Barbacoa Pork Tacos with Honey-Lime Slaw

I’ve realized that I really need to get something written if I want to post at all in January. This blogging procrastination is not a good way to start off a new year. I’ve haven’t been doing as much cooking this month and when I have, it hasn’t been exciting enough to go through the process of taking picture and writing about it.

I think our house has been struck by a post-holiday letdown. (I won’t admit how long it took me to actually take down my Christmas tree.) I will tell you that this picture accurately portrays the motivation level at our house.

Yep, it’s pretty non-existent.

We did make it out of town to visit my parents this month, which is where I picked up the recipe I’m writing about today. My parents had fixed fish tacos with honey-lime slaw and chipotle sour cream. I decided to try it out with a different kind of meat.

I had bookmarked Skinny Taste’s sweet barbacoa pork recipe a couple months ago. My version might not be as “skinny” since I used regular Coke instead of Coke Zero.

For the barbacoa pork, you begin by marinating a 2.5 lb pork loin roast in a mixture of 6 oz of Coke, ¼ cup of brown sugar, and a dash of garlic powder, salt, and pepper for a few hours. Once the meat is removed from the fridge, add ¼ cup water. The original recipe says to leave this in the crockpot on high for 3-4 hours. I was wanting to leave mine overnight, so I left it longer on low.

Next, remove the pork from the crockpot and discard the liquid. Using a couple of forks, shred the pork.

At this point, the smell of pork was wafting through the kitchen and caught the attention of one of my previously unmotivated Helpers, who began her usual reconnaissance misson from one of the bar stools. I'm guessing my other Helper was probably busy covering up the living room's heating vent.

Once all the pork is shredded, place it back in the crockpot. Cover the pork with the following mixture:

• 8 oz Coke
• 6 oz can sliced green chilies
• 8 oz tomato sauce
• 1 chipotle chili in adobo sauce (chopped)
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder
• 1/8 tsp cumin
• 1/8 tsp chipotle chili powder
• salt and pepper
• 1/3 cup brown sugar

Combine with the shredded pork and cook on high for 1 ½ hours more.

I also added some sliced red onion and a couple extra chipotles. I thought 3 chipotles and a teaspoon of the adobo sauce was a good amount of heat to balance the sweetness. Then again, my husband has made me try so many hot sauces with pictures of skulls consumed by flames or words like “muerte” or “fire” on the bottle that I may not be the best judge anymore.

I made the slaw about an hour before the meat was done so that the flavors would have a chance to combine. To make the slaw, first thinly slice half a cabbage lengthwise into strips.

In a small bowl, mix together 3 tablespoons honey, 3 tablespoons lime juice, and some chopped jalapeno. Whisk that together and pour it over the top of the cabbage, tossing the cabbage and dressing before serving.

For the chipotle sour cream, combine one chopped chipotle with 4 oz sour cream.

Finally, place the barbacoa pork, slaw, sour cream, and any other desired taco fixings into your choice of tortilla or taco shell. We had some shredded cheese, salsa, and guacamole on the table as extras.