Slow-roasted Pineapple & Pork Tacos

May 22

My friend Grace sent me this Tik Tok of Alix Traeger’s “big daddy slow roasted pineapple and pork tacos.” I watched it at least 10 times and then got to work recreating the recipe. I made a few tweaks, but kept it pretty close to her descriptions. Due to my schedule, I “slow roasted” in a crock pot, but plan to try it in the oven and instapot in the future to see which I like better. The tacos were pretty mind-blowing. The right amount of heat, sweet, and salt. And the sides help knock it out of the park.

Slow roasted pineapple pork tacos, pickled radish, salted red onion, cojita crema, avocado, & cilantro slaw.

ingredients

4-5 lb boneless pork roast (butt or shoulder), fat side scored
1 pineapple, skinned, cored, and cut into 8-10 thick spears (watch the video linked above for a quick tutorial).
2 tablespoons olive or avocado oil

RUB

2 tablespoons Ancho chili spice
1.5 tablespoons of Salt
1 tablespoon of Smoked Paprika
1 tablespoon of Cumin
2 teaspoons of Cayenne pepper
2-4 tablespoons of chipotle peppers in adobo (to taste, I used 4 Tbl.)
1 tablespoon of minced or crushed garlic

BRINE

32oz jar of Pineapple Juice (such as Knudsen’s Organic Just Pineapple Juice)
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 a grated onion
1 tablespoon of minced or crushed garlic
1 tablespoon ground pepper
Enough water to ensure the roast is submerged. (I filled the pineapple juice jar and that was just the right amount of water.)

directions

Brine pork overnight. Add all ingredients to a plastic container with lid. (I used one of these and it worked great.) Make sure pork is fully submerged in the brine. Refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.
Make the rub. Crush chipotle peppers in a small mixing bowl with a fork. Add, crushed garlic and stir. Then add the rest of the dry spices and mix well. It will form a paste.
Remove the pork from the brine and pat dry. Coat the roast in oil, then the rub, making sure to get in all the cracks and crevices. Discard brine.
Set your crock pot on high and line the bottom with your pineapple spears. Put the pork roast on top of the pineapple spears.
Cook in the crock pot for 7 hours (4 lbs) or 8 hours (5 lbs). Turn it off crack the lid and let it rest for an hour or two.
Remove pork and pineapple from the cooking liquid. Pull pork - it should just fall apart, but not be “mushy.” Pull (or chop) 5-7 of the pineapple spears along with the meat. (In my opinion, using all of the pineapple is too much.) Discard cooking liquid.
You can either serve the meat as is, or put it under the broiler for a few minutes to serve it “carnitas” style.

Serve alongside tortillas, cilantro slaw, pickled veggies (onions/radish), cojita crema, pineapple salsa (or mango), avocado, and fresh limes.