It is always taco Tuesday somewhere. After I had to close my Caribbean bar/restaurant, it took me a while to make tacos again. But here I am, eating and creating them. These beer-braised pulled pork taquitos with avocado lime crema are something I like to make every once in a while. The whole process is pretty straightforward. The base of this dish is slowly braised pork shoulder. You can braise it in anything you want, but I like beer. After that, you could also make some pulled pork sandwiches, but tacos are where my heart is.

Where I live, we don’t have long isles of frozen pre-made foods like tacos and taquitos. So I have to make everything myself. I like to make these more than the 2 of us would eat, wrap them in parchment paper, foil and pack them up. They keep well for a couple of months.

These kinds of frozen taquitos are easy to pull out of the freezer and have as a snack on a Friday night or just eat for lunch. I like to stack my freezer full of such emergency meals for times when time, money, or health is of the issue. It is easy to quickly reheat and enjoy a hot meal.

Ingredients

To make the main star of this dish, which is the beer-braised pulled pork, you will need only a couple of things.

Pork shoulder, I usually go for the pieces that are on sale, so any other piece with some fat would work well for this recipe
Salt, pepper, and paprika, my holy trinity of spices
The chipotle paste gives the dish some heat as well as the depth of flavor
Mexican beer, any light beer would work in this recipe, just make sure you like the beer before pouring it in the pot
Tomato paste, for adding some more depth of flavor

All these ingredients make the best beer-braised pork ever. You can adjust the flavors for your own liking, but for me, this is the base recipe for most of my pulled pork dishes. It is not too strong to overpower other ingredients, but delicious on its own too.

Instructions for pork taquitos

In order to make this recipe of pulled pork taquitos, you will have to do just a few things. Your oven and stovetop will do the rest.

First of all, you will need to rub the meat with your spices. I used a bit of olive oil as a binder because I am going to sear the meat before braising. In other instances, mustard or mayonnaise would also work.

One of the steps that I never skip is searing the meat. While it is perfectly possible to make pulled pork pot roast style without searing the meat first, that’s not what we are going to do. First of all, this recipe won’t need 8 hours of braising time. That first sear locks in the moisture which helps get more tender meat and crispier bits. So it is all a part of building flavor. All this will make these pulled pork taquitos so much better.

After all of your fillings are done, it is time to roll them up and bake them in the oven. You can freeze rolled taquitos for easy and accessible lunches and snacks. Just roll them in some parchment paper and place them in a ziplock bag. They keep for a few months in the freezer.

How to make avocado crema recipe

Crema di avocado is a creamy avocado sauce. Just as the name suggests. It consists of fresh avocado, greek yogurt, spices, lime juice, and some fresh coriander. The details may vary, but the result is always a delicious, creamy, and decadent avocado sauce. Perfect for tacos, chips, fries, and certainly these pulled pork taquitos.

Variations

Different protein – swap the pulled pork for some shredded rotisserie chicken for a no-hassle dinner that is ready in 20 minutes.

Spicy – add more of the chipotle paste or cayenne pepper for that extra kick. Or try serving with fresh or pickled jalapenos.

Lighter – skip the Greek yogurt in the sauce or try a plant-based substitute.

Flautas vs taquitos

The main difference between flautas vs taquitos is that flautas are made with large wheat tortillas whereas taquitos are smaller and usually made from corn tortillas. The fillings differ from the region, kitchen and each cook’s preference. These pulled pork taquitos are made using small wheat tortillas because corn tortillas are hard to find here. But imagine it being a rolled taco of various shapes and sizes. What’s not to love?

Pulled pork taquitos with avocado crema

chiliandtonic

These beer-braised pulled pork taquitos are served with refreshing and silky avocado crema, for the ultimate flavor. These can be enjoyed as a lunch or snacked on.

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 2

Total Time 2 10

Course Appetizer, lunch, Snack

Cuisine Mexican

Servings 4

Equipment

Food processor or blender

Ingredients

1 kg pork shoulder cut into large pieces
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp paprika
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp chipotle paste
350 ml Mexican beer
150 g tomato paste
300 ml water

Avocado crema

2 avocados
Juice of 1 lime
100 g greek yogurt
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Bunch of fresh cilantro
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp salt

Taquitos

200 g grated cheddar
16 small tortillas
1 roasted corn on the cob for serving
Limes for serving

Instructions

Rub your pork shoulder with olive oil and dry spices (salt, pepper, paprika)
Heat a large pot or dutch oven on medium-high and sear the meat from all sides until brown, about 5-7 minutes
Then add the beer, water, tomato paste, and chipotle paste
Turn the heat to medium-low and let braise under the lid for 60-120 minutes
Remove from heat and let cool at least 20 minutes before shredding
To make the avocado crema, blitz it in the food processor or blender until smooth
Preheat oven to 220 C
Mix the cheese with the meat
Place a couple of tablespoons of the meat and cheese filling on a tortilla, roll, and place on a sheet pan
Brush with oil
Bake for 7 minutes from each side
Serve the taquitos with the avocado crema and the grilled corn, squeeze some fresh lime on each when eating