Fall Pork Tacos with Apple Slawsa

This past Friday I was part of the Food and Wine Festival in Des Moines at Hy-Vee Hall preparing for a beer dinner.  It was a special 4 course dinner that I had created the menu for and then each course is paired with a different.  I prepare a little bit of the menu in front of them showing how they could do it at home, they get knowledge about the beer and why it works and they get to ask questions.  It's always a fun event that lets me be creative and think of all the foods that I love about fall and winter and put it into one menu.

The appetizer started with a glazed donut crostini, topped with brie cheese, cranberry sauce, bacon and arugula.  All I did for the donut crostini was cut a glazed donut in half lengthwise, roll it in cinnamon sugar, place it on a flat griddle, top it with a pan and put a weight on it to smash it down.  Grill it for about 2 minutes on each side and then remove from the griddle.  It's still a little soft but it does crisp up and is amazing!  

The main course was a little play on a recipe that started in my house as a street taco but evolved into an amazing entree.  It was gnocchi in a sweet potato sauce topped with spiced braised pork and an apple slawsa.  Yes that's not a typo, I like to call it a slawsa because I make an apple salsa mix it with some shredded cabbage that gives the dish a nice refreshing crunch to it.

As you can see this is the fall pork taco that started the whole inspiration for the menu.  It's similar but with a little bit of changes you can make a whole new dish.  I like to tell people that my food is very simple to prepare if you enjoy cooking and learning.  Food preparation doesn't have to be a chore but can very enjoyable and relaxing if you let it.  

So for today I am giving you guys the step by step instructions for the fall tacos that is so good and so fresh that will make you wonder how you ever made it through your day without this little bit of heaven in your kitchen.

Full disclosure: It looks like it takes a lot of ingredients but it's worth it and each recipe doesn't take long at all to make.

First thing you want to do is in a small bowl add the salt, pepper, ground ginger and Chinese five spice and mix together to create a dry rub.  Take your pork butt roast, put it on a plate and rub the seasoning mix on all part of the pork.

 In a large skillet on medium high heat place the pork in the pan and brown the outsides of the pork.

**Note: I used a large bone in pork shoulder butt roast since it was an amazing price, and I have a big family**

Cook about 5 minutes on each side and set the pork aside.  

In a large crockpot, add the beef broth, soy sauce, dijon mustard and brown sugar in the bottom and add the pork butt.  Cook on low for 8 hours.

When it's finished, remove the pork to a plate, and shred with 2 forks, discarding any fat.  Put the shredded pork back in the crockpot to absorb all the juices and flavors of the au jus.

As you are waiting for the pork to cook, go ahead and start making your apple slawsa.  It will give the recipe time to meld the flavors together if you make it ahead. 

You can even make the apple salsa part the night before, but just don't add the shredded cabbage until the day of so that you still have the crunchy factor that makes the taco so fresh.

To make the apple salsa, clean, cut and core the apples and dice them into small pieces.  You can use any apple that you like.  I usually use pink lady apples since they are my favorite but this time I used the apples that I had gotten from my sisters tree.  

After you dice up the apples, dredge the apples in a little lemon juice and water to prevent from browning.  I usually take a cereal bowl add 2 Tbsp. of lemon juice and about 1 c. of water to dredge the apples in.  

Next dice up the green peppers, red onions, and jalapeños, nice and small.  I take the stem off, take out the ribs and seeds since that's where all the heat is.

When all the veggies are diced up, add them to a medium sized bowl with the cilantro.

Now it's time for the fresh ginger.  I know ginger can be scary to work with if you've never worked with it before but it's not that scary.  Also I know I used to not like adding fresh ginger to things and if you are that person please try it with it.  The fresh ginger gives the salsa a little bit of kick and a little added spice that makes this salsa unique.

So to use fresh ginger just cut off a small piece of the ginger to work with.    

I then take a spoon to remove the outer flesh of the ginger.  No need to use a knife, it will remove too much.

Then take a small microplane or grater and grate the amount needed.  This recipe only needs 1 tbsp.

Now add the ginger, apple cider vinegar, lime juice,

honey, and salt and pepper to the salsa.

All you have to do is mix it all up and

add in your sliced cabbage/ bagged coleslaw mix to complete the slawsa.  Go ahead and put the slawsa in the fridge to let all the flavors combine until the pork is ready.

 

For assembly:  Take a tortilla, add about 3 oz. of shredded pork, top with the apple slawsa, and top with extra cilantro if desired.

Enjoy the meal!  This is also one recipe that is delicious the next day or even days later.  It's a great meal prep idea that never gets old with such wonderful and contrasting flavors and textures.

Fall Pork Tacos with Apple Slawsa

Pork

1 Tbsp. Kosher Salt
1/2 Tbsp. Restaurant Black Pepper
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. Chinese 5 spice
2-3 lbs. Pork Butt Roast
1 c. beef broth
1/4 c. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. brown sugar

Apple Slawsa
2 c. diced apples, (honey crisp, pink lady, braeburn) dredged in lemon water to prevent browning
1/2 c.  diced green pepper
1/2 c. diced red onion
1 small fresh jalapeño, diced
2 Tbsp fresh minced cilantro
1 Tbsp. fresh grated ginger
1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. lime juice
2 tsp. honey
salt and pepper to taste
4 c. prepackaged coleslaw mix (no dressing) or thinly sliced cabbage

Also need tortillas for assembly

In a small bowl add the salt, pepper, ground ginger and Chinese five spice and mix together to create a dry rub.  Take your pork butt roast, put it on a plate and rub the seasoning mix on all part of the pork.  In a large skillet on medium high heat place the pork in the pan and brown the outsides of the pork.  Cook about 5 minutes on each side and set the pork aside.  In a large crockpot, add the beef broth, soy sauce, dijon mustard and brown sugar in the bottom and add the pork butt.  Cook on low for 8 hours.

While you are waiting for the pork to cook, in a large bowl add the apples, green pepper, red onion, jalapeño, cilantro, ginger, apple cider vinegar, lime juice, honey and salt and pepper and mix all around.  Add the shredded cabbage mix to the salsa, mix, cover and put in the fridge to meld the flavors.

When the pork is done, take the pork out of the crockpot, and shred with two forks, discarding any fat  and put it back in the crockpot to absorb all the juices.

For assembly:  Take a tortilla, add about 3 oz. of shredded pork, top with the apple slawsa, and top with extra cilantro if desired.  Enjoy!