Smoky Pulled Pork Tacos with Cherry-Peach Salsa
Jalapenos are the most popular chile peppers in the US. This is probably due to the availability and versatility of the chile. Jalapenos have a balanced combination of flavor and heat.
The demand for these have caused breeders to develop a broad range of varieties. You can now get jalapenos with various heat level and sizes. These can be used in salsas, stuffed, or eaten straight with cheeseburgers (my personal favorite).
Ingredients:
For the pork:
4-5lb pork butt (may be called pork shoulder)
salt & pepper
1 large sweet onion
4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce + 2 Tablespoons sauce
1/2 cup BBQ sauce
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
20oz Dr. Pepper
Fajita-sized flour quesadillas
For the Cherry-Peach Salsa:
1 cup chopped sweet cherries
1 cup chopped peaches (about 1 large peach)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 jalapeno, minced
salt
juice of 1 lime
Instructions:
Serves 6-8.
Cut onion into quarters then separate layers into the bottom of a 5 quart (minimum size) crock pot. Trim pork butt of excess fat then cut into 4-6 large pieces and season well with salt & pepper. Lay seasoned pork on top of onions then add chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, BBQ sauce, brown sugar, and Dr. Pepper. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or until pork is tender enough to easily shred with a fork.
Remove pork pieces from the crock pot and shred, then place into a bowl and set aside. Strain juices through a double layer of cheesecloth and add back to shredded pork. Serve with Cherry-Peach Salsa in flour tortillas.
For the Cherry-Peach Salsa: Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Make up to two days in advance.
Knock the chipotle peppers and adobo sauce down a bit if you are sensitive to heat but as is, the heat level is only about a 5/10, and the cherry-peach salsa helped tone it down too!
From iowagirleats.com