
1/2cup reduced sodium soy sauce
1/3cup sweet rice wine or mirin
1/4cup Asian sweet chili sauce
2tablespoons fish sauce
1tablespoon Sriracha
1tablespoon cornstarch
Caramel Sauce
1 1/4cup packed brown sugar
1/4cup water
1. Lightly spray a 6 qt + slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Whisk together all the Butt Rub ingredients together in a medium bowl then massage it evenly all over the pork. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over high heat in a large nonstick skillet. Sear pork on all sides until lightly browned. Place pork in prepared slow cooker.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together Slow Cooker Sauce ingredients and pour all over pork.
Cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours or on HIGH for 5-6 hours OR until pork is fall apart tender and easily shreds with a fork. At this point, remove pork to a cutting board until it is cool enough to shred.
After cooking, remove all the sauce left in the slow cooker to a measuring cup. If there is less than 2 ½ cups then add enough water to equal 2 ½ cup. Set aside. You can add shredded pork back to the slow cooker now that you have removed the sauce.
To make the Caramel Sauce, add brown sugar and water to
large skillet and boil over medium heat for 1 minute, whisking constantly. Don’t overcook or it will harden! Slowly whisk in the 2 ½ cups Slow Cooker Sauce and simmer over medium high heat, whisking constantly until reduced and thickened, approximately 7-10 minutes.
Pour desired amount of Caramel Sauce over shredded pork and toss until evenly coated. Add additional sriracha for spicier if desired.
For the tacos
Asian Caramel Pulled Pork
10-12 taco size flour tortillas
Pineapple Snow Pea Salsa
1 can chopped pineapple
6oz. snow peas, ends trimmed, julienned then cut in half
1 red bell pepper, chopped small
1/2 red onion diced
1 whole jalapeno, seeded, deveined, minced
1/2cup loosely packed cilantro finely chopped
Fresh lime juice from one lime
Sriracha Crema
1/2cup sour cream
2tablespoons mayonnaise
1teaspoon sriracha, to taste
1. PINEAPPLE SNOW PEA SALSA – Add all the Salsa ingredients to a large bowl. Toss to combine. Can be served immediately or even better chilled.
2. SRIRACHA CREMA – Add all the Crema ingredients to a small bowl. Whisk to combine. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
3. ASSEMBLE tacos by layering tortilla with pork, salsa and crema. Serve with additional sriracha, lime wedges, for squeezing and cilantro.