This recipe is all about making your life easier and your dinners more delicious. Just toss a few simple ingredients into your slow cooker, set it, and you can basically forget it. Before you know it, you’ll be assembling delicious tacos that are perfect for any get-together or a cozy family meal. Don’t worry about leftovers—this taco meat freezes beautifully, ensuring you have a quick, tasty meal ready whenever you need it.

You can even turn this taco meat into another delicious meal like Pulled Pork Nachos or our popular Pulled Pork Loaded Potato.

Why Our Recipe

  • Effortless slow cooker dinner with minimal preparation required.
  • Easily cater to a large group without any extra work—perfect for gatherings.
  • Make a large batch and freeze for later, ensuring you always have a delicious meal on hand.
Close up view of pulled pork tacos.

This recipe is all about simplicity and maximum flavor. Start with a boneless pork butt roast, season it with garlic, salt, and pepper, and let your slow cooker work its magic. After the pork is tender and juicy, enhance it with a sweet and savory salsa mixture, then shred it for a taco filling. This recipe not only makes a generous quantity, perfect for feeding a crowd or saving for later but also offers flexibility in toppings and tortilla choices.

Pork Roast Cuts

Pork Butt: also known as Boston Butt. This fat marbling is what gives the pork butt its rich flavor and succulence, making it ideal for slow cooking methods like oven braising or slow cooking, where it can render down and infuse the meat with juiciness.

Pork Shoulder: also known as picnic shoulder or picnic roast. This cut is leaner than the pork butt, but still offers a good amount of fat, making it a suitable alternative for pulled pork. The pork shoulder might need a tad more attention to ensure it doesn’t dry out during cooking.

Boneless vs. Bone-In: Bone-in can deepen flavor but takes longer to cook. Boneless is more convenient and offers more meat per pound.

Money Saving Tip: When you purchase a bone-in roast you are paying for the weight of the bone as well as the meat. The bone in a pork shoulder or butt weighs between 8 and 12 ounces. Bone-in is often cheaper and the more economical choice, especially on the larger roasts, but sometimes it’s not! It’s not always what you’d expect so be sure to check.

Sweet & Spicy Adjustments

Spice Level: The choice of salsa controls the heat—select mild for less spice or hot for a bolder kick.

Sweetness: Adjust the brown sugar to your liking. Less sugar highlights the pork and salsa flavors, while more enhances sweetness and depth.

Spices: Fine-tune the amounts of cumin, salt, and pepper to match your taste or dietary needs.

Pulled pork tacos.

Storage and Reheating Instructions

Refrigerate leftover pork in an airtight container. The USDA recommends that leftover pork be consumed within 4 days.

Freeze leftover pork in a resealable plastic bag for up to 6 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before using.

Reheat on the stovetop in a skillet or saucepan over medium-low heat until warmed through, adding a bit of water or broth to maintain moisture.

Reheat in the microwave on high in 30-second increments until warmed through. Stir in between to ensure even heating.

More delicious slow cooker taco meats…