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Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 (426g) Recipe makes 10 servings
Calories 428
Calories from Fat 259		(60%)
Amount Per Serving		%DV
	Total Fat 28.8g	44%
	Saturated Fat 9.9g	49%
	Monounsaturated Fat 12.8g
	Polyunsaturated Fat 3.2g
	Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 119mg		39%
Sodium 485mg		20%
Potassium 752mg		21%
Total Carbohydrate 5.3g		1%
	Dietary Fiber 0.9g	3%
	Sugars 2.1g
Protein 35.1g		70%
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Pork Machaca (Tender Pulled Mexican Pork)

Recipe #172900 | 4½ hours | 20 min prep | add private note

⁽¹⁸⁾ RATE IT NOW Print Recipe

By: Chef TotalFark
Jun 16, 2006

This is used to make burritos, tacos, or even a Mexican style pot roast. Although it makes a lot, it freezes well; and the broth makes a nice base for posole soup. Quantities are inexact but strict adherence to the recipe is not that crucial; I make this in restaurants and just "go by eye". Props to GaylaJ for shaming me into posting my first recipe here!

SERVES 10 (change servings and units)

Ingredients

1 (4-5 lb) pork butt (about 4-5 lbs, but up to 10 is fine too)
2 quarts water (enough to cover meat by about 2/3)
2 1/2 tablespoons chicken bouillon powder (Knorr is my favorite)
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes or 3 tablespoons tomato paste
20 whole garlic cloves (or 2 tbl. granulated, but fresh will work better)
4 whole jalapenos, more can be used for a spicier final dish (or 2 small cans diced green chiles, or 1 small can jalepenos-not pickled)
2 teaspoons oregano (dry leaf..never use ground!)

Directions

1
Combine all ingredients in a stockpot and simmer until fork tender-this can take from 3-4 hours.
2
Can be made in a crock pot also-decrease liquid by about 1/2, bouillon powder by 1/3, and cook on low for 8-10 hours (or until tender as above).
3
When tender, remove from heat and allow meat to cool in the broth until cool enough to handle (this will keep the meat moist).
4
Shred (or "pull") either with forks or by hand.
5
Place in storage container and add some of the broth to moisten; refrigerate until needed.
6
Reheat either in microwave, or in saucepan; use a little of the juice to keep it moist.
7
For the Mexican-flavored pot roast, don't shred-slice fairly thick (about 1/2"), and make a gravy by thickening some of the juice with either cornstarch or roux (sorry, you'll have to thicken by sight; tough to give an exact quantity for that); serve with plain steamed rice/boiled potatoes and a vegetable-broccoli and/or carrots come to mind first. Leftovers make great open-faced hot sandwiches.
8
For soup, take broth and add some onions, carrots, celery, an extra bit of canned diced tomato (you can use almost anything for veggies depending on what you like/have on hand), some of the pork meat and posole (or hominy); simmer until tender and add shredded cabbage; cook another 15 minutes. Serve with hot tortillas and a salad for a complete meal.
9
Can also be made as beef machaca by using bottom (outside) round, chuck, or brisket; replace chicken bouillon powder with beef.

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Featured Reviews for This Recipe

From: Emily J.

On Nov 23, 2009

I made this several times last summer in the crock pot! So wonderful! Great way to prepare an inexpensive cut of pork. We shredded it and made burritos with canned black beans, homemade corn relish and some sour cream! Thanks for the recipee!

0 people found this review helpful

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From: Chef #944459

On Nov 20, 2009

Loved it! I especially love your suggestions for the pot roast, soup, and machaca. Muchas gracias!!!

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From: GaylaJ

On Jun 17, 2006

Excellent! The meat was tender, juicy, and wonderfully flavored, and I loved the simplicity of the recipe. Allowing the meat to cool in the broth does indeed help keep it moist, so don't get impatient, as I have done in the past, and pull it out to cool--just plan ahead, as it's worth the extra time. (I didn't take advantage of using the broth this time, but it is far too good to ignore--next time I intend to make a nice posole from it.) I used diced tomatoes, fresh garlic and jalapenos, and simmered an almost-8-pound roast for about 4 1/2 hours. We enjoyed it served simply on flour tortillas. I always thought it was hard to go wrong with a well-cooked Boston Butt, but this was extraordinary--thank you for posting! I'm looking forward to pulling the leftovers out of the freezer, and I'll be looking forward to more recipes from you.

7 people found this review helpful

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From: Happy Hippie

On Jun 13, 2007

This machaca was outstanding, tender, full of flavor and easy to prepare for the crockpot. I used a 3 pound pork butt roast. I trimmed as much fat as was reasonable. I used the tomato paste and used only 2 jalapenos which I diced rather than leave whole. I also failed to reduce the volume of water since I was using the crockpot but will use the broth to make a mexican-syle pozole soup. I cooked the pork for 5 hours in the crockpot which was plenty of time and meat did not dry out. The pork shredded very easily, and I added some of the broth to the meat for flavor and to maintain moistness. This was so good. Some of us served it up as tacos and others as burritos. Condiments on the table included chopped lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cilantro, sour cream and pico de gallo. Leftovers are going to make fantasic enchiladas. Thanks Chef TotalFark for sharing this awesome recipe that will make an encore in my home many times.

6 people found this review helpful

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