Slow Cooker Mexican Pulled Pork — The Filling That Holds the Tradition Together

Last regular season game Friday, 38-7. We're 9-0, which is the best regular season record I've had in Denver. The playoff bracket comes out Sunday. We'll be seeded first or second in our region. The team is good. I'm not going to say more than that because football is superstitious and I've been coaching long enough to know that announcements of how good a team is tend to precede evidence to the contrary.

November in Denver. The cottonwoods along the creek are bare now, the leaves have been down for two weeks. I ran with Sofia on Saturday morning in the cold — thirty-eight degrees, frost on the grass, both of us in running tights and gloves. She runs with complete focus, no chitchat, which is the opposite of how I run (I narrate everything). I match her pace and say nothing and it turns out I like running in silence. At seven, she teaches me things about myself that I wouldn't have learned any other way.

I made tamales for Ruben this week. Full batch, two dozen pork and green chile, two dozen red chile beef. I did it alone — Lisa offered to help and I said no, not because I didn't want her company but because this batch needed to be solo, needed to be a thing I did by myself in my kitchen on a cold November Saturday with his dog tags around my neck. I worked for six hours. I filled the bags carefully. I labeled them for the freezer in permanent marker. I thought about Ruben while I worked. I thought about next month's Christmas production in Las Cruces and what it would be without him and I thought about Alejandro growing up and one day coming to the table and learning what it means to have Christmas tamales and I thought that this is the thing you can do — you keep making the food, you keep making the table, you keep the tradition so that the ones who can't be there can still be found in it.

First playoff game is next week. For Ruben. Always for Ruben.

The pork and green chile batch was the one that took the longest — the filling has to be right, has to be the kind of thing that holds together under the masa and still tastes like something when you unwrap it weeks later at Christmas. This slow cooker pulled pork is what I use for that filling: chile-braised, deeply savory, the kind of thing that fills a kitchen with the smell of something that matters. You can use it straight from the pot into your masa, or freeze it the same way I freeze the finished tamales — labeled in permanent marker, ready for the table when you need it.

Slow Cooker Mexican Pulled Pork (Tamale Filling)

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 8 hrs | Total Time: 8 hrs 20 min | Servings: 12 (enough for approximately 2 dozen tamales)

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 to 4 lbs bone-in pork shoulder (butt roast), trimmed of excess fat
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano (Mexican oregano preferred)
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 white onion, quartered
• 2 Hatch or Anaheim green chiles, roasted, peeled, and roughly chopped (or one 4 oz can diced green chiles)
• 2 dried ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
• 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon neutral oil

Instructions

1. Season the pork. Pat the pork shoulder dry with paper towels. Mix together the salt, pepper, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, garlic powder, and onion powder. Rub the spice mixture all over every surface of the pork shoulder.
2. Sear (optional but worth it). Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the pork shoulder on all sides until deeply browned, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. This step builds the flavor base that carries through the long cook. Transfer to the slow cooker.
3. Build the braising liquid. Scatter the quartered onion, minced garlic, green chiles, and dried ancho chiles around the pork in the slow cooker. Pour in the chicken broth and apple cider vinegar.
4. Low and slow. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours, or until the pork is completely tender and pulls apart without resistance. Do not rush this on HIGH — the low temperature is what gives you the silky, falling-apart texture that holds together in tamale masa.
5. Pull and reduce. Transfer the pork to a cutting board. Remove and discard the ancho chile skins if they haven’t fully dissolved. Skim excess fat from the braising liquid. Pour the liquid into a saucepan and simmer over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes until slightly reduced and concentrated. Use two forks to pull the pork into coarse shreds — not too fine; you want texture in every tamale bite.
6. Combine and rest. Return the shredded pork to the slow cooker or a large bowl and ladle enough reduced braising liquid over it to keep the meat moist and glossy. Taste and adjust salt. Let rest 10 minutes before using as tamale filling or portioning for the freezer.
7. For freezing. Portion into zip-top freezer bags in 2-cup amounts (enough for roughly half a dozen tamales per bag). Label in permanent marker with the date and contents. Keeps up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 310 | Protein: 28g | Fat: 19g | Carbs: 4g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 520mg