These slow-cooker pork tacos bring spicy and sweet flavors, like Thai green curry and pineapple salsa, to warm you from the inside out.
Few dishes make me drool like a spicy, slow-cooked pork roast. Maybe it’s because I ate so much pork shoulder as a kid—it was cheap, flavorful, and could easily feed my whole family. Nothing was more mouthwatering than the aroma of a roast slowly cooking.
This recipe, in particular, will fill your house with incredible smells. Thai green curry, in my opinion, is the brightest, most aromatic curry out there. It’s packed with garlic, lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, cilantro, cumin, white pepper, and more (the exact blend depends on the brand of curry paste you use). And to this mix you’ll add even more vibrant flavors, like ginger, pineapple juice, fish sauce, and sriracha.
Once the pork is fall-apart tender, stuff warm tortillas with the juicy shredded meat. Then top with the pineapple salsa. Sweet pineapple chunks, fresh cilantro, red onion, and lime juice make a salsa so good, you’ll want to eat it straight from the bowl. If you’ve never had pork with pineapple before, get ready to put this combo on repeat.
Are Green Curry Pork Tacos With Pineapple Salsa Healthy?
These pork tacos are fairly healthy, especially when combined with pineapple salsa. That said, pork shoulder can be quite fatty. The fat cap on the pork roast is cut off in this recipe, so there will be a bit less fat than there otherwise would be. Pork has plenty of protein and is rich in B vitamins, while pineapples contain manganese, fiber, and vitamin C.
This recipe is free of dairy and gluten, but make sure to check the labels on your fish sauce and green curry paste to be sure no dairy or gluten is used.
Demystifying Pork Shoulder Roasts
If you aren’t a regular pork shoulder shopper, chances are you’ll run into some confusion while picking out your pork roast at the grocery store. If you see one labeled “pork shoulder roast,” count yourself lucky. With all the names of pork roasts, how are you supposed to know which one is a shoulder? Blade roast, picnic shoulder, picnic roast, Boston butt, pork butt—they are actually all pork shoulder roasts.
Pork shoulder is technically one cut, but there are two subsections of the shoulder cut. The lower shoulder cut is called picnic shoulder, and the cut above that is called pork butt or Boston butt. (Yes, the “butt” cut is actually the shoulder. The actual butt of a pig is called the ham!)
Boston butt typically has more fatty marbling, so it comes out more tender, while picnic shoulder cuts have a lot of connective tissue, so they benefit from longer cooking or braising. Because the cooking time in this recipe is about eight hours, any shoulder cut will work, so don’t sweat it if you can’t find a Boston butt.
How Do I Store Leftovers?
Store completely cooled leftover shredded pork in airtight containers in the fridge for 3-4 days. For longer storage, freeze leftover pork in freezer-safe containers or Ziploc bags for up to 3 months. Consume any leftover pineapple salsa within 3 days.
Serving Suggestions
Serve these Thai-inspired tacos with other Thai-themed dishes, like this Thai Mango-Avocado Salad With Grilled Sweet Potatoes. Alternatively, this dish goes great with traditional Mexican and Tex-Mex fare, such as Refried Beans and Mexican Rice. Don’t forget the Spicy Margarita!
If you aren’t feeling much like tacos, keep in mind that this juicy shredded pork shoulder also makes a great protein for a rice or quinoa bowl, and it works as a burrito filling too.
Ingredients
For The Pork:
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons Thai green curry paste
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil melted and divided
- 2 teaspoons coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon sriracha
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 pounds pork shoulder roast pork butt or Boston butt, if possible
- 1/4 cup pineapple juice
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons ginger minced
For The Pineapple Salsa:
- 2 cups pineapple tidbits 20-ounce can, drained
- 1/3 cup red onion minced
- 1/2 – 3/4 cup cilantro roughly chopped, use more if you like cilantro!
- 1-2 large limes juiced, to taste
- 1 pinch of salt
- Sriracha to taste
- 16-20 white corn tortillas for serving
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together the curry paste, 1 tablespoon of coconut oil (reserve the rest for later), the coconut sugar, fish sauce, sriracha, and salt. Set aside.
- Place the pork into a 7-quart (or larger) slow cooker and pat the curry paste mixture all over the roast. Don't put very much of the rub on the fat cap of the roast, as you're going to remove it later and you don't want to lose that flavor. If the roast has a slit in it, pat some of the paste inside the roast as well.
- Turn the pork to make sure the fat-cap is facing up. Pour the pineapple juice into the bottom of the slow cooker, followed by the garlic and ginger.
- Cover and cook on low until very tender, about 8-10 hours.
- Once the pork is tender, transfer it to a cutting board and turn the slow cooker up to high heat so the sauce can reduce a little.
- Remove the fat cap from the pork carefully with a knife and scrape off any really fatty bits. Shred the pork with two forks.
- Heat a 1/2 tablespoon of coconut oil in a large pan on medium-high heat. Add in half the shredded pork and spread out evenly into the pan, pressing down firmly, until pork is brown and crispy. Once crispy, flip the meat and repeat until the other side is golden brown. Add 3/4 cup of the juice from the slow cooker into the pan, and let cook for 2-3 minutes until soaked into the pork. Transfer to a large bowl and repeat the same process with the remaining pork.
- Once all the shredded pork has been crisped and browned, mix together the salsa ingredients (pineapple tidbits, red onion, cilantro, lime juice, and salt) in a small bowl. Add sriracha, to taste.
- Warm the tortillas in a hot, dry pan, without overlapping tortillas, until they're slightly toasted on both sides. Divide the pork between the tortillas and then place 2 tablespoons of the salsa (or as much as you like) on top of each taco.
Nutrition Info:
Nutrition information are estimates only and may vary based on the specific brands, ingredients, and portion sizes you use. This data is provided for informational purposes only.
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