It’s a blessing and a curse…
Ok, so maybe “curse” is a strong word, but when you raise your own animals for meat, you have to get really creative, really fast about cooking meat. LOTS of meat. Because after about the tenth roast tasting exactly the same, the family tends to get a little whiney about supper.
We have two freezers down in our barn jam-packed full of homegrown pork and beef. (A whole steer takes up a LOT of room…) But I’m not complaining in the slightest– and it’s been a great opportunity to expand my culinary skills.
Thanks to those two very-full freezers, I’m always on the lookout for a new beef or pork recipe. When my friend Shaye asked if I wanted to try one of the recipes from her brand-new homestead cookbook, the Family Table, I jumped all over this cumin spiced pork tacos recipe. It’s loaded with flavor, and is a wonderful way to put one of the many pork roasts in my freezer to good use.
I put my roast in the oven right after breakfast, which allowed it plenty of time to slow-roast to perfection before I shredded it before supper. It was a super-easy meal that night, and provided ample leftovers for lunch (and beyond!) the following day.
Cumin Pork Tacos Recipe
From The Elliott Homestead Family Table Cookbook
- 4-5 lb pork roast (Loin, shoulder, etc. I used a shoulder roast.)
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon sea salt (I use Redmond Salt)
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
- 4 tablespoons cider vinegar (Here’s how to make it yourself)
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 12 oz. beer of choice (or use broth if you don’t like to cook with beer)
- Corn tortillas
- Cabbage slaw (I used a simple recipe like this one)
- Crumbled cheese, salsa, avocados, sour cream, or other toppings of choice
Place the pork roast in a large roasting pan, and sprinkle the minced garlic over the top.
In a small bowl, combine the sea salt, cumin, chili powder, black pepper, oregano, cayenne pepper, and cocoa powder.
Sprinkle the spice mixture over the roast and use your fingers to rub it into the meat. Pour the orange juice and beer into roasting pan.
Cover and bake in a 275 degree oven for 6-7 hours, or until it shreds apart easily with a fork.
Remove from the oven, let cool slightly, and shred up the meat – removing any gristle or bone.
Pour the liquid from the pan back over the shredded meat.
Serve a heaping scoop of the shredded pork atop a warm corn tortilla, topping it with cabbage slaw, crumbled cheese, and salsa.
Get the Family Table for Your Homestead
Shaye’s brand-spankin’ new cookbook, Family Table, is now available for pre-order– I cannot wait to get my copy! Here’s the gist of the cookbook, in Shaye’s own words:
“Farm-to-table for every meal is no longer an impossible dream—as we set out to prove to ourselves just a few years ago. Of course, not everyone can choose to labor on the land as we do, but that doesn’t mean you can’t prepare fresh-from-the field meals from organically grown, locally raised, thoughtfully sourced products.
That’s what Family Table is all about. (Forget expensive, exotic ingredients or fancy preparation techniques— Mama ain’t got time for that.) This book is about reviving easy, traditional food preparations for a more flavorful, and healthy, future. It’s about sharing and enjoying the fruits of our labors with those we love—and those we don’t even know yet.”
Preorder the Family Table Now
PrintCumin Spiced Pork Tacos Recipe

- Category: Main Dish- Pork
Ingredients
- 4–5 lb pork roast (loin, should, etc. I used a shoulder roast)
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
- 4 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 12 oz. beer of choice (or broth if you don’t like to cook with beer)
- Corn Tortillas
- Cabbage slaw (I use a simple recipe like this one)
- Crumbled cheese, salsa, avocados, sour cream, or other toppings of choice
Instructions
- Place the pork roast in a large roasting pan, and sprinkle the minced garlic over the top.
- In a small bowl, combine the sea salt, cumin, chili powder, black pepper, oregano, cayenne pepper, and cocoa powder.
- Sprinkle the spice mixture over the roast and use your fingers to rub it into the meat. Pour the orange juice and beer into roasting pan.
- Cover and bake in a 275 degree oven for 6-7 hours, or until it shreds apart easily with a fork.
- Remove from the oven, let cool slightly, and shred up the meat – removing any gristle or bone.
- Pour the liquid from the pan back over the shredded meat.
- Serve a heaping scoop of the shredded pork atop a warm corn tortilla, topping it with cabbage slaw, crumbled cheese, and salsa
I sure do love these pork tacos! Mmm! And one of my favorite parts about them is all the leftovers they leave for easy farm lunches the next day! đŸ˜‰ Glad you enjoyed!
What do you do with the ACV?
Nope, you aren’t alone. We have a freezer full of home grown pork too. I’m with you, always looking for ideas about how to fix it. Especially the chops & the unusual pieces.
I thought it best to leave a comment here rather that the article that mentioned what concerns my question. My wife and I are looking to move to Wyoming and when I saw your wonderful map (BTW, not kidding, it was easy to understand and explained quite a bit about the state) I was curious if areas like Rawlings fell in prairie or more of a SW area? I appreciate any comments and I look forward to coming back and reading much more.
Thanks
Rawlins is a little more on the desert side, IMO. Although not quite as rocky and barren as the Rock Springs area. đŸ™‚
What a great idea, I’m always looking for unique ways to cook our freezers full of meat…and for some reason pork always stumps me. I pinned it so my readers can have it too đŸ˜‰ and I’ll have to check this cookbook out!
Lovely recipe. We recently discovered the economy and deliciousness of pork shoulder. I buy one about every other month; rub it down with flavors and slow-roast it for about 9 hours. Next day, yes, next day, I shred it and portion it for family meals and into the freezer it goes. We make all kinds of things with it and, now, PORK TACOS, thanks to you. We, also, live on a prairie (in Washington State). Please come by and visit us at Prairie Cottage Corner. It is very dry here and, perhaps, doesn’t get as cold as your Wyoming place. Lots of dryland grains grow here, interspersed with cattle. Crop circles are increasing. We don’t have a homestead but do have a garden space and yard. Ours is an older home that needs an addition (but at our age, we’re more into subtraction – less house to maintain or, yikes, assisted living). I love reading your blog. I also was a home schooler in years past. Happy things…..
Hi! Thank you so much for the great recipe, but what are we to do with the 4 Tbsp. of ACV? It’s never mentioned again after the ingredient list. Thank you so much!