Prickly Pork

Submitted by PalatablePastime

"This is a rather unusual recipe that I came up with using the crockpot with outstanding results. You can serve this up alone, in taco shells, or soft tortillas...any way, the result is great! Nopalitos (cactus pieces) have a flavor that is all their own, but can be kind of like a mild artichoke flavor and if it is spiced in the jar, can have a little green chile taste. You can get the nopalitos in the Mexican section of your supermarket or any Mexican grocer."

 

• Ready In: 6hrs 25mins
• Ingredients: 15
• Serves: 4-6

ingredients

• 2 lbs boneless pork blade roast, trimmed of fat (may substitute boneless pork chops)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
• 1 (14 ounce) jar cactus pieces, rinsed,drained,and sliced (nopalitos)
• 1 yellow onion, sliced (rings separated)
• 3⁄4 cup ranchera salsa (or other salsa)

• Suggested Serving Accompaniments

• fresh flour tortilla (optional)
• taco shell (optional)
• shredded lettuce (optional)
• shredded cheese (optional)
• sour cream (optional)
• salsa (optional)

directions

1. Cut roast into large chunks and either season roast (or chops) with salt, pepper, cumin, garlic, and oregano.
2. Place meat in the bottom of the crockpot.
3. Cover meat with rinsed/drained/sliced nopalitos (cactus) and sliced onions and top with salsa.
4. Cover crockpot and cook on low for 6 hours or until pork is cooked through, tender, and pullable with fork.
5. Strain meat and vegetables from crockpot.
6. Using 2 forks, shred meat and mix with vegetable mixture (may add some of the juice from the crockpot if you like it more moist) Serve shredded meat mixture as desired: with tortillas, taco shells (with or without toppings), or alone.

Reviews

[Chef Dartha]

This is a great recipe to put together before going out the door to work. I've only used the nopalitos in a salad. Thanks for sharing.

 

[FLKeysJen]

Terrific invention, and love the name! This is fabulous, and so easy. I used a lot more spices than the amounts given. Don't be scared by the cactus...it's really good!

 

[MamanOf3]

Excellent recipe! I used the spicey cactus and a mild salsa. Even with the mild salsa, the dish was very spicy. I cooked the recipe on high in my crockpot as I didn't have 6 hours until dinner, and the pork came out tender. Also, this way, the pork didn't have time to absorb the fiery flavor from the sauce, so I could pick out just the pork for my young children. Great family recipe!

 

[moxie]

Great, tender pork, and I really liked the addition of nopalitos -- they are so common in the supermarket here, but I never know what to do with them, lol. The ones I got were spiced, so between that and the other spices, this dish had a great amount of heat. Good tacos, and I plan to use some of it in taquitos, too. Thanks for a novel and tasty recipe!