Polynesian Pulled Pork Tacos

We have collaborated once again with Mark and Angela from Cooking with Wine Blog. They created a delicious Mexican-Polynesian fusion dish with these Polynesian Pulled Pork Tacos featuring our Lilikoi Chili Pepper Sauce . Not only are these tacos incredibly delicious, but the pulled pork is made in a slow cooker, making this recipe easier than ever to throw together!

You can head to the Recipe Here.

This take on one of our favorite Mexican dishes, tacos, brings the aloha spirit to the plate with Lilikoi, the Hawaiian word for Passion Fruit, and pineapple which is ubiquitous with island cuisine.

Polynesian Flavors

Polynesia is made up of the islands of Hawaii, New Zealand, and Easter Island where cuisine often revolves around pure, bold flavors.  Packing a ton of flavor into food is a passion of almost every chef – and in Hawaii, they do it expertly. Polynesian spice and herb blends typically mix flavors of allspice, ginger, cinnamon, garlic, onion, cumin, and coriander, amongst others.  Usually, you will find yourself enjoying a delicious combination of sweet and spicy flavors, which is exactly why this Polynesian Pulled Pork Taco recipe uses the Lilikoi Chili Pepper Sauce .

How to Cook the Pulled Pork

To make this recipe easy and approachable for everyone, it is prepared using a slow cooker. Isn’t the slow cooker one of the best inventions??!! The pork could easily be done in a smoker or in the oven; but in order to keep the recipe simple for everyone, we wanted to use the slow cooker. Pork roasts can be transformed into an incredible dish if treated properly and this way absolutely works. The spice rub is the first key to success in this recipe. You can choose to rub the pork down and immediately place it in the slow cooker, or let it rest for a day in the fridge with the rub on. Either way, you won’t be disappointed. Prep it in a way that works for you to keep this recipe as simple as possible.

Once you add the ingredients to the slow cooker, the hardest part is over. Well, besides the waiting! As the pork cooks, the spices tenderize the meat so when it is finally done, it is moist and falling apart, that perfect pulled pork texture. For best results, we cook this recipe on low for 8 hours in our slow cooker and it is worth the wait.

Once the meat is cooked, do not discard the juices from the slow cooker! This is a critical step! The pulled pork is tasty right after removing it from the slow cooker, but the magic happens in the skillet after the pork is done. Use the juices from the slow cooker to saute the meat in a skillet. This will further deepen the flavors and caramelize the meat every so slightly before you add in the sweet and spicy Lilikoi Chili Pepper Sauce. Right before serving, add a little bit of the Lilikoi Chili Pepper Sauce  to the pan to finish it off. The pork at this point is incredibly flavorful and can be eaten as is in a taco, as a sandwich, or however you want, but adding the toppings takes these tacos to another level.

Polynesian Pulled Pork Taco Toppings

The taco topper could be almost anything you want but you really need to give this one we created a try. We combined red onions and Serrano peppers with lime juice and the Lilikoi Chili Pepper Sauce to make this topping. The citrus sweetens the red onions and breaks down the pungency and bitterness, while the Lilikoi Chili Pepper Sauce  adds a bit of sweet heat to the mix. Serrano peppers are what we prefer, but you could drop it down a notch with jalapenos or drop it down even more and omit them. Keep in mind citrus also cuts the heat of peppers by quite a bit so if you like a little bit of heat and want that true pepper flavor, i recommend leaving a mild pepper in the mix. Finally, we finish off this topping mix with some diced fresh mango to add some extra sweetness and South Asian Flavor to the mix. It’s a match made in heaven for this pork. If you like it, add cilantro at the very end as a garnish; it adds a nice pop of color and thereby finish to the dish, tying everything together.

What Type of Tortillas are Best?

This is all up to preference! Personally, I like flour tortillas with this recipe; but if you are gluten-intolerant or just prefer corn tortillas, you can use those instead. Maybe you like them crispy? That’s okay, too! Go crazy, experiment with your tortilla choices, have one of each.

Click HERE to download the recipe.

Aloha,

Rochelle

The Passion Fruit Lady

Recipe and Photos by Angela and Mark from Cooking with Wine blog