Shredded Pork Taquitos -- Perfect for Super Bowl Sunday

While creating my new recipe index, I discovered my earliest recipe posts from a year ago.  I was horrified at how unappetizing the photos of this recipe were!   I deleted the original post and went to work recreating the recipe.  In a way, I'm glad that I decided to take new photographs of these taquitos, because they are really good.  The first time that I made this recipe, I used a Dutch oven.  I roasted my own poblano peppers to flavor the braising liquid.  This time, I decided to use my pressure cooker and I took one more shortcut.  I began with a hefty 3 pound pork shoulder butt roast. At $1.49 a pound, it cost less than $5.00.

Let's begin: Season the pork roast with kosher salt & fresh cracked pepper.  I make my own blend of Mexican Seasoning that has garlic powder, chili powder, oregano and cumin.  I rub a generous palm full of the rub mix and pat it onto the roast. 

Searing the meat before braising in a Dutch Oven, Slow Cooker or a Pressure Cooker is a step I don't like to skip. I think it adds a lot more flavor to the braising liquid-- and I like the crust it leaves.  Sear each side of the pork, with enough olive oil to coat the pan for about 5 minutes per side.  A splatter shield helps to reduce the mess.

20 minutes later it's time to braise the meat. 

I decided to use my electric digital pressure cooker, instead of the oven or a slow cooker.  The day was getting late, and I wanted to see if I liked the results.  Remove the pork and set it into your choice of cooking vessel.  I added 2 cups of chicken stock-- later wishing I had remembered to deglaze the pan with the chicken stock to grab all those bits of flavor. D'oh! 

On a whim, I took a shortcut.  I had forgotten about a bottle of Salsa Verde I had purchased at Trader Joe's. I poured that all over the pork roast, then added chopped onion and a couple large cloves of fresh garlic along the side.  You don't have to do this, of course. I've even fire roasted  poblano peppers for flavor, or you can buy them canned.  The idea is to flavor the braising liquid...

Ready to be braised... in an oven, it takes about 4 hours at 275F.  In a slow cooker, I'd set mine for 6-8 hours.  But, in a pressure cooker, I set it for 45 minutes! Yep, that's right! See why I love my pressure cooker?

It worked!  The meat was cooked, and I saved the braising liquid.  I strained it, and froze it and I'll think of a way to use it-- probably to flavor some rice.

With two forks, the pork shredded pretty easily.  I'll be honest with you-- I think slow cooking it would have made this meat even more tender.  But, when pressed for time, that's when pressure cookers will save the day!

That's a lot of pork, for two people!  I froze half of it, and cubed a few chunks for a Thai-Style Pineapple & Pork Fried Rice (I have yet to post).   It's taquito time!

Cotija cheese is my favorite choice for Mexican food.  Otherwise, Monterey Jack is my second choice.

The cheese has a "drier" texture, when grated. 

This might sound weird, but I quickly wet a short stack of corn tortillas, and shake off the excess water. I wrap them in a paper towel and microwave them for about 30-45 seconds.  The idea is to soften them, otherwise the tortillas tend to break apart when rolling them.  Or, you could cover them with plastic wrap (dry) and steam them in the microwave.  Whatever floats your boat...

This is how much pork I put in each tortilla.  You could add cheese, too. I prefer to garnish mine with cheese. I made about 2 dozen taquitos, and decided to cook only 1 dozen. The remainder were covered with plastic wrap and stored in the fridge.

I didn't use nearly as much oil, as you might think.  In fact, I used just enough olive oil to coat a nonstick skillet.  Starting seam side down, cook until golden brown (medium-high heat)-- 2-3 minutes. Then turn over and repeat.  Or you could take my friend, Frieda's suggestion and make a bunch of these taquitos, and roll them into a baking pan. Spray a little oil on top, bake at 375ºfor 15 min. or until crispy -or- put them in a baking pan, spray with oil, then FREEZE. When frozen, put in a freezer Ziploc bag. Then pull out as many as you need and bake.

For garnishes, I used sour cream (with lime juice and chopped cilantro stirred into it), salsa and I made guacamole. For the record, I prefer a very simple quacamole of fresh avocado, fresh lime juice, some kosher salt and a little bit of fresh garlic.  I don't like sour cream, mayo or any other gunk in my guacamole!  Lime juice, is essential.

These were a bit hit with my husband and me.  The next day, I cooked the remaining dozen taquitos, when my son came to visit. He loved them, too.  I have a feeling I'll be making these for Super Bowl Sunday, along with my chili con carne.  As for the rest of the shredded pork-- I have plans to make empenadas.  

I'm definitely on a Mexican food kick, these days.  I've been making dishes with coconut, flan, beans and rice.  If I can find the time to sit down and catch up with editing and posting recipes, I hope to have them uploaded very soon!  

For a printable recipe, please scroll to the bottom of this post.  You can search my recipe index by category or by alphabet, too!  Just look for the photo of the Recipe Box on either sidebar and you'll be directed to the indexes.  Last, but not least-- thank you Emily, of The Blog Fairy, for designing my new blog button.   Seriously, I had a few bloggers ask if I had a button, so Emily worked her magic and I love it!

Please feel free to copy this and add it to your blog. 

It's the weekend, and I'm happy to see some clear skies after two weeks of rain ~ I'm counting the days until Spring!