When I smoke a pork shoulder the leftovers almost always go on rolls with some extra BBQ sauce. Pulled pork reheats well and the sandwiches are amazing. I've heard people talk about pulled pork tacos but I always put my nose up in the air and mutter something along the lines of, "well... I make pulled pork sandwiches, no need for this fancy stuff." Boy was I an idiot. Not only is this simple; it's amazing. I'm on a sriracha hot sauce kick so I decided to make a sriracha coleslaw to put on top. The next time I smoke a pork shoulder I'm putting on an extra pork butt and saving the leftovers just for soft tacos! Check this out:
Ingredients (for the sriracha coleslaw):
3 tsp Sriracha Hot Sauce (the cool red bottle with a lime green top and a rooster on the side)
1/2 tsp sugar
14 oz bag of pre chopped coleslaw mix
1.5 T white wine vinegar
1/4 cup + 1/8 cup of mayonnaise
1/8 tsp ground ginger
Salt and pepper
Ingredients (for the pulled pork soft tacos):
Soft taco shells
Avocados (sliced)
Cheese
Leftover pulled pork (even if it's already sauced)
This recipe assumes that you have pulled pork already prepared. If you don't, you might want to start out looking here for information on how to smoke a pork butt. I sauced my pulled pork with my favorite homemade sauce (BBQ sauce recipe is here) and froze it. It sat in the freezer for a couple of months and then I simply (gasp) put it in the microwave after it thawed out. As I said above it reheats really well and tastes amazing.
A few words about this coleslaw. This is a good coleslaw recipe for topping pulled pork. When I ate it alone all I could really taste was the heat from the sriracha sauce and the crunch from the shredded cabbage and carrots. On its own I think a coleslaw needs a little more (my favorite blue cheese coleslaw recipe is here). However, on pulled pork, this is the perfect coleslaw because it is so simple. On top of pulled pork you really only want a coleslaw that provides some spicy heat and some crunch. You'll be quite pleased if you use this coleslaw as a topping for either pulled pork sandwiches or for pulled pork soft tacos.
Nothing fancy here, add everything into a bowl except for the pre shredded coleslaw mix. Mix everything up well.
Finally add the coleslaw mix and again mix it up well. Taste it and add some salt and pepper if needed. If this isn't hot enough for you then by all means add some more sriracha hot sauce!
For these soft tacos I wanted just a few ingredients. I went with shredded taco cheese, sliced avocado, my leftover pulled pork (already sauced with a spicy tomato based BBQ sauce), and topped it with this really nice coleslaw. These were so good. I mean it. The Pulled Pork Soft Tacos with Sriracha Coleslaw were so good.
In fact, I ate about six of them during a football game I was watching. It's a shame my team lost, but at least the tacos were good.
I found the perfect slaw recipe for pork tacos, making some tonight. Thought you might like to try it.
SPICY NO MAYO COLE SLAW
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, or to taste
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar, red wine vinegar, or freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh chile, like jalapeño, Thai, serrano, or habanero, or to taste (optional)
1/4 cup peanut oil or extra virgin olive oil
6 cups cored and shredded Napa, Savoy, green, and/or red cabbage
1 large red or yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded, and diced or shredded
1/3 cup chopped scallion, more or less
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
1. To make the dressing, whisk together the mustard and vinegar in a small bowl, along with the garlic and chile. Add the oil a little at a time, whisking all the while.
2. Combine the cabbage, bell pepper, and scallion and toss with the dressing. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and refrigerate until ready to serve. (It’s best to let the slaw rest for an hour or so to allow the flavors to mellow; the cabbage will also soften a bit and exude some juice. You can let it sit longer, up to 24 hours, if you like. Drain the slaw before continuing.) Just before serving, toss with the parsley.
This is awesome slaw!