Cinco De Mayo is a holiday held annually on May 5th to celebrate Mexico’s victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla on the same date in 1862. Ironically, the holiday isn’t incredibly popular in Mexico, but the United States has adopted the day as a chance to commemorate Mexican culture, heritage, and food. 

Being from San Antonio, Texas, I grew up eating Tex-Mex, attending the Battle of Flowers parade during Fiesta, and observing the rich Tejano culture inherent to the city. It also goes without saying that I picked up a few killer taco recipes, but these Green Chile Pork Tacos are by far my favorite. These are the perfect tacos for a festive Cinco De Mayo party with friends and family.  If I’m feeling extra fancy, I’ll serve them up with homemade tortillas, fresh guacamole, and Chuy’s jalapeno ranch.

Tools You’ll Need

• Prep bowls, for mixing your spices and your tortilla dough
• Large Dutch oven, to cook your pork shoulder
• Whisk, to mix your dry dough ingredients
• Cutting board, for dividing your tortilla dough
• Kitchen knife or bench scraper, for dividing your tortilla dough
• Kitchen towel, to cover your tortilla dough
• Cast iron skillet, to cook your tortillas
• Rolling pin or tortilla press, to roll out your tortilla dough
• Tongs, to flip your tortillas
• Food processor, to blend your jalapeno ranch
• Bowls, for serving your tortilla chips, dips, and garnishes

Ingredients

For Your Pork

• 6-8 lbs. Pork shoulder (AKA Boston Butt)
• 4 tablespoons chili powder
• 4 tablespoons ground cumin
• 4 teaspoons oregano
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 3 teaspoons salt and pepper
• 4 to 5 jars (16 oz) of green chile salsa (AKA salsa verde)

For Your Tortillas (optional)

• 4 cups of all purpose flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• 1 ⅔ cups hot water
• ¼ cup vegetable oil

For Your Jalepeno Ranch (optional)

• ¾ cup sour cream
• ¾ cup mayonnaise
• 1 packet of dry ranch dip
• ¼ teaspoon garlic salt
• ½ cup tightly packed cilantro leaves
• ½ to ¾ cup jarred pickled jalapenos (plus some of the juice from the jar)
• ½ cup buttermilk
• 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

If you want to try different taco recipes, try some from this fun Taco 101 Card Deck, which includes 30 taco recipes

Instructions

For Your Pork

• Preheat your oven to 450°F (230°C).
• Combine your spices in a small prep bowl and set aside.
• Place your pork shoulder in a large Dutch oven and coat it on all sides with your spice mixture, using your hands to rub the spices into the meat (warning: this will be messy).
• Once your pork shoulder is coated in your spice mixture, pour your jarred green chile salsa around the pork until ¾ of the meat is completely submerged.
• Place your Dutch oven in the pre-heated oven, uncovered, for 3-4 hours (or until you’re able to easily shred the meat with a fork).
• Shred the meat and serve with corn or flour tortillas and your favorite toppings.

For Your Tortillas (Optional)

• In a large bowl, whisk together your flour and salt.
• Add the water and vegetable oil, using your hands to mix until the liquid is absorbed and the dough has formed into a cohesive ball (if the dough is too sticky, add a bit more flour until it reaches a play-dough texture).
• Transfer the dough to a floured cutting board and knead until it becomes smooth.
• Use a kitchen knife or bench scraper to divide the dough into 12 equal-sized balls, flattening each ball slightly with your palm (they should resemble hockey pucks).
• Sprinkle each piece of dough with flour on both sides, cover with a clean kitchen towel, and set aside. 
• Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. 
• Use a rolling pin or tortilla press to roll out each piece of dough into an 8-inch circle before transferring to the hot pan. 
• Cook each tortilla for 1 minute.
• Use tongs to flip and cook for another 30 seconds, or until golden brown spots have formed on both sides. 
• Transfer finished tortillas to a tortilla warmer while you roll out and cook the rest of the tortillas. 

For Your Jalepeno Ranch (Optional)

• Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor. 
• Blend on high until smooth in consistency, and add more cilantro, lime juice, or buttermilk according to taste. 
• Serve with chips or drizzled over your tacos. 

Recipe Notes

• If you don’t feel like making your own seasoning blend, you can substitute 3-4 packets of taco seasoning to coat your pork shoulder.
• Serve with Prepara'sTaco Carousel, Taco Holders, and Taco Bowls.