Boneless Pork Shoulder braised in a homemade salsa verde that is a little bit spicy and super fresh. This recipe is so easy. It's a true Crock Pot recipe that is set it and forget it! You can make the pork in advance and use it in so many different ways. Tacos, quesadillas, burritos, and more can all be made with this simple green pork.
Course Main Course
Cuisine American, Mexican
Prep Time 15 minutesminutes
Cook Time 12 hourshours
Servings 12small tacos
Ingredients
3.0-3.5lbpork shoulder roast
3.5tspkosher saltdivided
1tspcoriander
1tspcumin
1tspchili powder
2bay leaves
1tspblack pepper
2large or 3 small jalapeños
2green bell peppers
1poblano pepper
1yellow onion
2clovesgarlic
1Cchicken stock
1bunch cilantro
1Mexican beersuch as Corona or Dos Equis
Garnish for Simple Green Pork Tacos:
flour or corn tortillas
cilantroroughly chopped
avocadodiced
cojita cheesecrumbled
white oniondiced
lime wedges
Instructions
Trim the pork shoulder to remove any thick layer of fat. You want fat on the pork so definitely don’t trim it all, but you want the flavors to penetrate the meat so if there is a thick fat cap, trim it down to show the meat.
Season the pork shoulder on all sides with 1 tsp black pepper and 2 tsp kosher salt. Heat a heavy bottomed sauté pan over medium high heat. Add a drizzle of olive oil and place the pork shoulder in the hot pan. Cook on all sides for about 2-3 minutes each or until well browned all the way around.
While the pork is searing, make the salsa verde. Core and cut the bell peppers and poblano into 2-inch pieces. Remove the seeds and stem from the jalapenos and cut into 1-inch pieces. Roughly chop the onion and smash the garlic cloves. Roughly chop the cilantro.
Place the peppers, onions, garlic cloves and cilantro in a food processor with the remaining 1.5 tsp of salt, cumin, coriander, and chili powder and puree until smooth or when the peppers are very finely minced. If you don't have a food processor, I recommend purchasing one like the Cuisinart I've linked to above. It's an essential utensil in my kitchen.
Pour the salsa verde into a crock pot and add the beer, chicken stock, and bay leaves. Mix with a wooden spoon. Add the seared pork shoulder. Turn the crock pot heat on to low and cook for at least 12 hours or up to 18 hours. Turn the pork over in the Crock Pot roughly halfway through cooking. No need to be exact, but you want both sides to have time to simmer in the salsa verde. The pork will be fall apart tender when cooked.
Once cooked, remove the pork roast and shred in a large mixing bowl. Add about ½ of the salsa verde cooking liquid to the pork and mix to combine. Season to taste with salt.
Notes
To recreate the tacos I've pictured here, place a generous portion of pork in a tortilla and top with cilantro, avocado, cotija onion, and a squeeze of fresh lime.