Slow Cooker Whiskey Pulled Pork Tacos

Slow Cooker Whiskey Pulled Pork Tacos, takes slow cooked pork shoulder, tenderized by some Canadian Crown Royal, melded with herbs, spices, and caramelized pearl onions. Mounded on a wonderful warm soft corn tortilla and topped with a punchy and crispy corn slaw, this dish says delicious from beginning to end!

Song of the day: "Twist My Arm" by The Tragically Hip.

Slow Cooker Whiskey Pulled Pork Tacos, is a recipe for the busy Canadian lifestyle. Two simple steps and this pork will be tender, pull apart, melt in your mouth goodness, ready to linger in a wonderfully assembled soft taco hosting comforting, pumped up flavors and fresh crispy textures. Gotta eat this!

Using a Slow cooker is a great way to cook if per chance you are working full time, are raising a family, or just like things simple and easy. Well we have a recipe for you and you are looking at it. Slow Cooker Whiskey Pulled Pork Tacos!

A few weeks ago we had done a Porchetta recipe. When I was shopping for the pork shoulder at Acme meats I happened to buy extra pork shoulder. In my mind and after seeing the beautiful strands and color of this cut of pork decided there were more recipes developing in that creative highway I call my mind. When we tasted the Porchetta I knew that what I wanted to create was going to be mind blowing.

Last Christmas I received a gift of Canadian Crown Royal Whiskey. I don't know if you know this about me, but I do not drink much alcohol. I know some may be thinking but you make wine, and yes that is true I do. It is not that I don't drink at all, I like wine with food and like to just have a taste of different cocktails or digestives once in a while. I have always been like this. One thing that I do have to say is I like to experiment with wines or different types of alcohols in my cooking, and this brings us back to Slow Cooker Whiskey Pulled Pork Tacos. I had this bottle of Crown Royal Whiskey and just had this light bulb go off with the thought of cooking the pork shoulder in that whiskey and some wonderful herbs and spices to make this pork something to be reckoned with. I want to dedicate this recipe to Gord Downie and the Tragically Hip, in gratitude for what they have given us Canadians and to Gord for his inspirational spirit and kind and loving heart. I will dearly miss you, and you truly are an angel.

It's so easy, it's so breezy, so give it a try Slow Cooker Whiskey Pulled Pork Tacos!

The first step in this recipe is to season that luscious piece of pork. Get ready to get your hands dirty because this requires just a little bit of love on your part. After all that is done into a nice hot skillet for some caramelization. Make sure to get all sides all golden and crispy this will add such a wonderful mix to the flavors that will dance all day in your slow cooker. I left the skin on the pork and scored it as I wanted to give the mix some buttery richness. Look at the pork, those crispy surfaces and I added pearl onions to the pot just because.

In turning the pork shoulder after hours of cooking it was prevalent that this was going to be so tender. I had to handle it with great care as it was wanting to just fall apart. The sauce for which it is cooking with was a compilation of the whisky, some balsamic BBQ sauce, a whole lot of herbs and spices. The smell coming from the slow cooker is amazing, acidity, sweetness, a waft of the whiskey the rosemary and herbs. My senses are on fire and I can't wait for dinner tonight. Now this is going to be a real kicked up Taco Tuesday night!

The way this pork just comes apart has me salivating. I have to taste. OMG the flavors are so wonderful and deliciously rich. Let's get these tacos together so we can eat. I made up a slaw combining different cabbages and purple onion, but I wanted something else. Something that would really freshen this slaw and so in went some diced ripe Roma tomatoes, and some super sweet corn. All that needs to happen is the dressing which was a combination of the poppy seed dressing that we used for the Raw Vegetable Nori Wraps. I just added a bit of mayo Sriracha, and sesame oil. This is going to be so good with the pulled pork and the colors that are happening has me so excited.

To assemble the tacos I placed the soft tortilla shells in a sauté pan with very little oil. I sprinkled some Jalapeno white cheddar, which is going to hold that wonderful slow cooked pulled pork in the taco. After I placed a nice mound of pulled pork and after taking out bay leaves and herbs in the sauce in the pot I gave it a good stir and spooned some of that sauce onto the pork. I also captured a few of those halved pearl onions, it would be a shame to waste that sweetness and texture that they offer. Topped with the slaw we are ready to bite in. Beware, this is a messy affair, many napkins needed, along with a fork to capture some lost goods. One thing I wanted to mention is that I did a vegetarian version for NIcoletta. I cut up some portobello mushrooms, sauteed them in a pan with some of the sauce that I reserved before it was mixed with the pork This replace the pork in the taco and made it vegetarian friendly.

The tortilla is perfect, just some crispy bits and the way that the cheese is melted and has just enough spice to separate itself from the others. It also holds the pork in so well. Let's talk about the slow cooked pork. One word: amazing. The juices of the sauce with a bit of acidity from the balsamic and that sweetness from the onions and maple sugar marry so well with this meat. It is so tender it just melts in your mouth like butter, strand after strand unveiling the lemon grass, garlic scape, rosemary and so so much more, it is so tantalizing to my taste buds, and just when I think the roller coaster ride is over the slaw comes in with pops of sweet corn morsel flavor, juicy acidic/sweet, combined with those crispy fresh earthy pungent profiles of the cabbage and onions all dressed with the punch of the poppy seed dressing has me devouring this taco, only to be stopped by my inner voice saying slow down and enjoy, savor what you have created. That I did with great pleasure and satisfaction knowing that my work is done and it is a celebration of food that brings us closer together. I also loved Nicoletta's veggie version. The mushrooms were so juicy and paired well with the sauce. I even topped some of the pork in my taco with some mushrooms and I have to sAY, BRILLIANT!

So from our hearts at Sugarlovespices to yours, truly enjoy this Slow Cooker Whiskey Pulled Pork Taco. This one's for you Gord!

Song of the day: "Twist My Arm" by The Tragically Hip.

Whiskeyed Pulled Pork Tacos

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Slow Cooker Whiskey Pulled Pork Tacos, takes slow cooked pork shoulder, tenderized by some Canadian Crown Royal, melded with herbs, spices, and caramelized pearl onions. Mounded on a wonderful warm soft corn tortilla and topped with a punchy and crispy corn slaw, this dish says delicious from beginning to end!

• Total Time: 5 hours 20 minutes
• Yield: 10-12 tacos 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Pork Shoulder and dry rub:

• 900 g pork shoulder skin on
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp cracked black pepper
• ½ tsp white pepper
• ½ tsp paprika
• 1 tsp ground corriander
• ½ tsp onion powder
• ½ tsp onion flakes
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 3 Tbsp evo oil

Stewing sauce:

• ⅓ cup crown Royal Whiskey
• 1 tsp ground corriander
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp white pepper
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp paprika
• 1 tsp lemon grass
• 1 tsp dry mustard powder
• 1 yellow onion chopped
• 20 pearl onions cleaned
• 2 garlic scapes chopped
• 2 cloves garlic whole
• 2 bay leaves
• ½ cup balsamic BBQ sauce
• ⅛ cup prepared mustard
• 2 tsp sriracha sauce
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 2 Tbsp maple syrup

Tacos:

• 10 soft corn tortillas
• 1 cup shredded Jalapeno white cheddar cheese

Slaw:

• 2 cups shredded mixed cabbage
• ¼ purple onion shredded
• ½ cup cooked corn
• 1 Roma tomato diced

Dressing:

Orange Ginger Miso dressing:

• 1 orange, the juice
• 2 small green or red onions
• 2 ½ Tbsp vegetable oil (we used canola oil)
• 3 drops sesame oil
• ¾ Tbsp organic miso
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp finely grated ginger
• Plus add: 1 teaspoon mayo
• 1 drop of sriracha sauce

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Instructions

Pork shoulder and dry rub:

1. Score skin of pork shoulder in a diagonal pattern.
2. Mix all spices together and rub into both sides of pork shoulder.
3. In a hot skillet on high heat sear the pork shoulder on all sides.
4. Place pork shoulder in slow cooker.
5. In a bowl mix all the ingredients for the stewing sauce and pour over pork.
6. Top with some fresh rosemary and turn slow cooker to high.
7. Cook for about two hours and then turn slow cooker to low.
8. Cook for an additional 2-3 hours or until pork is falling apart.
9. If you want you can just start on low and cook for about 6 hours instead, either way it will work out fine.

Slaw:

1. Place all the ingredients for the slaw in a bowl and toss.

Dressing:

1. In a bowl mix all the ingredients for the dressing and whisk well.
2. Pour a little bit of dressing at a time over slaw and toss well. Add as much dressing as you desire.

Taco assembly:

1. Take pork out of slow cooker and pull apart using two forks or if you prefer your hands that is fine too.
2. Set aside the sauce in the slow cooker for later.
3. In a warm skillet place corn tortillas.
4. Sprinkle with shredded cheese and warm up till cheese is melted and tortilla starts to brown on the bottom.
5. Add a nice mound of the pulled pork.
6. Take the bay leaves and herb sprigs out of the sauce in the slow cooker.
7. Stir sauce well and spoon it over along with some of those wonderful pearl onions over the pulled pork.
8. Top with the slaw.
9. Ready to serve. Enjoy!

Notes

You can do all the cooking on low in the slow cooker, it requires a bit more time but the end result is good.

One another note, since in our family there are vegetarian diets, for them I replaced the pork with portobello mushrooms that I sauteed in a pan with some of the sauce that I reserved before putting it with the pork.

• Author: Loreto
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 5 hours
• Category: Main, Meat

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Loreto

When I am not cooking, I enjoy playing musical instruments, singing, writing. I have learned over the years to live in gratitude and enjoy the moment.