This weekend I went all out. I made a pulled pork shoulder with a garlic brine from The Fatted Calf's cookbook:
I have made this recipe several times, but this was the first time I used it to make tacos. And let me tell you, you'll never want to eat regular tacos again!
I brined the shoulder for two days. The recipe said to de-bone the shoulder to allow more smoke to touch the meat. I left the bone in but sliced the shoulder a few times to make it more like an accordion. This was a really effective way to prep the shoulder. It cut my smoking time to about 6 hours. After cooking to about 195, I wanted to let it rest, but I got hungry so I only let it rest until it was barely cool enough to touch. I pulled it and poured about a cup of reserved juices (with the fat skimmed off) and mixed it all together. Then I put it on some still warm homemade tortillas with and drizzled them with a chimichurri sauce and chipotle salsa. Then I garnished them with cilantro, chihuahua cheese and a splash of lime. They were to die for. I am so glad I made enough to have a second meal of this.
Recipes:
Garlic brined pulled pork - http://food52.com/blog/8522-the-fatted-calf-s-pulled-pork
Homemade tortillas - http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/05/homemade-flour-tortillas/
Chimichurri sauce - http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/chimichurri-sauce-107159
I have made this recipe several times, but this was the first time I used it to make tacos. And let me tell you, you'll never want to eat regular tacos again!
I brined the shoulder for two days. The recipe said to de-bone the shoulder to allow more smoke to touch the meat. I left the bone in but sliced the shoulder a few times to make it more like an accordion. This was a really effective way to prep the shoulder. It cut my smoking time to about 6 hours. After cooking to about 195, I wanted to let it rest, but I got hungry so I only let it rest until it was barely cool enough to touch. I pulled it and poured about a cup of reserved juices (with the fat skimmed off) and mixed it all together. Then I put it on some still warm homemade tortillas with and drizzled them with a chimichurri sauce and chipotle salsa. Then I garnished them with cilantro, chihuahua cheese and a splash of lime. They were to die for. I am so glad I made enough to have a second meal of this.
Recipes:
Garlic brined pulled pork - http://food52.com/blog/8522-the-fatted-calf-s-pulled-pork
Homemade tortillas - http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/05/homemade-flour-tortillas/
Chimichurri sauce - http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/chimichurri-sauce-107159