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!
patty 12.26.2012
The best!
8 (well 7) hour pulled pork with cherry and peach salsa « Special Meal 11.24.2012
[…] recipe is from this awesome site Iowa Girl Eats. It’s namesake – Kristin – loves cooking and eating and running as well (the latter to […]
Nina 09.09.2012
Made it today and I will definitely make it again! My stomach and my husband thought it was delicious! Love the spice from the chipotle peppers. Possibly the best pulled pork I’ve ever had!
Amy 09.04.2012
I made these tonight and they were delicious! I wanted to eat the salsa with a spoon…ok, I did eat the salsa with a spoon. Yummy!
J Francus 09.04.2012
UNBELIEVABLE, and THEN SOME…made for Labor Day Weekend with friends….drop jaws all around and with me as well…sadly, cherries, just went out but frozen and thawed came in to save the day…Kristen..you, girl, rock it out of the park every single time…PLEAAAAASSSEEE do not stop your recipes….you are the best
Rebecca 09.01.2012
Just tried this recipe yesterday to kick off football-watching season, and it was amazing! I usually stick to veggie soups in the crockpot and was a little nervous about dealing with that big chunk of meat, but you made it totally not intimidating. The smell when I came home from work was wonderful!
Iowa Girl Eats 09.04.2012
So glad you enjoyed! :)
25 Amazing Pork Recipes for Labor Day Parties! — pork, knife & spoon 08.31.2012
[…] Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Tacos with Cherry-Peach Salsa from Iowa Girl Eats […]
Mary Johnson 08.30.2012
Quick question: Do you think I could start the pork in the crock pot right before I go to bed, shred it in the morning, then stick it back in the crockpot to leave on warm for a couple of hours, or would that dry it out too much? The idea is to have something ready for lunch right after church, but try to do some of the prep work the night before. Maybe if I left the pork whole? Thanks! :-)
Iowa Girl Eats 08.31.2012
I think it’d be totally fine to cook overnight, then leave on warm in the juices for a couple hours. Shouldn’t be a problem at all!
Sara 08.30.2012
Thanks for the recipe – we’re trying this tonight :) I got my pork shoulder at Fareway – it was just under 4 pounds and only $5.65 (on sale this week!). I can’t believe the price difference compared to HyVee! Now if Fareway only had the same selection…. :)
Katie @ Blonde Ambition 08.29.2012
I made a couple of cherry salsas earlier this summer and they were both sooo good. I bet it pairs perfectly with the Chipotle pulled pork!
Valentina 08.29.2012
This is a stunning dish! And it looks unbelievable delicious — what a great flavor combination!
Julia {The Roasted Root} 08.29.2012
Your post cracked me up! My boyfriend and I are opposites in a lot of matters too, but when it comes to food, we’re pretty much spot on with each other…we’d both go wild over these tacos!! I love the peach & cherry salsa – fruity salsas are so much fun and I’ve never used peaches or cherries in a salsa recipe. Love it, going to try it, thank you, this rocks!
Amy 08.29.2012
As always, your blog continues to provide inspiration!
By the way, do you have any ideas of what to pack in a cooler for a long car trip? I’m thinking your turkey avocado wraps, some oatmeal cookies, cheddar cheese and apples (going for seasonal here)…
ShaNae 08.29.2012
Super excited to try the salsa! I am allergic to tomatoes (citrus) so salsa is a no no in general, but this one…horray! I love both peaches and cherries and the bit of lime used isn’t a problem. Thanks! Oh, and the pulled pork taco sounds super yummy too. :)
Heather {ModernMealsforTwo} 08.29.2012
I’m about to plan my menu for the next two weeks and this is definitely going on the list. Thanks for noting that “sweet is for dessert” Ben liked the dish. Hubster is the same way, but I’m hoping I get a similar review from him :)
Mary 08.29.2012
Oh my goodness; my husband and I are complete and total opposites, but somehow our same sense of humor, passion for road trips, same convictions on faith, and love of good food keep us together! I can’t wait to try this recipe! I just have to laugh when I read about you and Ben- sometimes I swear our husbands are related- ha! As always, love your blog.
Meredith 08.29.2012
Oh my word! Sooo many great recipes- there are more than i have time to make. I loved the idea of Orchard Turkey Burger yesterday and this looks even better! I’m definately going to need to make this over the weekend. Thanks!!
My bf and I are complete opposities- he’s from the southside of Chicago, I’m from rural Iowa… that’s the beginning of our differences but we sure do love each other. I’m sooo thankful he is willing to try my many food adventures and won’t turn his nose up at some of the more healthy offerings i try. He’s a trooper!
Masha @ TheMashaUltimatum 08.29.2012
Yum….those look so good. Too bad whenever I buy cherries or grapes or any type of berry they are gone before I can take them out of the grocery bag.
I totally agree with the “opposites attract” statement. When you have someone in your life that may not agree or have different interests than you, it opens you up to new adventures, opportunities and overall a sense of open-mindedness. My fiancé loves politics and watching news shows while I had zero interest in it but now…..he takes interest in my Bad Girls Club and I try to follow what is happening in the world more.
Alex Meyer 08.29.2012
This looks so good! I love using my crock pot, it makes things so simple & convenient, without sacrificing taste.
nicole 08.29.2012
I think I’ll have to give this version of pulled pork a whirl. I use pork loin, and love it! I have never had it come out dry.
As for the salsa, I’m thinking the apple salsa I have from a local orchard would be tasty on top as well. Thanks for sharing!