It’s hard to escape the allure of pulled pork these days. Anyone who has been to quick-service restaurants such as Subway, Quizno’s or Burger King may have noticed the places have barbecued pulled pork sandwiches on their menus. And according to Google Insights, pulled pork recipe searches have more than doubled in the past four years.
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But when the weather is hot like it has been for the past couple of weeks, no one likes to fire up the oven to cook a pork shoulder or loin roast.
Home cooks, seeking flavorful meals that require minimal effort and time in the kitchen do have another option, though. They need to look no further than the slow cooker, which allows them a surprisingly easy preparation that they can simply walk away from with confidence that a delicious meal will be as good as ready when they return.
And once their pork is cooked and shredded to perfection, the number of dishes that can be made is almost never-ending.
Here is a Latin-inspired entree, Pulled Pork Tostadas with Slaw and Chipotle Cream, a bold combination of chili-rubbed pulled pork, bright cabbage slaw and chipotle-spiced sour cream.
Pulled Pork Tostadas with Slaw and Chipotle Cream
1 pound cooked pulled pork , warm or room temperature
3 or 4 limes
2 tablespoons canola oil or other neutral-flavored oil
8 cups shredded cabbage or 1 10-ounce bag coleslaw mix
¾ cup fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
¼ red onion, thinly sliced
Salt
1 cup sour cream
½ chipotle chili from a can of chipotle chilis in adobe sauce, seeded and finely minced
6 8-inch tostadas, (flat, crisped corn tortillas)
2 tomatoes, diced
3 radishes, cut into wedges
Halve and squeeze 1 or 2 of the limes to yield 2 tablespoons of juice. In a large bowl, combine the lime juice and oil. Add the cabbage, onion, and cilantro, tossing to combine. Add salt to taste. Cut the remaining 2 limes into 6 wedges each. Set the slaw and lime wedges aside.
In a small bowl, combine the sour cream and chipotle pepper. Season with salt and set aside.
Arrange the tortillas on plates. Top with the pork, slaw, sour cream mixture and tomatoes. Arrange the lime and radish wedges alongside and serve.
Yield: Serves 6.
