Slow Cooker Pork Tacos Al Pastor

Foodgasm (def): Spicy, slow-cooked pork tacos al pastor topped with pineapple and cilantro.

The best (and easiest) recipe for pork tacos al pastor you’ll ever put in your mouth.

Once I made these Vegan Tacos Al Pastor and the sauce alone blew my mind.  I knew I had to make a carnivore version for us ASAP.  This recipe is even easier than the vegan version because you can dump everything in your slow cooker!

Celebrate Taco Tuesday!

I like to buy big pork shoulders (4-5 lbs) mostly because that’s all I can find, but also because then you can just cut it down the middle and freeze the other half for another time!

Next, make the glorious sauce.  I’m telling you, this is the best sauce I’ve ever tasted.  I personally like to use pineapple-orange juice rather than just pineapple juice, which is classic al pastor.  It’s a pleasant result of me buying the wrong juice the first time I made it, but the orange adds another great layer of flavor, so I’m sticking to it!  Next, season the meat you’re using with salt and pepper.  Now you can either add the sauce and meat to the slow cooker, or you can add the sauce and meat to a ziplock bag and let it marinade up to one day.  I like to marinade because I like to prep things the night before.  It makes throwing it in the slow cooker before work a piece of cake 🙂

I have no pictures of the in-between from the night prep and when I got home from work the next day because nothing was functioning in this brain in the A.M.  But let me tell you, when I got home the smell was intoxicating.  Look at this heaven-sent, melt-in-your-mouth pork.  Poor T had to work from home all day and be tortured by the good smells.

Now dice up about 1 cup of pineapple chunks and some cilantro.

Heat up those tortillas on the gas burner or in the microwave.

Then eat and die of happiness 🙂

You know you want this recipe

5.0 from 1 reviews

Pork Tacos Al Pastor

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

8 hours 30 mins

Total time

8 hours 40 mins

 

Spicy, slow-cooked pork tacos al pastor topped with pineapple and cilantro

Author: Ally

Recipe type: Tacos

Cuisine: Mexican

Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• Salt & pepper
• ¼ cup white vinegar
• ½ cup pineapple-orange juice
• 2 chipotle peppers in adobo from can
• 1 jalapeno, diced
• ½ red onion, sliced
• 2 cups fresh pineapple chunks
• 2 lbs pork shoulder (boston butt)
• 12-pack (or more!) soft tortillas
• Fresh chopped cilantro
• 1 Lime

Instructions

1. Make the sauce: in a food processor or blender add the garlic, chili powder, paprika, salt & pepper, vinegar, pineapple juice, 1 cup of chunked pineapple, and two chipotle peppers in adobo from the can. Blend or puree for 30 seconds.
2. Season the pork shoulder generously with salt and pepper, and place in bottom of slow cooker. Cover with sauce.
3. Let cook for 4 hours on high heat or 8 hours on low heat.
4. Dice jalapeño and slice the red onion. Add it to the slow cooker.
5. Shred pork with two forks, and cook an additional 30 minutes.
6. Dice the other 1 cup of pineapple chunks into ¼-inch cubes.
7. Heat tortillas and fill with pork mixture (shake off the excess moisture), diced pineapple, fresh chopped cilantro, and fresh squeezed lime juice.
8. Die of happiness.

3.5.3208