You know those recipes that get passed around from family member to family member or all around the office?  Well, this is one of those recipes.  A co-worker of mine gave this to me a few years ago and I’ve since passed it on to a few more people at work.  It’s just that good.  Plus, the recipe can be adapted to feed as many people as you want and is a big hit on summer holidays. 

Some of Craig’s family came to town recently and we had everyone over to our apartment for some good eats.  We based our whole meal around Cuban flavors with this as the star dish.  The trick to pulled pork is the lower oven temperature and long four-hour cook time.  So, yeah, you pretty much have to plan this one ahead of time.  It’s not exactly a throw together on a random Tuesday night kinda dish.  But believe me, it’s worth the wait!   

Pulled Pork Tacos
Adapted from Real Simple, June 2006

2 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 cup apricot jam/jelly
2 jalapeños, seeded and sliced
1 red onion, chopped
corn tortillas, warmed
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1-2 limes, cut into wedges

Heat oven to 300 degrees.  Place two large sheets of aluminum foil on top of one another on  a work surface.  Place the pork in the center of the foil and season all sides with salt, pepper, and cumin.  Spoon and spread jam onto each side of the pork.  Scatter the sliced jalapenos and onion onto and around pork.  Fold the four layers of the foil in towards the center and crimp to form a packet.  Place packet in a large baking dish and roast pork until fork tender, about 4 hours.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.  Unwrap the pork, reserving the juices, and shred into a serving dish.  Pour the remaining juices, jalapenos, and onion over the pork and toss to combine. 

To make the tacos, spoon shredded pork onto corn tortillas.  Garnish tacos with a squeeze of lime and cilantro.  Serves around 10 (20 small tacos).

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