I saw my friends from socal make these amazing salsa verde pulled pork tacos at the recent Eggtober fest in Atlanta and decided to replicate this recipe for Taco Tuesday! The tenderness and smokiness of the pulled pork mixed in with the charred and spicy homemade salsa verde and pickled onion make for an amazingly refreshing meal.
Get the pork ready and on the grill.
This recipe is definitely not a last minute dinner choice. It is a process that needs time for the meat to cook through nice and slowly while containing the tenderness and flavorfulness of the pork as well as the seasoning that’s applied throughout.
To get started, coat the entire bone in pork shoulder with Tabasco Sriracha sauce which will work as a binder for the seasoning. I used Hardcore Carnivore Red for the BBQ rub. Don’t be shy with the seasoning. The shoulder is a large chunk of meat, so make sure to coat it heavily on all sides.
Next, place the seasoned pork shoulder on the grill at 250 degrees on indirect heat. Leave it on until the internal temp of the protein reaches 170 degrees. Depending on the size of the shoulder, this part of the cook will take about 4 hours.
How to make homemade salsa verde.
The salsa verde is a key component for this recipe. To start off, char some jalapeños, tomatillos, serrano peppers, a roma tomato and white onion. On a foil sheet, place 4 cloves of garlic, drizzle some olive oil and salt, close shut and place it directly on the coals for roasting. Make sure to turn the veggies around every minute for an even char throughout.
Next, in a food processor, throw in the veggies along with a cup of water, chicken bullion, salt, freshly squeezed lime juice, green onion and a batch of cilantro. Blend it all together leaving a slightly chunky consistency for texture.
How to make pickled onions.
I get asked a lot on how to make pickled onion. The process is very simple. Start off by slicing an entire red onion. Place the sliced pieces into a mason jar. Next, in a sauce pan, bring to a boil, water, white vinegar, sugar, salt, peppercorns and crushed red pepper. Pour the mixture into the mason jar and seal shut. Set aside for it to cool off while the pulled pork is still smoking.
What makes pulled pork so tender?
The long smoking process is what makes the meat so tender, that it falls off the bone. In order to keep the moisture and prevent the protein from drying out, you need to wrap it for the final cook.
Once the grilled pork shoulder reaches 170 degrees, place it in an aluminum pan and pour half of the homemade salsa verde over the meat. Seal it off with a sheet of foil. The wrap will help keep all the moisture inside the cook and allow the sauce to penetrate through the meat and infuse it with all those amazing refreshing socal flavors.
Leave the pork on the grill for another 2-3 hours or until the internal temperature reaches 204 degrees. Remove from the grill and let it rest for 1 hour.
Remove the bone and shred the meat, mixing it in with all the rendered juices.
Finally, it’s time to enjoy the cook after many hours of cooking and patience! Take your taco of choice, corn or flour, place a hefty amount of pulled pork on it, add more salsa verde, top it all off with a pickled onion and cotija cheese and enjoy your salsa verde pulled pork tacos.
Printer friendly recipe
Salsa Verde Pulled Pork Tacos
Ingredients
Pulled Pork Ingredients
- 6 lbs Bone in pork shoulder
- 2 tbsp Hot sauce
- 4 tbsp BBQ rub
- 1/2 cup Cotija cheese
Salsa Verde Ingredients
- 6 tomatillos
- 2 Jalapenos
- 2 Serrano peppers
- 1 Roma tomato
- 4 Garlic cloves
- 2 Limes
- 1 Batch of cilantro
- 1 Batch of green onion
- 1/2 White onion
- 1 tbsp Olive oil
- 1 tbsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Chicken bullion
- 1 cup Water
Pickled Red Onion Ingredients
- 1 Red onion
- 1 cup White vinegar
- 1 cup Water
- 1 tbsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Sugar
- 1 tbsp Crushed red peppers
Instructions
- Set up the grill for indirect heat at 250 degrees.
- Place the seasoned pulled pork on the grill and let it smoke for about 4 hrs or until it reaches 170 degrees internal temp.
- For the salsa verde, start off by charing the jalapeños, tomatillos, serrano peppers, roma tomato and white onion. Also on a foil sheet, place 4 cloves of garlic, drizzle some olive oil and salt, close shut and place it directly on the coals for roasting.
- In a food processor, throw in the veggies along with a cup of water, chicken bullion, salt, freshly squeezed lime juice, green onion and a batch of cilantro. Blend it all together leaving a slightly chunky consistency for texture
- For the pickled onion, start off my slicing an entire red onion. Place the sliced pieces in a mason jar.
- In a sauce pan, bring to a boil, water, white vinegar, sugar, salt, peppercorns and crushed red pepper. Pour the mixture into the mason jar and seal shut.
- Back to the pork. Once the grilled pork shoulder reaches 170 degrees, place it in an aluminum pan and pour half of the homemade salsa verde over the meat. Seal it off with a sheet of foil and let it continue cooking for another 2-3 hours until the internal temp of the pork is 204 degrees.
- Remove the bone and shred the meat, mixing it in with all the rendered juices.
- Assemble the taco per your liking with the pulled pork, salsa verde, pickled red onion and cotija cheese.
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