These Pulled Pork Tacos with Mango Relish are super easy to whip up during the weekday. You’ll go nuts over the mango relish, I promise!
Whenever I make pulled pork I always keep the flavors very very basic that way I can use the pork for many different recipes. One day we will drench the pork with bbq sauce, the next day we will use some of the meat for tacos or with our breakfasts. Keeping it simple is the key to helping you not get bored with the same thing the entire week.
If you don’t eat pork, you can do chicken instead. Just know that you will have to use the ol’ goog to figure out cooking times and temperatures for the chicken.
I like to use Siete tortillas for my tacos, but you can do flour, corn, shove it into some lettuce boats, or even mix everything together in a big huge salad. That’s what I love about dishes like this. They are just so easy to change up.
There are a few different options on how you cook up your pork shoulder. Any method you choose is fine! On the recipe card below I give 3 different methods for you to do! For this recipe I actually smoked it on my new Traeger which was so unbelievably good that I still am dreaming about the first pull and bite. The only thing I would have changed was when I started it (which was too late in the day). I was pulling the pork at 12:30 am which is not ideal. If you are going to smoke it, which you should, 😉 start it at around 6 am. It takes about 12 hours to smoke a 9.5 pounder, but oh my goodness, the flavors will bring you to your knees.
Ingredients
- 5-9 lb pork shoulder
- 1/4 cup yellow mustard
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 1 can of Kern's Apricot Nectar
- Juice of 1 lime
- Tortillas of your choice
- OPTIONAL: fresh cilantro
- 1 tbl paprika
- 1 tbl garlic powder
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 2 mangos, diced
- 1/2 jalapeno, finely chopped
- 1/3 cup diced red onion
- 1 avocado, diced
- 2 tbl fresh lime juice
Instructions
- Turn smoker on to 225 degrees.
- While it's getting to temp, take your pork shoulder and rub the salt and mustard all over the entire thing. If you have a meat injector, take some of the apricot nectar juice and inject the meat with it.
- Place on the smoker, fat side up and if you have a probe stick it right into the middle of it.
- Let the pork smoke for 3 hours. After the 3 hours you will start to spritz the pork with a mixture of apple cider vinegar and water.
- When the pork's internal temp gets to 160-165 it will go through a "stall" which means it stays at that temp for quite a bit. Once it is done with the stall and you see the internal temperature rise again, pull it off and place it in an aluminum pan.
- Pour the can of apricot nectar all over the top of the pork. Wrap the pan with some aluminum foil and increase the smoker temp to 300 degrees.
- While pork shoulder is still cooking, make your mango relish by combining all the ingredients. Place into the fridge until ready to use.
- Let it cook until the internal temperature of the shoulder reads 195-200. Remove from the smoker and let sit for at least 15 minutes.
- Take two forks and start pulling.
- After it is pulled add in the seasonings and the juice of one lime. Combine then place on top of your tortillas and lastly add the mango relish.
- Rub the pork with mustard and salt and place into the slow cooker. Pour the apricot nectar into the slow cooker, cover and cook for 8 hours on low.
- Remove and pull, add the seasonings and lime and mix until combined and then build up your tacos
- Rub the pork with mustard and salt and place into the Instant Pot. Pour the apricot nectar in and close the lid and make sure the valve is on "seal"
- Set on manual for 120 minutes, high pressure, then let it naturally release for 20 minutes.
- Open lid, remove pork and pull it. Mix in the seasonings and lime and then make your tacos adding the mango relish at the end!
What is your ideal taco? What does it have inside? Tell me all your taco secrets
