Slow-Cooked Pork Burritos

2031 season: 5-0. The program is rolling. Marco is leading the conference in rushing for the third consecutive season. The defense has a freshman linebacker named Torres who I've been watching since middle school and who is DeShawn Willis's spiritual successor — same internal fire, same football intelligence, same ability to see the offense before it happens. You get one of these every eight or ten years if you build the right environment. They come to programs where the standard is high enough to challenge them. Torres came here. He'll be here when I'm not.

Diego played in the NFC Championship game this year. They lost by four. He called afterward and we talked about the game for an hour — not the emotion of losing, just the game. The play-by-play. The decisions. He processes loss the way I process loss: with analysis first, emotion later, when the analysis is complete. He got this from me. He got it by watching me process losses for his entire life. The things you pass on aren't only the things you intend.

Elena published her first story in a national literary magazine — a journal that publishes adult writers, not student writers. She's seventeen. The story is about a grandfather who teaches his granddaughter to make tamales by pointing at things rather than explaining them. It's about Hector. It's about what it means to learn a thing from someone who loves you before they know it needs to be learned. She sent it to me before it published. I read it three times. I called her. She answered on the first ring. I said, "You got it right." She said, "I know." She'd been getting it right her whole life. She needed me to say it.

When Elena sent me that story — the one about Hector pointing at things instead of explaining them — I read it three times and then I went to the kitchen. Not because I was hungry, but because that’s what our family does: we process meaning through food. Tamales were Hector’s language, and while I’m not Hector, I know how to put something in a slow cooker in the morning and let it work all day the way love works — quietly, without announcement. These slow-cooked pork burritos are my version of that conversation, the one where you don’t explain what you’re doing because the person you love already understands.

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 8 hours | Total Time: 8 hours 20 minutes | Servings: 8

Ingredients

1 boneless pork shoulder roast (3 to 4 lbs)
1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes with green chiles, undrained
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
8 large flour tortillas (10-inch)
2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
1 cup sour cream (optional, for serving)
1 cup salsa (optional, for serving)

Instructions

Prepare the pork. Trim excess fat from the pork shoulder. Place the roast in a 5- or 6-quart slow cooker.
Add aromatics and seasonings. Pour the diced tomatoes with green chiles over the pork. Add the chopped onion and minced garlic. Sprinkle chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper evenly over the top.
Slow cook. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours, until the pork is very tender and shreds easily with a fork.
Shred the meat. Remove the pork from the slow cooker and shred with two forks. Return the shredded meat to the cooker and stir in the black beans. Cook uncovered on high for 15 minutes to allow the mixture to thicken slightly.
Warm the tortillas. Wrap tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave for 30 seconds, or warm individually in a dry skillet over medium heat until pliable.
Assemble the burritos. Spoon about 3/4 cup of the pork and bean mixture onto the center of each tortilla. Top with shredded cheese. Fold in the sides and roll up tightly.
Serve. Place burritos seam-side down on plates. Serve immediately with sour cream and salsa on the side if desired.

Nutrition (per serving)

Slow-Cooked Pork Burritos — The Recipe That Carries the Story Forward