Crispy Pulled Pork Taco Recipe

This Pulled Pork Taco Recipe provides chunks of crispy pork nestled in a warm tortilla and topped with pickled red onions, cilantro, and your favorite salsa verde. The pork shoulder is cooked long and slow in an aromatic confit of fat until tender and pulled to perfection.  With just 10 minutes of prep time, most of the time is hands-off while letting the oven do the work for you. No crockpot needed!

Do you look for ways to prepare food in advance while helping with some of the last-minute stress from entertaining? These crispy carnitas are a great make-ahead option for large family gatherings like the holidays, summer barbeques, tailgating, or lake weekends. Everyone asks for this recipe!

I stopped using a slow cooker to prepare pulled pork years ago. While using a slow cooker is certainly convenient, the pulled pork tends to be too soft, stewed, and has a mushy texture. My family prefers the roasted flavor and caramelized texture that a low oven brings to pork shoulder.

This recipe is inspired by Serious Eats' carnitas recipe and the Kansas City restaurant, Unforked, where they serve a variety of tacos, salads, and sandwiches. Their best taco is the Barking Pig. It's described as crispy carnitas tossed in shagbark bacon glaze, with scallions, and queso fresco.

What is unique about these pulled pork tacos is how the pork is slow-cooked in the oven, glazed, and then caramelized before serving. Because the pork butt is cubed and nestled in fat like a confit, this recipe doesn’t take quite as long as a whole roast pork butt to get fork tender.  The pork can be cooked up to 4 days before your meal and then crisped up before serving it. You can also freeze some of the shredded pork from this recipe for another meal next month.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• You can make this for a large crowd, and it's budget-friendly. 
• This a great weeknight side dish if you start it before you head to work.
• This is a different recipe from very common barbeque pork butt sandwich.
• This recipe is actually better when made ahead of time and then crisped up before serving it.
• No crockpot needed!

Ingredients

Here are all the ingredients needed to make pulled pork tacos also known as carnitas.

Shopping for Pork Shoulder

These are things to notice when shopping for your pork:

• Look for skinless pork shoulder which is also called pork butt. They are the same cut and give you great hunks of pork meat that you can separate out and then pull to perfection.
• A picnic cut will work but is not a favorite because it is cut lower on the hog's leg and has more bone, less meat, and it is usually sold with its skin on.
• It does not matter if it is boneless or bone-in. Bone-in shoulders are more available and cost less. You can cut the meat from the bone or ask your butcher to remove it for you.
• Some stores sell pork that has been enhanced which means salt and possibly other ingredients have been injected into the pork. When shopping, read the label on the package to confirm it contains 100% meat and no added salt injections. If the pork is enhanced, omit the salt in the recipe entirely to prevent oversalting.
• You should know that 7 pounds of bone-in pork shoulder cooks down 50% or 3½ pounds of deboned and defatted, shredded pork.
• If you can source local, antibiotic-free, heritage pork for your roast, you will have the best opportunity to impress your guests with its succulent flavor.

Substitutions

• Pork Shoulder Butt Roast - A Boston butt roast is the same cut. Also, if the picnic roast is deboned and skinless, it would make a suitable substitute.
• Bay Leaves - You can substitute about ½ cup of fresh thyme stems or oregano sprigs.
• Aged Balsamic Vinegar - If you are having a hard time finding aged and thick balsamic vinegar, you could omit it entirely and omit the brown sugar. It will still be tasty after crisping the pork pieces under the broiler.
• Flour Tortillas - Our family prefers flour tortillas for tacos, but you can use corn tortillas instead.

Equipment

• Ovenproof Glass Pyrex Casserole Dish - 9-inch x 13-inch x 2-inch height
  • You could use a smaller pork shoulder butt roast than the 7 pounds of bone-in pork shoulder that is in this recipe, but if you want to cook a larger shoulder roast, you will either need a larger dish or a second casserole dish.
• Cookie Sheet - 18-inch by 13-inch by 1-inch cookie sheet to catch the drips
• Disposable Aluminum Pan - 9 x 12 x 2 ½ inch deep (optional for easier cleanup)

Step 1: Preheat oven to 275°F. Season the pork cubes with kosher salt and pepper. Apply cooking spray to the glass casserole dish to prevent sticking.

Step 2: Nestle the onion quarters, garlic cloves, and bay leaves between the cubes of pork within a 9 x 13-inch Pyrex casserole dish. Hand-squeeze the orange quarters over the pork cubes then nestle the orange segments within the meat pieces.

Step 3: Pour the canola oil around the meat.

Step 4: Place the casserole on top of an aluminum foil-lined cookie sheet to catch the drips. It will bubble over. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Cook in the center of the oven for about 6-7 hours until the pork is tender.

Optional pickled red onions: If you want to top your tacos with quick pickled red onions, make them now while the pork is cooking.

Step 5: When a fork pierced in the meat comes out easily or the meat has reached an internal temperature of 205°F with a meat thermometer, remove the dish from the oven. Turn the broiler to high and adjust the top rack of the oven to about 5 inches from your heating element.

Step 6: Lightly shred the pork with 2 forks. Transfer the pulled pork and onions to a disposable aluminum pan. Dispose of the orange segments, bay leaves, dried onion exteriors, and larger chunks of fat.

Optional salsa verde: If you want to make homemade tomatillo salsa verde, transfer the pork juices to a 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup for the salsa.

Step 7: Add the brown sugar and the balsamic vinegar to the pork and combine. Taste the mixture to see if it needs a touch of salt.

Step 8: Broil the meat in the oven to crisp it up.  Check the pan every 4-5 minutes looking to see if it’s starting to caramelize. Once the pork starts to crisp, stir the meat with tongs to rotate the layers while maintaining its moisture.  Repeat this step every 4-5 minutes for about 16-18 minutes of total time.

Other Methods To Crisp The Pork

Crisping your pulled pork provides the best finishing touch to carnita tacos. I have found that the broiler is the easiest and least messy way to achieve this. However, if you do not want to use the broiler on hot, sweltering summer days when the air conditioner is running on maximum demand.

Here are other crisping methods listed in order of best results:

1. Heat a non-stick 12-inch skillet over your burner on medium-high. Add even layers of shredded pork to the dry skillet. Allow the pork to crisp up then flip to crisp the other side while protecting its moisture. Transfer the pork to a serving container, wipe the skillet clean, then repeat. This will take 4-5 batches to crisp all of the pork. Use caution as it will splatter from the combination of hot fat and the water-based pork stock over high heat.
2. Place a cast iron skillet on the grates of the gas grill outside over medium heat. Crisp the pork using a metal spatula and the skillet. Repeat batches like number 1 of this list. Use heating pads and a wooden cutting board to transport the hot skillet to your serving area.
3. Use the gas grill outside over medium heat. Place the disposable aluminum pan with shredded pork over the grates and stir occasionally until they are crisp. Transfer the hot pan to a wooden cutting board to help transport it to your serving area.

Make Ahead Instructions for Pulled Pork Tacos

When you braise, the meat improves when made at least the day before serving because the pork can rest and cool within the braising liquid keeping the pork moist as it continues to absorb the aromatics.

It also makes it so easy to discard the solidified fat.

Up to 4 days before serving:

• Stop after step 4 of the recipe card directions below. 
• Place the cookie sheet with the covered Pyrex casserole in your refrigerator.

One hour before serving:

• Preheat the oven to 350℉. 
• Remove the casserole from the fridge and skim off the congealed fat surrounding the pork chunks.
• Dispose of the fat in the trash.
• Place the casserole that is on top of the cookie sheet in the oven for 10 minutes to soften the pork.
• Proceed with Step 5 of the directions in the recipe card below.

Refrigerator:

The leftover crispy pork taco meat can be stored in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. Reheat portions of meat in the microwave before preparing your tacos for lunch or dinner.

Freezer:

Transfer shredded pork and onion portions to freezer bags. Label and date the freezer bags. Store in your freezer for up to 4 months.

What To Serve With This Recipe