Mexican flavoured pulled pork
Mexican flavours
For the Mexican flavoured pulled pork the spices used are essential to get the aroma and the required flavour. The combination of spices I used in this recipe I actually adapted from my other Mexican flavoured dish – Mexican chicken and rice tray bake.
Cuts of pork meat to use
Whenever I make pulled pork I prefer to use pork neck or pork shoulder. These cuts are perfect for slow cooking as well as for grilling to make souvlakia. The pork is able to not dry out while becoming completely tender. So much so that just by using two forks you can
Cooking process
The process of preparing this Mexican flavoured pulled pork dish is super easy! Firstly you just need to assemble the ingredients and in particular all the spices needed. Secondly use a baking dish to lay out the tomato sauce, water, lime juice and black beans. Thirdly mix all the spices needed for the seasoning in a small bowl, rub the pork with some extra virgin olive oil and then the seasoning all around the meat. Finally just place the pork in the sauce, seal well and then into the oven!
Storage and how to eat it
This Mexican flavoured pulled pork recipe makes a large amount of meat so it’s great for a big family or a gathering. You can use the pulled pork to create DIY platters, tacos, wraps, salads or even with some rice and salad. Any extra amount of Mexican flavoured pulled pork I love to freeze and use on another day.
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- 2 kg boneless pork shoulder or neck, with excess fat removed
- 2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup lime juice
- 500 g vegetable pasta sauce, see notes1
- 2 ½ cups hot water
- 1 400 g can of black beans, washed and strained
- 4 tsp dried oregano
- 3 tsp sweet paprika or smoked paprika
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 ½ tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground cayenne pepper, see notes3
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Preheat the oven to 170°C fan forced. Use a baking dish that is large enough to fit the pork snug without too much excess space.
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Combine the spices in a small bowl so that they are evenly mixed. Rub the pork with some olive oil followed by the seasoning mix. Ensure the meat is fully covered with the dry rub. The pork shoulder I used was butterflied as the bone was removed. So I ensured the whole area was seasoned well.
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Pour the tomato sauce, lime juice, hot water in the baking dish and stir in the black beans. Then place the seasoned pork on top.
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Cover the baking dish with some baking paper followed by aluminum foil to seal it all well. Place the food in the oven for 4 hours. After that time the meat will be tender and ready to shred. Use two forks to help you shred the meat into the tomato sauce. Serve warm in some fresh bread buns, wraps or even a fresh salad.
1. The vegetable pasta sauce I use is the one from Aldi. It has chopped zucchini, capsicum, celery and onion in it and some flavourings. You may choose to simply use a passata sauce, which is just pureed tomatoes and just add some of the meat seasoning in it.
2. If you do not have all these spices you can replace them with the taco seasoning packets. Each packet is usually for 500g of meat. Hence for 2kg of pork, as per the recipe above, you’ll need to use four packets of taco seasoning. I’ve used the El Paso mild brand and it was sweeter than my spice mix above but it is convenient. And there is no need to add salt as there is some in it already.
3. You may replace the cayenne pepper with a dry chilli flakes of your choice. Another option is to chop some fresh chilli in the sauce rather than on the meat.
