Beer Braised Pork & Black Bean Tacos with Mango Pico de Gallo

I have to admit that I have a love-hate relationship with my slow cooker. I love the idea of it, well what's not to love...Throw everything in a pot, turn it on and 4-8 hours later - voila, dinner! The hate part is, it generally looks like a pile of slop. Really, even when it tastes good, let's face it - the finished product is not so easy on the eyes.

So...when I saw a recipe for pork & black bean soup that you could make in your slow cooker, my interest was piqued. I read the recipe and decided to adapt it to make the pork and black beans as a filling for tacos. I made a bunch of changes to the recipe, but I got inspiration from this recipe from Real Simple. I figured that even though slow cooker food doesn't look so appealing - did it really matter since I would be putting it inside tacos with a fabulous pico de gallo mango on top? I didn't think so, besides how great does taco meat ever look? Mine never looks all that great anyhow...

I deviated from the original recipe by using less beer, I added chicken stock and I used pork tenderloin instead of pork butt to save on fat and calories. The meat turned out delicious and moist and the beans were flavorful. Another bonus is that you could serve a ton of people with this meal. I used my handy Vidalia Onion Slicer to slice up the veggies for the pico de gallo and it made a huge difference in the amount of time it took me to chop all the fruits and veggies. If you don't have one, I highly recommend getting one. It will save you time and money. And these are two things I could always use more of. :)

Enjoy!

Beer Braised Pork & Black Bean Tacos with Mango Pico de Gallo

Ingredients

1 – 12oz bottle of lager beer
1 can low sodium chicken broth
2 tbsp chopped canned chipotle chilies in adobe sauce and 1 tbsp adobe sauce
1 tsp cumin
1 large onion, chopped
1 lb dried black beans, rinsed
1 ½ lbs boneless pork butt (pork shoulder)
salt & pepper to taste
Corn or flour tortillas
1/2 cup shredded cheese (whatever one you like)
Mango Pico de Gallo Salsa (recipe below)

In a slow cooker, combine beer, chicken broth, 2 cups water, the chilies, adobe sauce, cumin, onion, beans, pork and beef bouillon. Cook on high 4 hrs, separate pork and serve on tacos with cheese and pico de gallo.


Mango Pico de Gallo Salsa

Ingredients
6 vine ripened tomatoes, cored & seeded.
1 small jalapeno pepper (seeds and rib removed)
1/2 red onion
2 mangoes
1/4 cup finely minced cilantro
1 lime, juiced
1 T. agave nectar
salt & pepper, to taste

Directions
Finely chop or put the following through your Vidalia Onion Slicer - tomatoes, jalapeno pepper, red onion & mangoes.

Put the mixture in a bowl and add the cilantro, lime juice, agave nectar and salt & pepper.