Searching for a flavorful and easy-to-make dish? Try this crockpot barbacoa pork recipe! This slow-cooked pork is seasoned with a blend of spices, garlic, and lime juice, creating a tender and juicy meal that you can pair with various foods, like tacos, burritos, or simply served over rice.
The crockpot does all the work, making it a convenient option for busy weeknights or meal prepping. Get ready to enjoy a delicious dish that will become a family favorite!
Barbacoa Pork Origin
Barbacoa is a dish or a way of cooking meat that originated from the indigenous people in the Caribbean and later became an integral part of Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine. You can make it from various kinds of meat, such as lamb, beef, goat, or pork.
This barbacoa pork is incredibly tender and juicy, traditionally steam-cooked in an underground oven or slow-cooked over an open fire.
Today, a crockpot makes it easy to prepare barbacoa pork. This dish is perfect for tacos with fresh lettuce and zesty guacamole or a cheesy quesadilla for any Mexican meal or party.
Required Tools for Crockpot Barbacoa Pork
Creating barbacoa pork in your kitchen is quite easy with the help of the following kitchen tools.
Ingredients of Crockpot Barbacoa Pork
To recreate this barbacoa pork recipe, you will need all of the following ingredients.
How to Make Crockpot Barbacoa Pork
Follow those 5 simple steps to recreate the perfect crockpot barbacoa pork.
Step 1: Prepare Your Ingredients
Spread half the onions and garlic in the bottom of your crockpot.
Step 2: Add The Pork And Other Ingredients
Place the pork on top of the bed of onions and garlic, then layer the rest of these aromatics over the top. Sprinkle your brown sugar, oregano, lime zest, chili flakes, bay leaves, and chopped fresh chili over them.
Next, pour in the vegetable stock, soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, and lime juice. Donโt forget to add a suitable amount of salt and pepper.
Step 3: Cook Your Crockpot Barbacoa Pork
Gently stir the ingredients around the pork and close the lid of the crockpot. Set your heat setting to low and cook for 8 hours or until the pork is falling apart.
Step 4: Shred The Pork
When your pork is fully cooked, shred the pork with two forks until you have created bite-sized pieces.
Step 5: Garnish And Serve
Sprinkle the scallions and cilantro over the top of your shredded pork. Serve hot and enjoy!
Tips And Serving Suggestions for Crockpot Barbacoa Pork
Here are some tips and go-to serving suggestions that help you enhance the quality of your meal and give you a good idea of how flexible barbacoa pork is.
Storing Crockpot Barbacoa Pork
Crockpot barbacoa can be refrigerated for 3 – 4 days. If you want to save it for the next month (or season), just freeze it, and your pork will stay good for several months.
Donโt forget to keep it in a freezer bag or, even better, a vacuum-sealed container to avoid freezer burns.
Crockpot Barbacoa Pork: Letโs Make Pork Great Again!
Whether served with burgers, tacos, quesadillas, or nachos, this barbacoa pork recipe will never fail to impress you. Its sinfully succulent, tender goodness is simply too tempting to ignore.
I hope you love this recipe. Feel free to like and share my recipe with your friends and family. Donโt forget to leave a comment if you have any useful tips to share with other readers or want to tell me about your experience with barbacoa pork.
Crockpot Barbacoa Pork Recipe
Equipment
- Crockpot / Slow cooker
- Chopping Board
- Knife
- Fork
- Bowl
Ingredients
- 3 pounds pork butt or shoulder
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 1.5 cups vegetable stock
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon chipotle seasoning
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon lime zest
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 0.25 cup soft brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
- 2 fresh green chilies, de-seeded and finely chopped
- 0.25 cup scallions, chopped
- 0.5 cup fresh cilantro
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Set up the crockpot.
- Make a bed for your pork by sprinkling half the onions and garlic onto the bottom of your crockpot.Place your pork into the pot with the rest of the onions and garlic on top of it.
- Sprinkle lime zest, chili flakes, oregano, bay leaves, salt, pepper, and brown sugar into the pot.
- Drizzle in your lime juice, soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, and vegetable stock. Give the ingredients around the pork a little stir with a long spoon.
- Close the lip of the crockpot and cook on a low setting for 8 hours.
- Once the pork is tender enough, shred it with two forks.
- Add the fresh cilantro and green scallions on top. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Cooking the pork on a high setting can save time but will toughen rather than tenderize the meat. Therefore, stick to the directions for the best result.
Nutrition
Paige Gilmore
Content Writer
Expertise
Home Cooking, Food Editor, Cooking-video Maker, Food Styling, Food Photography, Cooking-video Maker, Data Analysis, Business Owner, Strategy & Marketing Director
Education
Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand
Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand
The Culinary Collective, New Zealand
Paige Gilmore is a versatile content creator from Auckland, with a focus on culinary arts and a distinctive foundation in science and analytics. Her varied skills enrich her cooking, enabling her to combine precise techniques with imaginative style in the kitchen.