While Ben and I have the same views on important matters like family, religion, money management, and hugging, we have to laugh at how opposite we are regarding other parts of our lives.
He loves to skateboard, while I prefer to play tennis.
I’m a coffee drinking early bird, and he’s a hip hop listening night owl.
He hates heights, while I want to jump out of airplanes.
Fly/drive. Summer/winter. Cake/pie. I could go on for days, people!
Fortunately opposites do, in fact, attract, and let’s be real – I totally married up. Somehow I was lucky enough to find a guy who will chase after my misdirected tennis balls ’til blinded by sweat, lay with me when I fall asleep at 8pm, fly next to me over oceans, hold my hand in the sweltering heat when I need to hear the cicadas at night, and stuff his face with cake just to make me laugh.
The whole jumping out of an airline bit though? Non negotiable. I can’t get through to the man! ;)
Opposites also tastefully attract in food, which is easily proven by Smoky Pulled Pork Tacos with Cherry-Peach Salsa.
Smoky chipotle pepper-laced pulled pork combines with sweet cherry-peach salsa in a juicy taco that Ben and I both agreed is absolutely mouthwatering. And I quote, “This is the best thing you’ve made in a long time.” followed by, “Omg I can’t wait to shove this in my mouth.” regarding his second taco, and “I’ve never had juicier pork in my life.” Cough, TWSS, x2.
These tacos were made even better due to the fact that they were cooked in the crock pot. All I had to do was throw everything in the crocker at night, set it on the base in the morning, then turn it on. The fresh, summery Cherry-Peach Salsa can also be made a couple days ahead of time, which means dinner can be on the table in the time it takes you to shred the pork. Love that!
Start the pulled pork tacos by assembling and prepping the ingredients for the pulled pork.
First slice 1 large onion into quarters, then separate the layers into the bottom of the crock pot. I used a 5 quart crock pot which fits this recipe beautifully.
Next, address zee butt. A 4-5lb pork butt! Pork butt is actually pork shoulder – a fact I recently learned after an incredibly confusing conversation between me and my aforementioned husband regarding a requested shoulder rub in which he kept saying, yeah I’ll rub your butt! Right. Moving on!
FIRST cut the pork into 5 or 6 big hunks, then liberally season each piece with salt & pepper. Per the pictures below, I forgot to cut the pork and put it in whole before removing and cutting up. Leaving it whole would have cost me hours in additional cooking time!
Next add a few ingredients that will make the pulled pork taste wonderfully smokey, with a hint of sweet: 4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, 2 Tablespoons adobo sauce, 1/2 cup BBQ sauce, 2 Tablespoons brown sugar and 20oz Dr. Pepper.
Chipotle peppers are smoked jalapeno peppers and are more smoky than spicy, in my opinion. You can get cans of them packed in adobo sauce right in the international foods aisle. I generally only use 1 or 2 per recipe, then stash the leftovers in my freezer.
Pop the top onto the crock pot then either stash it in the fridge overnight and place it on the base in the morning, or put it onto the base now and cook on low for 8 hours.
Now, as I mentioned, not only can the pulled pork be prepped in advance, but the sweet Cherry-Peach Salsa that goes on top can be made up to 2 days ahead of time too!
To 1 cup each fresh chopped cherries & peaches, add 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, 1 minced jalapeno, the juice of 1 lime, and a dash of salt.
Mix everything together, then try to save some for the tacos. This is one of my favorite fruit salsas to date, and is seriously delicious on it’s own.
When the pork is cooked through, and fall apart-tender, shred it all up, place it into a bowl, then strain the juices from the crock pot through 2 layers of cheesecloth, and enough of it back in to cover.
Spoon the juicy pork onto a few fajita-sized flour tortillas, top with the cold cherry-peach salsa, then devour!
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Smoky Pulled Pork Tacos with Cherry-Peach Salsa
Description
Smoky Pulled Pork Tacos with Cherry-Peach Salsa are an insanely delicious way to enjoy tender pork and fresh fruit — a match made in taco heaven!
Ingredients
- For the pork:
- 4-5lb pork butt (may be called pork shoulder)
- salt & pepper
- 1 large sweet onion
- 4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce + 2 Tablespoons sauce
- 1/2 cup BBQ sauce
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 20oz Dr. Pepper
- Fajita-sized tortillas
- For the Cherry-Peach Salsa:
- 1 cup chopped sweet cherries
- 1 cup chopped peaches (about 1 large peach)
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 jalapeno, minced
- salt
- juice of 1 lime
Directions
- Cut onion into quarters then separate layers into the bottom of a 5 quart (minimum size) crock pot. Trim pork butt of excess fat then cut into 4-6 large pieces and season well with salt & pepper. Lay seasoned pork on top of onions then add chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, BBQ sauce, brown sugar, and Dr. Pepper. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or until pork is tender enough to easily shred with a fork.
- Remove pork pieces from the crock pot and shred, then place into a bowl and set aside. Strain juices through a double layer of cheesecloth and add back to shredded pork. Serve with Cherry-Peach Salsa in flour tortillas.
- For the Cherry-Peach Salsa: Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Make up to two days in advance.
Notes
- Pulled Pork Tacos slightly adapted from The Pioneer Woman
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
I was afraid the pork would be too sweet with the addition of BBQ sauce, Dr. Pepper and brown sugar, but it was perfect. Definitely not too sweet, because, wouldn’t you know it – while I love sweet & savory dinners, Ben’s all savory, all the time. Sweets are for dessert! Which he also doesn’t like. Come on! ;)
I also originally wanted to make just a cherry salsa to top the tacos with, as a wink and a nod to Cherry Dr. Pepper, but I’m so glad I threw chopped peaches in there too. Their scent and flavor is just outrageous right now, and guess what? Even though Ben’s a savory guy, he LOVED the fruity salsa. That’s a major win, people!
Knock the chipotle peppers and adobo sauce down a bit if you are sensitive to heat but as is, the heat level is only about a 5/10, and the cherry-peach salsa helped tone it down too!
~~~~~
Do you and your mate have opposite interests, or are you pretty similar? What do you like to do together?
While we definitely have a lot of opposite interests, Ben and I like driving in the country, planning for our future, cooking, and going out to eat together!
Lillian 08.29.2012
This looks fabulous! If I wanted to make a bigger batch, do you think I could just double the recipe? I know sometimes doubling doesn’t work. This would be great for Sunday afternoon football!
Iowa Girl Eats 08.29.2012
I think doubling would work fine! Cooking time would need to increase by several hours, and you’d need a BIG crock pot. I have a 5 quart and it was nearly filled to the top at the beginning!
Sheryn 08.29.2012
There are a lot of bloggers out there using fruit in strange ways, but THIS sounds absolutely perfect. Great photos as always! :)
Darien 08.29.2012
I’ve been reading for a couple years, and I have to give you props on your photography! You have improved sooo much in your food styling and presentation, and photography. (not that you were bad! Just much improved!) Keep it up, girl! (and please eat an ear of that candy sweet Midwestern corn for me. I was stationed in Omaha for a couple years and the BEST was going to the farmers market in old town for some local corn out of the bed of a truck. )
Iowa Girl Eats 08.29.2012
Thanks Darien! :D
Katelyn 08.28.2012
This sounds amazing! I’m in the middle of the move so the only cookware I have is a crockpot (and a love for Dr Pepper). Must make it soon! This could be good to bring into my new job- my boss went to the University of Iowa for undergrad, so I’m sure she would love that the recipe is from a fellow Hawkeye. PS I can’t find anyone who wants to jump out of a plane with me either haha
cwaltz 08.28.2012
We are the queen and king of opposites in terms of interests! I love to read, he thinks any book worth reading will be made into a movie and THEN he’ll watch it. He loves cars, I can’t even drive. He loves guns, I’m less enthusiastic about anything that can and does kill people. Respect goes a long way though, I’ll go to the range with him and he’ll drive me to the book store. All in all, my spouse is my best friend and I’ve been lucky to have someone who has been an incredible support system for me for 2 decades. It’s rare to find someone who sees you, flaws and all, and loves you anyway.
colleen calhoun 08.28.2012
My hubby n I just had a pulled pork cook off this weekend! I have made pulled pork both in the given and crock pot, and hubby did a great job in his new Xmas smoker. But now, I bought a new stove top smoker at a garage sale so we decided to have a cook off. He set up his outdoor smoker n I did my stovetop smoker. By lunch time, we were nibbling on my pork! It was amazing. Check it out….it can be used as a sreamer, broiler, smoker and????? I its made by Cameron’s…. amazing smoke taste with the wood chis.
Jennifer C 08.28.2012
I made this cherry salsa (minus the peaches because I didn’t have any) about 15 mins after reading it. I made soft tacos with leftover pork butt that we smoked this past weekend. My husband was very skeptical of the cherry salsa….BUT once I told it had jalapenos in it all was okay. He ended up loving it and me too!
I too love to jump out of planes. I skydived a lot when I was younger but I haven’t done it in years since I got married and had kids. My husband thinks I was crazy for jumping out of a perfectly good plane…those boys don’t know what kind of natural rush they are missing!
Iowa Girl Eats 08.29.2012
Glad you guys liked it! Sounds amazing with smoked pork!
Taryn 08.28.2012
THRILLED to click on the “stuff cake in his face” link and see you at a wedding in my hometown! Completely unexpected!!
Liz @ The Lemon Bowl 08.28.2012
Love chipotle in adobo! Great tip to cut the pork before cooking!!
Jason Vorhess 01.14.2014
Very true
Sam @ Better With Sprinkles 08.28.2012
I will put a crock pot on my birthday/Christmas list just for the sake of this recipe. I am obsessed with pulled pork. and tacos. aka – I want this. :-)
Sara N. 08.28.2012
Shut the front door these look so good! Anything that can come from a Crock Pot is at the top of my list.
Debra 08.28.2012
oh my – oh my. This looks so delish – can’t wait to try this recipe. Thanks from the bottom of my heart for sharing this recipe!!
Andrea 08.28.2012
This looks so good! Love that its a slow cooker recipe too.
My fiance and I are major opposites in the food dept. I’ll eat most anything but he is EXTREMELY picky. No sweet/savory combos for him either… among other things. Makes for some interesting kitchen adventures! I’ll have to try the tacos and cherry-peach salsa to see if it can convert him to the sweet and savory side!
Iowa Girl Eats 08.28.2012
Yes, try and let me know. I was shocked that Ben liked it – LOVED it, actually. Very unusual for him!
Afton 08.28.2012
Yum! Have you ever tried Pork Loin? That’s my fav for cooking in a crock pot for shredded pork. I usually do it with BBQ sauce and then shred it right there in the crock pot.
What’s on the end of your toothpick in the picture? Cork?
Iowa Girl Eats 08.28.2012
I have never tried pork loin – I always thought it would come out too dry because it’s so lean. So it works for you? If so, I’d love to give it a whirl! Yep, a little cut wine cork on the end! :)
Afton 08.29.2012
Yep! I usually do a plain pork loin, but you can also buy them seasoned. And a partial bottle of Cookies. That’s it! Let it cook all day and then shred right in the crock pot.
amanda 08.28.2012
My boyfriend and I agree on major things in life: money, living, family/kids, etc.. but definitely have plenty we disagree on too! I’ve made pork this same way for sandwiches, so good! Have you used a hand juicer for lemons/limes for recipes or adding to a drink? Finally bought one and seriously gets so much more juice out than squeezing by hand! Less waste I guess:)
Trisha 08.28.2012
Just like I often feel you’re inside my mind with your Friday Favorites, I also often feel like we married the same man. Skateboarding, night owl, fear of heights, winter, would rather double up on meat & potatoes than save room for dessert, and let’s not forget their mutual love for individual applesauce cups. ;)
We disagree on plenty, but couldn’t agree more in our love for our dog, beer, cuddling, eating, & plans for our future/family.
Shannon 08.28.2012
I just love your blog and the recipes are amazing!!
Thank you for sharing☺
jennyv 08.28.2012
Seriously — the same views on hugging cracked me up! Do you enjoy two armed hugs? One armed pat hugs? Etc! So funny!
My husband and I have many similarities — definitely foodies, love travel, share a strong faith in God, etc. That said, we’re different in many ways — he LOVES to nap and watch movies, I’m in to getting up early and going on bike rides, hikes, you name it :)
Iowa Girl Eats 08.28.2012
Extended length, two-arm bear hugs before he leaves for work in the morning. THE BEST!
AC 08.28.2012
I’m with Ben… my husband has jumped out of not 1, but 2 (!!) airplanes! I keep my sweets for dessert… and didn’t you mention the other day is aversion to onions? Yeah… they don’t even get to see the inside of our house!
Iowa Girl Eats 08.28.2012
Here’s the crazy thing – he likes the *taste* but not the *crunch* and misses the flavor when I leave it out, so I have to find a way to work them into stuff without chopping them up. Yaaaay… ;)
Kristen 08.28.2012
I’m on Team Ben when it comes to onion consumption. I am the same way!! I love to cook with them, but hate that crunch. I always whirl them in the mini good processor when I’m cooking. To make it even weirder…I like them raw in salads where the whole thing is crunchy, I just don’t want the crunch in sauces or other non-crunchy items. I have issues. I know this :)
Afton 08.28.2012
Ha! That’s totally how I feel about onions as well! I will eat the dried onion flakes if they’re in things though. Usually I just buy Tones Onion Powder though. And as any Ankeny-ite knows, we can tell when it’s onion day when driving by Tones!
Rachel 08.28.2012
Me too! I love the taste of onions, but I cannot stand the texture of them. I use onion powder almost exclusively, but I have been known to try and sneak onions in on occasion. My husband likes onions even less than I do!
Brenda 08.29.2012
i have the same problem with onions that your hubby does! i sooooooo understand.
Blog is the New Black 08.28.2012
I want you to be my personal chef! Love this recipe! We tend to disagree on almost EVERYTHING…. but somehow we are happy together! ;)