Best Braised Pork Tacos Recipes

BRAISED PORK TACOS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Season the pork generously with salt and pepper, to taste, and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Pat the pork dry with a paper towel. Heat a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over high heat with 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, 2 turns of the pan. Put the pork in the pot and evenly brown the meat all over, it will take about 10 to 12 minutes; remove the pork to a plate and reserve.
• Turn heat down to medium-high, and add the extra-virgin olive oil to the pot, a couple of turns of the pan. Add the onions and garlic, salt and pepper, to taste, the oregano, 1 sliced chili pepper and 2 bay leaves and cook for 7 to 8 minutes. Deglaze the pot with the beer, scraping up the bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Stir in the chicken stock and orange juice. Add the reserved pork back to the pot (the liquid should come about 2/3 the way up the meat) and bring to a simmer. Cover and put the pork in the oven, turning the meat halfway through cooking, until the meat is very tender, about 2 1/2-3 hours. Remove the pork from the pot, to a cutting board and tent with foil to keep warm. When cool enough to handle, pull the meat apart with 2 forks.
• Simmer the braising liquid over medium heat until reduced by half. Add the chipotle and adobo sauce and the lime juice. Add about 2/3 of the shredded meat and stir. Cool the remaining shredded pork and chill for another use.
• While the pork is cooking, prepare the pickled red onions: in a small saucepot, bring the white wine vinegar, sugar, teaspoon of salt, remaining chili pepper and bay leaves to a simmer over low heat. Put the sliced red onions in a small sealable container. Carefully pour the hot liquid over the onions, cover and give it a shake. You may need to lift the lid to release some of the pressure. Every now and then, give it a good shake. Refrigerate to cool.
• To serve, put the chipotle pulled pork on a platter and garnish with pickled onions and pickled jalapeno slices. Serve with shredded cabbage, crumbled cheese and tortillas for wrapping.

CHILE-BRAISED PORK SHOULDER TACOS

Steps:

• Place chiles in a medium bowl. Add enough boiling water to cover, and set a small plate or bowl on chiles to keep submerged. Let soak until softened, about 30 minutes. Drain chiles, reserving 1 cup soaking liquid.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Place chiles, sugar, lime juice, and 1/4 cup reserved soaking liquid in a blender. Purée chile mixture, adding more soaking liquid as needed to form a smooth paste. Season pork shoulder generously with salt and spread paste over pork. DO AHEAD: Can be rubbed 1-2 days ahead. Cover and chill. Let come to room temperature before continuing.
• Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, bay leaves, oregano, coriander, cumin, and allspice. Cook, stirring often, until onion is soft, about 8 minutes. Add beer; bring to a boil. Add pork to pot; cover and transfer to oven.
• Braise pork, basting occasionally with pan juices, until very tender, about 2 1/2 hours. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Let cool slightly. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover and keep chilled. Rewarm before continuing.
• Transfer pork to a large platter. Let cool slightly. Pour pan juice mixture over pork; cover and keep warm. (Alternatively, shred the pork with 2 forks and pour pan juice mixture over pork.)
• Meanwhile, working in batches, cook tortillas in a large heavy skillet over low heat until toasted, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to a large sheet of foil; wrap to keep warm.
• Serve pork with tortillas, radishes, both salsas, pickled onions, and chopped cilantro, encouraging guests to fill and garnish tacos as desired.

BEER BRAISED PORK CARNITAS TACOS

Steps:

• 1. Get your meat ready rub with salt, cumin and chili powder all over. Mince your garlic and add to a plastic bag gallon size add bay leaf to bag as well. Zest and squeeze oranges in to bag add pork and make sure to massage juice and garlic all over. Let sit in fridge over night or 24 hours.
• 2. Take pork out after 24 hours and pat dry so it can brown. Save marinade juice and set aside. Slice onions and take seeds out of peppers. Pre heat oven to 350 degrees to have it ready. In a pot that can go in oven or you can do this with a roasting pan too. Add some oil about 2 tbs. and brown your meat all over. All you want to do is sear the meat. Take out meat after browning and add peppers and onions saute until soft and you can smell the peppers about 5 minutes or so. Deglaze the pot with beer and add meat back in the pot. Add remaining marinade and bay leaf to pot and put in 350 pre heated oven for about 4 hours. Turning meat every half hour or hour.
• 3. Af ter meat is cooked take out and start shredding and set aside. Add peppers and onions to a blender and half the cooking liquid and blend until smooth and pour over shredded pork. The liquid will keep your carnitas moist and add some extra flavor. Toss and taste for seasoning. At this point you can either put meat in fridge for when you need it or. In a skillet add some oil about 1 tbs and start browning your carnitas until golden brown and crispy. Blister your corn tortillas over fire or on a skillet and add some carnitas and your favorite toppings and enjoy. You can also serve with flour tortillas but they are traditionally served with corn tortillas. Don't forget to squeeze some lime over them. Another thing this can be made in a crock pot as well.

BRAISED PORK TACOS

Steps:

• Put the chiles into a small bowl and cover with hot water; set aside. In a large heavy bottomed pan with a tight fitting lid, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil. Generously season the pork with salt and pepper. Brown the meat well on both sides, about 5 minutes per side; remove the meat and set aside. Add the onion, pepper, garlic, cumin, thyme, and bay leaf; fry until softened, about 5 minutes, scraping up the browned bits in the pan. Stem and seed the soaked chiles reserving the soaking liquid; hand tear them into the pot. Return the meat to the pan along with any accumulated juices. Top the meat with the tomatoes. Pour in the chili soaking liquid, straining out any seeds, until it almost covers the meat; add water if you need more liquid. Squeeze the orange and lime juices into the pot and add the rinds. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours, or until the pork is very tender. Remove the meat to a platter and cover to keep warm. Strain the braising liquid and reserve.
• Shred the pork. Add some of the reserved braising liquid if the meat is dry. Take a tortilla and place about 2 tablespoons of the mixture on top. Garnish with the avocado, radishes, and Salsa Verde; fold the sides up and serve.
• Put the masa harina in a bowl and mix in the salt. Add about 1 cup warm water and mix with your hands; add more water as needed until the dough comes together. Knead for a few minutes to smooth the dough out. The dough should be firm and springy and should not stick to your hands. Test by forming a small disk, if it cracks around the edges you need more water.
• Place a piece of heavy plastic (like from a garbage bag) onto a tortilla press. Form a 1 1/2-inch ball of dough and place it in the center of the press. Top with another piece of plastic, close the press, and push the lever down to form the tortilla. (Alternately, the dough balls can be rolled between plastic sheets with a rolling pin.) Open the press and remove the top layer of plastic. Carefully peel the tortilla off the bottom plastic and place it onto a hot, ungreased cast iron skillet; cook for about 1 to 2 minutes per side. Remove the tortilla and place it on a clean tea towel; keep it covered to keep it soft and pliable. Continue until you have used up all the dough.
• Yield: 20 (6-inch) tortillas
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 40 minutes
• Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the tomatillos, jalapeno, onion, garlic, and 1 tablespoon salt. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 5 to 10 minutes until the tomatillos are soft but have not burst. Add the cooked vegetables to a blender with the cilantro leaves and lime juice. Pour in 1/4 cup of the reserved cooking liquid and process to a coarse puree. Taste and adjust seasoning with more cilantro, lime juice, or salt.
• Yield: 2 cups

CHIPOTLE-BRAISED PORK TACOS

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a medium Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion, season with some salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cilantro stems and cook, stirring once or twice, until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, chipotle and adobo sauce.
• Season the pork with some salt, add it to the Dutch oven and cook, stirring once or twice, until golden brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Stir in the beer, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir in the chicken stock and lime zest and juice and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the pork is fork-tender, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, using your hands, shape the masa into 6 even balls. Cut some wax paper into a few squares slightly larger than the tortilla press. Spray 2 pieces with some nonstick spray. Sandwich a ball of masa between the pieces of wax paper, sprayed sides against the dough, and press to flatten. Remove the tortilla and set aside. Repeat with the remaining dough, using new pieces of wax paper if necessary.
• Heat a cast-iron griddle or pan over medium-high heat and cook the tortillas until golden brown, about 30 seconds per side. Keep warm while you finish the pork.
• Taste the pork and adjust the seasoning as needed. Fold some pork in each tortilla and top with the queso fresco, some cilantro and a squeeze of lime.

CARNITAS TACOS (MICHOACáN-STYLE BRAISED PORK TACOS) RECIPE - (4.2/5)

Steps:

• Make the carnitas: Melt lard in an 8-qt. saucepan over medium-high. Season pork with salt; cook, turning as needed, until browned, 10-12 minutes. Add milk, garlic, jalapeños and pickling liquid, onion, and lime and orange juices; boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, covered, until pork is tender, about 2 hours. Let pork cool and transfer to a cutting board; chop into bite-size pieces. Strain cooking liquid and return to pan; stir in pork and keep warm. Make the salsa and serve: Heat a 12" cast-iron skillet over medium-high; cook tomatillos, garlic, and tomatoes, turning as needed, until blackened all over, 12-15 minutes, and transfer to blender. Add jalapeño and pickling liquid, and salt; purée until smooth. Serve carnitas on tortillas with salsa; garnish with cilantro and radishes. Serve with more pickled jalapeños and the orange wedges.

WINE-BRAISED PORK TACOS

Steps:

• Cook the bacon in a Dutch oven over medium-low heat until crisp, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Add the onions to the drippings in the pot; cook, stirring, until golden, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
• Meanwhile, finely chop the carrot, celery, garlic and jalapeno in a food processor. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Pat the pork dry. Season with salt and pepper. Warm the olive oil in the Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Working in batches, brown the pork on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes per batch. Transfer the meat to a plate.
• Add the carrot mixture to the Dutch oven and cook, stirring, about 3 minutes. Stir in the onions and tomato paste; cook 3 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Add the wine and bring to a boil, then simmer until reduced by half, about 8 minutes.
• Return the bacon and pork to the pot. Squeeze in the orange juice, then add the spent peel. Add the oregano, bay leaves and enough stock to reach the top of the pork. Cover, transfer to the oven and cook about 3 hours.
• Transfer the pork to a bowl using tongs, then shred. Season with salt and pepper. Strain the sauce and return to the pot; add the solids to the bowl with the meat (discard the bay leaves and orange peel). Boil the sauce over high heat until thickened, about 2 minutes. Add the sour cream and season with salt and pepper. Fill the tortillas with the pork; drizzle with the sauce and top with the cheese and slaw.
• Fennel Slaw:
• Mix 1/4 cup mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons orange juice, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 minced jalapeno, 1/2 teaspoon each dried oregano and cumin, and some fennel fronds in a large bowl. Toss with 2 thinly sliced fennel bulbs, 2 cups thinly sliced cabbage, 4 sliced scallions, 4 strips crumbled bacon, and salt and pepper.

CHILE-BRAISED PORK SHOULDER TACOS

Steps:

• Place chiles in a medium bowl. Add enough boiling water to cover, and set a small plate or bowl on chiles to keep submerged. Let soak until softened, about 30 minutes. Drain chiles, reserving 1 cup soaking liquid. Preheat oven to 350°. Place chiles, sugar, lime juice, and ¼ cup reserved soaking liquid in a blender. Purée chile mixture, adding more soaking liquid as needed to form a smooth paste. Season pork shoulder generously with salt and spread paste over pork. DO AHEAD Can be rubbed 1-2 days ahead. Cover and chill. Let come to room temperature before continuing. Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, bay leaves, oregano, coriander, cumin, and allspice. Cook, stirring often, until onion is soft, about 8 minutes. Add beer; bring to a boil. Add pork to pot; cover and transfer to oven. Braise pork, basting occasionally with pan juices, until very tender, about 2 ½ hours. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Let cool slightly. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover and keep chilled. Rewarm before continuing. Transfer pork to a large platter. Let cool slightly. Pour pan juice mixture over pork; cover and keep warm. (Alternatively, shred the pork with 2 forks and pour pan juice mixture over pork.) Meanwhile, working in batches, cook tortillas in a large heavy skillet over low heat until toasted, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to a large sheet of foil; wrap to keep warm. Serve pork with tortillas, radishes, both salsas, pickled onions, and chopped cilantro, encouraging guests to fill and garnish tacos as desired.

BRAISED CHIPOTLE PORK BUTT TACOS

Steps:

• step-by-step directions For the Pork Butt: Preheat oven to 300F. Season the pork butt generously on all sides with salt and pepper. In a large dutch oven over medium-high heat, heat oil until smoking and sear the butt on all sides. Remove from pan and add the onions, garlic, coriander, cumin, a pinch of salt, and more olive oil, if necessary, and cook until the onions have softened, about 3 minutes. Deglaze the pan by pouring in the beer, add the chipotle peppers, place the butt back into the dutch oven, and then bring it to boil. Add the chicken stock to pan to come 3/4ths the way up the pork butt, roughly two quarts. Bring the stock to a boil, then cover with lid and place into hot oven. Braise the butt for about 3 1/2 hours, or until fork tender. For the Tacos: Remove the pork butt from the dutch oven and using two forks, shred the meat. Warm the tortillas and arrange accompaniments in bowls. Build tacos as desired. Serve with lime wedges.

BRAISED PORK TACOS

Steps:

• Preheat oven, 325F. Season the pork generously with salt and pepper, to taste, and let sit at room temperature for 30 min. Pat the pork dry with a paper towel. Heat a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over high heat with 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, 2 turns of the pan. Put the pork in the pot and evenly brown the meat all over, it will take about 10-12 min; remove the pork to a plate and reserve. Turn heat down to med-high, and add the extra-virgin olive oil to the pot, a couple of turns of the pan. Add the onions and garlic, salt and pepper, to taste, the oregano, 1 sliced chili pepper and 2 bay leaves and cook for 7 to 8 min. Deglaze the pot with the beer, scraping up the bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Stir in the chicken stock and orange juice. Add the reserved pork back to the pot (the liquid should come about 2/3 the way up the meat) and bring to a simmer. Cover and put the pork in the oven, turning the meat halfway through cooking, until the meat is very tender, about 2 1/2-3 hrs. Remove the pork from the pot, to a cutting board and tent with foil to keep warm. When cool enough to handle, pull the meat apart with 2 forks. Simmer the braising liquid over medium heat until reduced by half. Add the chipotle and adobo sauce and the lime juice. Add about 2/3 of the shredded meat and stir. Cool the remaining shredded pork and chill for another use. While the pork is cooking, prepare the pickled red onions: in a small saucepot, bring the white wine vinegar, sugar, teaspoon of salt, remaining chili pepper and bay leaves to a simmer over low heat. Put the sliced red onions in a small sealable container. Carefully pour the hot liquid over the onions, cover and give it a shake. You may need to lift the lid to release some of the pressure. Every now and then, give it a good shake. Refrig to cool. To serve, put the chipotle pulled pork on a platter and garnish with pickled onions and pickled jalapeno slices. Serve with shredded cabbage, crumbled cheese