Slow cooker cider beer braised pork tacos. The holiday season is in full force, which means it’s time to pull out the slow cooker! But instead of my same old go-to recipes that are delicious, I wanted to mix it up a little today. These cider beer braised pork tacos with an apple-pomegranate salsa combine a ton of flavors in one tasty dish.
Tacos are definitely a go-to dinner for Lauren and me. Looking at the recipes I’ve posted so far, it might be my most posted category! With that in mind, I’m always looking for inspiration for new tacos and came across one from Half Baked Harvest… shocker I know! It may seem a bit weird to combine beer, apple cider, enchilada sauce and a ton of spices but believe me once you have one bite you’ll be hooked. It really is the apple-pomegranate salsa that puts these tacos over the top. You get a little heat from the chili garlic sauce and crunch from the apples and pomegranate arils.
Lauren and I are on the light end for spice so if you like your meals with some heat, I’d recommend adding one or two chipotle chilis in adobo sauce. Keep in mind, you do get some heat from the salsa. And in regards to the salsa, it’s pretty difficult to find pomegranates when they aren’t in season, so hopefully you’re trying to make this some time between October and February! So since you can realistically only make this for a few months out of the year, go out and get the ingredients and give these cider beer braised pork tacos a try. Enjoy!
These slow cooker cider beer braised pork tacos with an apple-pomegranate salsa combine a ton of flavors in one tasty dish.
- 2 lbs pork tenderloin, cut into 3 inch chunks
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 medium white onion, chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp light brown sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp cayenne
- 1 (10 oz can) red enchilada sauce
- 1 (8 oz) beer (I use lager)
- 1/2 cup apple cider
- Corn tortillas
- Feta cheese
- Limes for serving
- 2 honeycrisp apples, peeled and chopped
- arils from pomegranate
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 tbsp chili garlic sauce
- juice from 1 lime
In a large crockpot, add pork, onion, garlic, cumin, smoked paprika, chili powder, light brown sugar, salt, pepper and cayenne and toss so pork gets coated. Add enchilada sauce, apple cider and beer to crockpot and set to low for 8 hours or high for 4-5 hours. Shred pork with two forks.
Once pork is cooked, pre-heat broiler and place rack at top. Place aluminum foil on baking sheet. Using slotted spoon, transfer pulled pork to baking sheet and spread throughout in even layer. Place under broiler for about 5 minutes or until edges start to brown. Remove from oven and add 1/2 cup of leftover juice from slow cooker. Broil for additional 5 minutes. Remove again and add 1/2 cup of juice and broil again for 5 minutes.
For tortillas, heat small skillet over medium heat and cook for 30 seconds on both side. Serve pork over warm tortillas with fresh salsa, cheese, lime juice and extra cilantro if you want. Enjoy!
In medium bowl, add chopped apple, pomegranate arils, cilantro, lime juice and chili garlic sauce to bowl. Toss well to combine and cover and store in fridge until ready to serve. (PS if you need to know how to get pomegranate seeds, check out this video)
Love me some tacos!