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These easy pork tacos will knock your socks off! Make those hectic back to school dinners even easier by utilizing your slow cooker for this recipe. Features an additional recipe for Cilantro Aioli that makes the tacos taste like you just ordered them from a taco truck!
Easy Pork Tacos Recipe Featuring Cilantro Aioli
I’m not gonna lie, I’m a taco fiend. I have friends who drive through the fast food restaurants everyday to get their daily fix of sweet tea or Dr Pepper. Not me. If any food joint lures me in, 9 times out of 10 it’s a taco shop. Or the taco truck. For years we had one that drove through our neighborhood everyday to feed construction workers, but now that building is done, my beloved truck no longer gives me front door service. I live in a university town. In Texas. We have chain taco stores, we have mom and pop taco stores, we have food trucks…..ahh, there is an unlimited supply of street tacos here. Sadly, my wallet doesn’t afford me the luxury of buy-in tacos on a daily basis. And tacos for a family of 6, whew, let’s not do the math on that one! Did I mention I have 4 (hungry) boys?
Now that the kiddos are back in school, and football season is here, I feel like cooking a lot more than I did when it was scorching outside. The truth of the matter is that my day really begins at 3pm when I pick the first kiddo up from school. With 4 kids at 4 different schools, carpool alone is a daily miracle. Throw in some after school clubs and sports, and my day is shot. My kids are hungry, my husband has just walked in, and I need to get something on the table fast.
Instead of saving this for a weekend meal (although it’s awesome for a tailgating recipe!), I mastered the art of making these amazing shredded pork tacos by utilizing every busy moms secret tool. Yep, the slow cooker / crock pot / miracle maker. Get it going in the morning, and by the time the kiddos are home, fill their bellies with these warm delicious tacos.
A photo posted by MrsMajorHoff (@mrsmajorhoff) on
There is very little prep work or seasoning required. Most likely you probably have most of the ingredients on hand. I use a very specific pork loin, but only because the flavor on it alone is fabulous (i.e., less work for me!). I buy the Applewood Topped Bacon Pork Loin Fillet by Smithfield® at Walmart. I also got the pretty serving dishes (Pioneer Woman y’all!) while I was browsing through the aisles. You might have even seen my picture on Instagram earlier this week, giving you a teaser about an upcoming recipe.
You can see “Topped With Real Bacon” right there on the packaging. YUM!
The slow cooker allows this pork to just simmer in it’s special sauce all day long, along with all the bacon bits. It’s like heaven in a corn tortilla.
Like a lot of the street tacos around here, there are minimal garnishes. With such a flavorful meat filling, you don’t want too many flavors to overwhelm your taste buds.
I love adding avocados to tacos because they are so mild and they don’t overpower the other flavors. It’s easy to slice one up to top the tacos.
A couple of shreds of cheese (we buy queso fresco), and you are almost there!
Yes, it’s true. I have a “secret sauce”. I’m not sure what is the bigger secret? The ingredients, or the fact that it is so crazy easy to make. You can make it in the morning when you get your pork prepped for it’s day in the slow cooker, or you can make it right before you are ready to eat. I prefer in to make it in the morning and refrigerate it, just because my day is less hectic then.
The sauce compliments the pork so well. I can’t really explain it. I asked my husband to, but he just said “It’s like a flavor explosion in my mouth!”.
Ready for the recipe? Are you dying to see how easy it is to make these amazing tacos?
So what do you think? Does this look like a meal that could help you conquer the dinner time crunch? Are you a fan of cilantro? Have you ever had cilantro aioli before?
Need some more super fast dinner ideas? You might like these:
Be sure to pin for later:
📋Recipe
Slow cooker Pork Tacos & cilantro aioli sauce!
Ingredients
Slow cooker Pork Tacos Ingredients:
- 1 Smithfield® Applewood Topped Bacon Pork Loin Fillet
- 2 Tablespoons Grapeseed oil
- 1 Tablespoon garlic minced
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 cup orange juice
- 1 teaspoon Chipotle hot sauce I buy Tabasco brand
Cilantro Aioli Ingredients:
- ⅓ cup loosely chopped cilantro leaves
- 1 lime You only need the juice from ½ of the lime!
- 1 teaspoon chipotle hot sauce
- ¼ teaspoon minced garlic
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup sour cream
Instructions
Slow cooker Pork Tacos Directions:
- In a large dutch oven or large saute pan, heat the grapeseed oil over medium to medium high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the garlic and saute for about 1 minute (don’t allow garlic to burn or brown too much!). Add in the cumin and stir for about 30 seconds.
- Add the pork loin fillet to the pan, with the bacon topped side down, right on the oil/cumin/garlic mixture. Sear this side. Once brown, flip to the other side. You may need to stir the bacon bits around, and scrape the pan so they don’t burn. Continue searing each side of the pork loin. Once that is completed, transfer the pork loin to the slow cooker, with the bacon coated side facing upwards.
- Turn off the heat of the dutch oven, and stir in 1 cup orange juice and 1 teaspoon chipotle hot sauce. Stir for about a minute, getting all the bacon bits and other goodies off the bottom of the pan. Pour this mixture into the slow cooker on top of the pork loin. Cover with the slow cooker lid and cook on low heat for 7-8 hrs, making sure pork reaches its correct temperature.
- When the pork is done, use two large forks to shred it into strips. Remove any fatty bits you might find. Stir thoroughly so that the orange juice mixture is evenly distributed throughout the pork shreds.
- Place shredded pork into taco shells and top accordingly.
Cilantro Aioli Directions:
- In a small/ mini food processor, combine all of the above ingredients.
- Chop or Grind the mixture until it is thoroughly combined and resembles the texture of salad dressing.
- Serve on top of the Slow Cooker Pork Tacos, or even as a dip for chips!
- Enjoy!
GI Joe says
Yes Please!
Jess says
I pinned this! I loooooooooooove Cilantro! 🙂
Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!
MrsMajor Hoff says
Sure thing honey!
MrsMajor Hoff says
Thanks Jess! I'm a sucker for cilantro! I can't believe there are people who taste it differently. Those poor people!
Amanda Kolb says
I live in Texas too, and before moving here I never knew taco trucks existed, nor did I realize just how many tacos Texans consume!! Of course now I am up there with the best of them on taco consumption, as there is a taco truck right across the street from where I work lol. I can't wait to give your recipe a try, especially that sauce! YUM! Thank you for sharing at Merry Monday!
Julie's Lifestyle says
Your your tacos look amazing!
Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe at Cooking and Crafting with J&J.
We hope to see you again.
Julie
Stephanie Paxman says
OH those look so good. Dinner tonight!
Audrey says
Oh what a flavorful combination! Especially that Cilantro Aioli.
Thanks for sharing on Creative K Kids' Tasty Tuesdays link up. Hope to see you back next week.
Mabey She Made It says
These look great!
Theresa says
These look really yummy. Thanks for sharing at the Inspiration Spotlight Party. Hope to see you again soon. Pinned & shared.
Katherines Corner says
oh this looks fantastic! Thank you for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things blog hop. Watch for your feature on Monday xo
My Cozy Corner says
Looks delicious Thank you for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things blog hop
Cathy McInnes says
Yum, one of my favorite meals!! This is one sweet recipe and I am so glad that you shared it on Making Memories Mondays!! See you at tonight’s party! 🙂 🙂
Cathy@threekidsandafish{dot}com
Kati says
This looks so good. Gotta add it to our taco Tuesday menu 🙂