Smoked Pork Tacos

Smoked Pork Tacos. Hard shell tacos or soft tacos? That’s the question. What do you prefer? I generally eat more hard shell tacos depending on the filling. There’s something about the crunch that adds to a hearty ground beef taco meat filling. On the other hand, a succulent filling, such as a green chile smoked pork filling, deserves to shine. My Smoked Pork Tacos use soft fajita-sized flour tortillas, warmed in the oven, as their blanket.

Smoked pork has a taste all its own. Add some fire-roasted green chiles, and you’ve got a match made in Taco Heaven! This is an easy dish if you can get your hands on some pulled smoked pork. (I get mine when husband smokes whole pork shoulders!) If not, use regular pulled pork or chicken and you’re on your way to a tasty taco. Make some additional filling to freeze for additional Smoked Pork Tacos in the future!

Slice up and saute some onion, add the fire-roasted green chiles, pulled smoked pork, some minced garlic, and chicken stock and let that simmer for a while. Season with a pinch of salt.

Warm your flour tortillas. Spoon some smoked pork and green chile mixture over the tortilla. Add some shredded Monterey Jack cheese and pico de gallo or my zesty cucumber pineapple peach salsa. Drizzle on some Mexican crema.

Wrap it up, and devour!

Enjoy!!

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From the kitchen of A Food Lover’s Delight….

Smoked Pork Tacos

Ingredients:

1 T vegetable oil
1 medium onion, halved and then sliced in 1/4 inch wide pieces
1 clove garlic, minced
2 c pulled smoked pork
1/4 c canned diced fire-roasted green chiles
1 c chicken broth/stock
pinch of salt
8 Fajita-size flour tortillas
2 c shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Pico de Gallo (stir together 2 c diced fresh tomatoes, 1/4 c finely chopped sweet onion or sliced scallions, 1/4 c chopped cilantro, 2 T lime juice, and a pinch of salt)
Mexican crema or sour cream

Method:

1. Heat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat.
3. Saute the onion in the oil until the onion has softened and is translucent.
4. Add the garlic and saute for 2 minutes.
5. Add the pulled smoked pork, the green chiles, and the chicken broth/stock.
6. Simmer until the liquid has mostly evaporated. Season with some salt.
7. Heat the tortillas covered in aluminum foil in the oven for about 5 minutes.
8. Set out the heated tortillas and the smoked pork along with shredded Monterey Jack cheese, pico de gallo, and the Mexican crema (or sour cream). Guests can assemble their own tacos.

Serves 4 with two soft tacos each. Offer soft tacos with refried black beans on the side. A great appetizer to this dish is my Chile Con Queso Dip with Tortilla Chips. Beverages that go well with this dinner include Mexican beer, margaritas, sangria, and lemon iced tea.

Variations: Use another smoked meat such as chicken or turkey. Try adding some grilled pineapple spears to your tacos and omit the pico de gallo. Add a mango pineapple cilantro salsa or my cucumber pineapple peach salsa as a summertime option to the pico de gallo. Adding shredded lettuce or another type of shredded cheese such as cheddar will go equally well. You can use a hard corn taco shell if you wish. I like the soft flour tortillas better for this filling. And you can use this versatile smoked pork filling to stuff enchiladas!

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