DISCLAIMER: I’m not going to guarantee that these are “no mess” pulled pork tacos.  But they are quick,  easy to clean up, and a crowd pleaser on a hot Tuesday (or any day of the week) when the last thing you want to do is worry about turning on the stove, let alone the oven!

Mexican food has always been one of those things that I enjoy going out for much more than I enjoy making for myself or my family.  There’s something fun, and almost comforting about going to a Mexican restaurant.  Perhaps it’s because when I was a kid my brothers and I would always request to go to Chevys for our birthday dinners.  Each of us always got a batch of tortilla dough to play with while we waited for our food to arrive, and at the end of the meal the waiters would all stand around your table and sing you the most fun, loud, exuberant, hands-clapping Happy Birthday!  And pop a big ol’ sombrero on your head at the end!  Sometimes, if we went on a Friday or Saturday night there was a balloon man who would stop at each table offering to make any animal figure/sword/doll/whatever out of his balloons.  Our parents always obliged – how could they have said no?!  It was incredibly fun; celebratory, really. And made our birthday feel special because these strange waiters would sing happy birthday to us!

These, and many other Chevy dinners were my first experience with Mexican food.  I believe that since it was such an enjoyable experience it made me fall in love with Mexican food.  Fajitas, burritos, tacos, enchiladas, tortilla chips and salsa, guacamole!! You name it…

With these tacos I wanted to recreate, the simple, festive feeling of going to a restaurant right at home.  We make this BBQ Pulled Pork every now and then.  We should make it more often because it’s so easy! This time we turned it into tacos, and I wish we were having it for dinner again tonight.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 lb pork shoulder
• salt to season
• 1 can of your favorite BBQ sauce – we used Kinder’s Mild BBQ Sauce
• 1 medium white onion, diced
• 1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
• Guacamole, I prefer to make my own – though store bought would work fine
• favorite salsa, we used Casa Sanchez Fire Roasted Medium salsa
• 1 package of tortillas

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. I lied, you will have to turn on your stove for 2 minutes.  Get out a big pan and put it on medium high, place your pork shoulder on the pan to sear the sides.  Season with plenty of salt.
2. Immediately transfer into a crockpot.  Pour a 20oz bottle of BBQ sauce into the crockpot to coat the pork shoulder. Put the lid on and set on high for 6-8 hours.
3. Meanwhile, chop your onion, cilantro, and salsa.  Place in individual ramekins.  If you are making your guacamole, prepare no more than 20-30 minutes before serving so that it stays fresh!
4. When your pork shoulder is done, remove and place on cutting board.  Using two forks begin to tear the meat off the bone.  It will literally fall off the bone into delicious pieces.
5. Enjoy!

Cheers!