Pulled Pork and White Slaw Hillbilly Tacos

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If you like pulled pork BBQ topped with a sweet and tangy white slaw, then these hillbilly tacos are for you.

I coined them hillbilly tacos one weekend while smoking a pork shoulder for a bunch of friends. I usually make BBQ sliders or classic BBQ sandwiches, but I like to switch it up. So I grabbed a bunch of tortillas this time to try out, and these were born.

Some people don’t like slaw. I can’t help you there. But I love both red and white slaw. Red slaws are more vinegar based and tangy. White slaw is usually sweeter, but I still like to give mine a small tangy kicky. It pairs perfectly topped on any slow cooked pork. I used a pork loin this time. It wasn’t bad, but I’m not as big a fan of pork loin though. In my opinion the flavor tends to be a little more bland and a bit dryer than a juicy Boston butt or pork shoulder. Either way, it still hit the spot!

Tips To Make Pork Loin More Tender and Juicy

• Cook it covered low and slow.
• Use a slow cooker (crockpot).
• Add your favorite sauces to cook it in.
• Brine your meat before cooking.

There are so many methods and variations. It all comes down to how much time you wanna invest.

The Pork

I start here by getting that meat going, as this will take several hours at least. You don’t want to rush it either, so if you have the time, take advantage of it. I used about a 4 pound pork loin. Using my Dutch oven, I let it go covered in the oven at about 250° for around 3-3 1/2 hours. To properly shred pork it needs to get way beyond the internal temp of 145° (that’s the safe recommended eating temperature). When I smoke mine, I’m shooting for around 200° at least. You will know when it’s ready because it will shred easily. The lower and slower you can go, the better.

I also drizzled about 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce, some minced garlic, a few squirts of lime juice, and a little ground black pepper. Once it was done, I shredded it, and added a little BBQ sauce. Mix it all together with the juices in the bottom of the pot. Leave it covered until ready to serve.

While that’s cooking, you can get all your sides ready. I made my creamy taco sauce I used on my fish tacos. It’s such an amazing sauce packed with flavor. I also made my white slaw. It’s sweet with a little tang to it. Paired with any pulled pork makes for an amazing dish. Finally I made some pico de gallo, nothing fancy though. It’s a quick pico that provides plenty of flavor to your tacos, in addition with everything else.

Creamy Taco Sauce

In a sealable bowl, mix together 1/2 cup sour cream, 1/4 cup southern style mayonnaise, 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 tbsp chili garlic sriracha sauce, 1 tspn Badia Sazón seasoning, 1/2 tspn ground black pepper, and a nice fat squirt of lime juice. Whisk everything together until it’s smooth and creamy. Cover with a lid and pop it in the fridge until you’re ready for it.

The Pico

This is a quick pico de gallo option. You can buy premade pico, or go all out and hook up some homemade. There are some amazing recipes out there for it. This totally satisfies my pico craving though. I dice up a medium sweet onion, and mix it in with a can of Rotel with green chilies. Cover this up and set it to the side until later.

My White Slaw

I’ve tweaked this slaw a few times. I’m finally happy with the final product now. I try to get the smallest head of cabbage normally because this goes a long way. A pound of cabbage will make a lot of slaw. The head I bought here was about 2 pounds, so I only used half of it. I wrapped the rest up and froze it for something else later.

Start by removing any extra loose leaves that are wilted. These and any other scraps all go to my compost pile.

Next you wanna quarter it up into four wedges, and remove the cores by cutting down at an angle.

There are different ways to go from here. If you have a good food grater or mandolin you can shred it up nicely that way. Those mandolins are extremely dangerous (ask me how I know). I choose to just chop it up with one of my chef knives. It always comes out great to me. Just take your time, working one wedge at a time. I only used two wedges here, because it gives you a lot of slaw.

Once that is all chopped up, place it in a sealable container. Next dice up a medium sweet onion, put that in there with the cabbage. Finally add 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1 cup of southern style mayonnaise. Mix that all together evenly. Season your slaw with salt and pepper to taste while you’re mixing everything. When you are satisfied, cover with a lid and pop it in the fridge until you’re ready for it. If it looks a little dry right now, don’t worry. The water inside the cabbage will come out and become a lot more creamy as it sets.

Toast Your Tortillas

I toast my own tortillas in a cast iron skillet. You can even keep these warm in another cast iron skillet in the oven if needed. Everything came out perfect, no soggy tortillas or anything. Preheat a cast iron skillet on medium heat and drizzle a little olive oil in there. You’ll have to drizzle a little more in there every few tortillas to keep your skillet from drying out.

When it’s good and hot, back the heat off one notch. Toss a tortilla in there and only toast each side for 30 seconds tops. When it’s done transfer it to a cooling rack. Keep toasting and stacking them. But don’t stack them in a single stack. Keep them offset so they don’t stick together. Once they’re all done, transfer them to a cast iron skillet (stacking them the same way), and place them in an oven on warm (if you aren’t ready to serve yet).

Assemble Your Tacos

Now everything should be ready. Your sides are prepared, the tortillas are toasted, and your pork is shredded.

Go ahead and build those tacos, top with a little shredded cheese, and season to your liking. Dig in and enjoy these delicious hillbilly tacos!