Shredded Pork Tacos

I tried something new tonight and it turned out so good that I had to immediately blog about it so I didn't put it off like usual. Also I'm trying to be better about paying attention when I'm cooking so that I actually have some sort of recipe to include in the post rather than my usual style of "a little of this, a little of that" and having no idea what I put in something by the time it's done. How I usually cook new things is to research a bunch of recipes online, pull parts from each that sound good and then throw something together - unless of course I'm baking where I'm more precise with measurements and tend to stick to one recipe at a time.

So I've been wanting to make this Tyler Florence Mexican Pork Chili ever since I first came across it but summer in Tennessee is not exactly chili weather and also...I can admit it...I'm scared of cooking with tomatillos. Not sure why, I love eating them in things but just have always been intimidated about using them myself. So the other day I came across some boneless pork spare ribs in my freezer and was thinking about what I could make with them and I was thinking about the chili recipe when I came up with the idea to braise the pork with tomatillos, onion, poblano pepper and garlic then shred the pork for tacos, enchiladas, taco salads, etc. and pureed the veggies and braising liquid into a sauce. I planned to do this over the weekend but ran out of time so I seasoned up the pork last night so that I just had to throw everything together tonight when I got home and let it sit in the oven and do it's magic. The result was a late taco dinner but very much worth the wait!

-Season pork ribs (I used about 2 lbs) with salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, paprika & a little cayenne
-Chop 1 medium onion, 1 large pablano pepper, and 3 tomatillos into large chunks
-Preheat oven to 375 degrees
-Cover bottom of large covered dutch oven with olive oil and heat over med. high
-Brown pork ribs on both sides
-Add in vegetables
-Add 2 cups chicken stock, 1/2 cup good tequila, juice of 1/2 lime, 2 tablespoons minced garlic (or less, I like garlic!), and about a cup of water until the meat is covered with liquid.
-Place cover on pan and cook in oven for 2 hours
-Remove meat from liquid and rest before shredding
-Skim fat from liquid and pureed with hand blender or in food processor, reduce down to desired consistency

That's it - awesome shredded pork with tons of flavor and a great texture plus a tasty sauce for tacos or enchiladas, burritos, etc. I'll be eating this pork all week y'all!

I used the pork and sauce in a couple of corn tortillas with avocado, cheese, sour cream and cilantro above - so good!