Smoked pork tacos has the classic low and slow pork spiced just right with Mexican flavors tucked in crunchy tacos. Tender, delicious, slow smoked shredded pork butt or pork shoulder is piled high with your favorite taco toppings, nestled in a delicious, crispy tortilla shell. Perfection!
If there are two things my family loves, it's tacos and smoked pork. We've been making both of them for years. My husband is obsessed with smoking meat.
Pork, beef, seafood, chicken, turkey - you name it. If it can be smoked, he will smoke it. Of course, we all love the taste, so it works our wonderfully. We also all love tacos. Taco Tuesday has been an integral part of our weekly meal planning for as long as we've been married.
I've made all kinds of tacos, from beef to chicken and even fish. We have been making our Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas or Mexican Tacos for years but for some reason, though, I never tried making smoked pork tacos.
A couple of years ago, though, my husband had smoked up an absolutely massive pork butt, and we had more than we knew what to do with.
We had already had pulled pork sandwiches the night before, and it was Tuesday, so I thought, "Pork tacos. Let's do it." It was a genius move if I do say so myself. That tender pulled pork topped with all of our favorite taco fixings was absolutely the best thing we'd ever eaten.
These days, my husband plans to smoke his pork either on Tuesdays or near Tuesdays so we can always have delicious smoked pork tacos whenever he smokes up a delicious hunk of pork.
History of Tacos
Before we take a look at this delicious recipe, I want to delve into the history of tacos for just a minute. It's a very interesting story, actually. What we call tacos today are not what real tacos were.
It's true! Real tacos are thousands of years old, but what we call tacos are only less than 100 years old!
Like many foods that we know and love today, no one knows exactly when or where tacos were first made, however, historians know that they were first eaten in Mexico long before Spanish explorers arrived.
Ancient Mexicans made soft, flat corn tortillas and filled them with things like fish and cooked organ meat. These hand-held meals were filled with vital nutrients, protein, and carbohydrates to give ancient Mexicans everything they needed to go about their daily lives.
Unlike the tacos that we know today, original tacos didn't have lettuce, cheese, sour cream, tomato, or any of the other things we think of when we think of tacos. They were a very simple recipe of meat in a tortilla. That was it.
Tacos were first introduced to the USA in 1905 by Mexican immigrants who were coming to the US to work on railroads and other such jobs. At that time, they were really just street food because they were portable and could be purchased cheaply.
It was in Los Angeles where tacos were first encountered in the States, sold on Mexican food carts that were run by women called chili queens.
By the 1920s, tacos had become fully Americanized. Organ meats were replaced by ground beef and chicken, meats that were far more approachable to American diners. The classic toppings that we all know like cheddar cheese, lettuce, and tomato all became standard fillings.
Fast forward to today, and you can find tacos in every Mexican restaurant anywhere. You'll also find them at Taco Bell, although nothing about them is Mexican at all anymore. And of course, a huge portion of the population makes them at home, just like my family!
Smoked Pork Tacos
I know I said that today's toppings aren't actually original taco toppings, but still, the toppings on this taco are classic in that they are the originals that most people had on their tacos back in the day.
You won't find any fancy soft tortillas wrapped around crunchy tortillas or any of the other crazy additions that you'll find at a place like Taco Bell. Oh, no.
These smoked pork tacos let the ingredients do all the talking. Tender, smoked pulled pork is accented with tasty spices and then topped with pico de gallo, onion, cilantro, and cheese to create a simple taco recipe that is overflowing with delicious flavor.
I serve these tacos whenever my husband smokes a pork butt or pork shoulder, and they're always a huge hit with both my family and my friends. As an added bonus it's also an exceptionally easy recipe. In fact, the hardest part is simply waiting for that delicious pork to finish smoking!
Ingredients
It only takes a few simple ingredients to make these delicious smoked pork tacos. All you need is a nice pork butt or shoulder, a few spices, tortillas, and the toppings of your choice. That's it!
You'll most likely be shopping for the roast and the taco toppings, but all the seasonings needed to make the pork butt are most likely in your kitchen already. Here's what you need.
- 6-10 lb pork butt roast or pork shoulder
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
- 2 Tablespoons smoked paprika
- 2 ½ teaspoons black pepper
- 1 Tablespoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 Tablespoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Tortillas, Pico de gallo, onion, cilantro, cheese, any additional toppings you desire
Making the Tacos
Making these smoked pork butt tacos is as easy as gathering the ingredients. 95 percent of the recipe is smoking the pork butt or shoulder. The other 5 percent is simply layering your ingredients in your tortillas and enjoying the delicious flavor!
You'll find the complete smoked pulled pork tacos recipe along with amounts in the recipe card below, but the recipe overview that follows will show you exactly how super easy this recipe really is.
- Prepare pork butt by patting dry with a paper towel.
- Mix brown sugar, smoked paprika, black pepper, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper and whisk together until combined.
- Generously rub the seasoning all over the outside of the pork.
- Prepare the smoker with hickory grilling wood and place the pork in the center of the smoker and smoke until tender and a thermometer inserted in the thickest part registers an internal temperature 195 degrees.
- Once the pork is ready, remove the pork from the smoker and shred the meat and remove any excess fat.
- Prepare your tacos by adding the pork to each tortilla and top with your favorite toppings.
See? There's almost nothing to it. Almost the entirety of the recipe is simply smoking the pork butt. After that, it's simply a matter of layering everything together and chowing down!
Smoked Pork Taco Toppings
The great thing about these smoked pulled pork tacos - like any tacos - is how versatile they are. It's so easy to change them up and create any flavor combination you like.
In this particular smoked pork taco recipe, the variations aren't about changing the main ingredient so much as they are about what you put on top of the pork. It can be anything you love on tacos! It's so much fun to make them your own. Some of my favorite ideas are:
- Pico de gallo
- Salsa or chopped tomatoes
- Onion
- Cilantro
- Cheese
- Jalapenos
- Green Chile
- Lime Juice
- Cabbage
- Picante sauce
- Sour cream
- Taco sauce
Tips
This is an incredibly straightforward recipe. There's really nothing to it at all. That being said, smoking is an art, so there are a few things to keep in mind to ensure that you get the absolute best outcome possible when it comes to these smoked pork tacos.
These are simple tips, but they're so important to the finished pork butt.
Thoroughly Pat Down the Pork
It might be tempting to skip patting down your pork butt with paper towels, but don't skip this step. If you don't pat down the roast, the water will make it more difficult for your spices to adhere to the outside of the roast, resulting in a less flavorful finished roast.
Don't Babysit the Roast
Once you get your smoker to temperature, the only time you should open the lid is to put the roast inside of the smoker. After that, keep the lid closed until you're ready to check it for doneness.
Smoking requires an even temperature, and opening and closing the lid multiple times will cause the temperature to fluctuate, interfering with the smoking process. Put the roast in and then just leave it alone.
Invest in a Meat Thermometer
While smoking is an art, determining doneness can be helped out with a little bit of science. Invest in a high-quality meat thermometer. If you cooked your meat low and slow and didn't open the smoker, when your meat hits the target temperature, it will be perfectly done.
Serving Smoked Pork Tacos
My preferred method of serving these smoked pork butt tacos is to set everything out taco bar-style and let everyone put their favorite toppings on it. Just put out the meat and all the fixings and let everyone go to town.
This is the perfect setup for a fun weekend meal, a backyard party, potluck or game day feast. Everyone will love the flavor, and it's always so much fun to make your own tacos!
Storing Smoked Pork Tacos
You won't actually store prepared tacos, but you will store the meat. The smoked pork will keep well in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to four days. For longer storage, you can freeze the meat in an air-tight, freezer-safe container or heavy-duty freezer bags for up to two months.
Smoked Pork Tacos are the Best Tacos
These smoked pork tacos are some of the best tacos of any kind you'll ever eat. Another big bonus is how easy this smoked pulled pork tacos recipe is. The entirety of the recipe is simply seasoning a pork butt and roasting it.
After that, you simply shred it and add it to a tortilla along with the toppings of your choice. That's all there is to it! Give these smoked pork tacos a try, and I know you'll love them as much as my family does. They're easy and delicious. it doesn't get much better than that!
If you enjoy recipes like this, try our Air Fryer Short Ribs recipe.
Smoked Pork Tacos Video


Smoked Pork Tacos
Equipment
- smoker
- Wood Chips/Chunks/Pellets (whatever your smoker is designed for)
Ingredients
- 6-10 lb pork butt roast or pork shoulder
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
- 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
- 2 ½ teaspoons black pepper
- 1 Tablespoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 Tablespoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Tortillas
Smoked Pork Taco Toppings
- cheese, shredded
- onion, chopped or diced
- cilantro, chopped
- purple onion, chopped or diced
- cabbage, chopped
- green chile, diced
- Pico de Gallo salsa or tomatoes, chopped
- Jalapenos, sliced
- squeeze of lime juice
Instructions
- Pat pork butt dry with paper towel.
- Mix brown sugar, smoked paprika, black pepper, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper and whisk together until combined.
- Generously rub the seasoning all over the outside of the pork.
- Prepare the smoker with hickory grilling wood and place the pork in the center of the smoker and smoke approximately 1 hour per pound of pork at 250-300 degrees until the internal temperature is 195 degrees F. Low and slow is the best option for smoking pork.)
- Shred the meat and remove any excess fat.
- Add pork to tacos and top with your favorite toppings.
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