Carnitas and Chorizo Tacos

Incredibly flavorful carnitas tacos with chorizo! These simple and delicious tacos are a unique change-up to your typical carnitas, yet are oh-so easy to make.

Just when you thought carnitas tacos couldn’t possibly get any better, we’re throwing chorizo in the mix. I know…mind: blown, taste buds: melting, soul: uplifted.

I know, I know, we’ve just entered the heat of summer and I’m telling you to cook. The good news is, this recipe won’t heat up your kitchen too too much. Quite honestly, I cook using my slow cooker more often than not in the summer because it contains the heat and I can just.step.away. If you’ve made the transition from crock pot to Instant Pot, you can absolutely use your Instant Pot instead.

In order to prepare these tacos, I start by make my classic crock pot carnitas (shredded pork) recipe. I typically set it up at night and allow it to cook reeeeal slow and low while I sleep. Once the meat has finished slow cooking and I’m ready to make the tacos, I simply transfer it to a big cast iron skillet with my favorite turkey chorizo and cook it until the moisture burns off and the meat becomes crispy. I’m all about a little crisp on my meat!

This recipe yields a lot of meat, which for my household is the absolute best “problem” to have. If you have a smaller household or you aren’t into leftovers, do feel free to halve the recipe straight down the middle.

Taco toppings? I keep this real simple, y’all. While I’m all about a fully-loaded taco, these tacos are so flavorful that I barely do anything with them – just some chopped onion, tomato, and cilantro for a bit of spunk and aesthetics is all you really need.

Speaking of onion, feel free to skip it altogether if you have IBS and are full-tilt Low-FODMAP – more often than not, I omit the onion and I never feel as though something is missing.

Let’s talk tortillas. When I make tacos, I typically go grain-free using store-bought paleo-friendly tortillas, but I do a corn tortilla every now and again. You can take whatever approach you’d like with these tacos, or you can turn the whole experience into a burrito…or a bowl…or a taco salad. You’ve got options, smalls!

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Carnitas and Chorizo Tacos

Yield: 10 people

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Inactive Time: 8 hours

Total Time: 8 hours 15 minutes

A double feature of carnitas and chorizo make these tacos absolutely incredible!

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Ingredients

• 1 small yellow onion, diced*
• 1 (4-lb) pork shoulder roast
• 1 Tbsp ground cumin
• 1 Tbsp paprika
• 2 tsp ground corriander
• 2 tsp garlic powder, *
• 1 tsp sea salt, to taste
• 8 ounces beer, see note**
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 (16-ounce) chub turkey chorizo, ***

For Serving:

• tortillas, of choice
• white onion, chopped
• tomato, chopped
• fresh cilantro, chopped

Instructions

1. Add the chopped onion to the crock pot. Sprinkle the meat with cumin, paprika, coriander, garlic powder, and sea salt and gently rub into the meat with your hands. Place the meat in the crock pot and add the beer and lime juice. Secure the lid and cook 8 to 12 hours on low.
2. Transfer the meat to a cutting board and use two forks to shred it. Place the meat back into the crock pot to allow it to soak up the juices.
3. When you're ready to prepare the tacos, heat a large cast iron skillet (I use a 12-inch) to medium-high. Add the chorizo and cook until meat is cooked through and the majority of the juices have burned off.
4. Using a slotted spoon (to strain the juices), transfer the shredded pork to the skillet and continue cooking until meat has a nice crisp to it and juices have burned off (note: this may need to be done in batches depending on the size of your skillet. If you aren't making a ton of tacos all at once, you can do this step with only part of the chorizo and part of the pork, saving the rest for later).

Make the Tacos:

1. Heat up your favorite tortillas using your preferred method (microwave, oven, or stove top). 
2. Load up the tortillas with the carnitas/chorizo mixture and top with chopped onion, tomato, and cilantro. Devour!

Notes

*Omit onion and garlic powder to make Low-FODMAP

**Go for a light beer, such as Corona or 805 - don't use anything too hoppy. Omit beer to make gluten-free (you won't need to replace it with anything else).

***I use Diestel Turkey Chorizo which is much leaner than pork chorizo and still absolutely delicious. Feel free to use your favorite chorizo.

Nutrition Information

Yield 10 Serving Size 1 grams
Amount Per Serving Unsaturated Fat 0g