SmokyPulledPorkTacoswithCherryPeachSalsa

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.

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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!

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Start the pulled pork tacos by assembling and prepping the ingredients for the pulled pork.

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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.

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Next, address zee butt. A 4-5lb pork butt! Pork butt is actually pork shouldera 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!

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

Serves 6-8

  • 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

      1. 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.
      2. 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.
      3. For the Cherry-Peach Salsa: Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Make up to two days in advance.

      Notes

      This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.

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      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! ;)

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      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!

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      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!

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      ~~~~~

      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!