Chipotle Pulled Pork Nachos is a cheesy, flavor filled nacho recipe that features a slow braised chipotle pepper pulled pork and delicious homemade tortilla chips! Garnish with salsa, jalapenos, and cheese! These Chipotle Pulled Pork Nachos will have your tastebuds swooning!
If you love pork recipes, try these homemade shake and bake pork chops and Pulled Pork Sliders!
Chipotle pulled pork nachos
I cannot tell you how many times I've made nachos as a quick Friday night recipe. They're fun, easy, everybody loves them, and it's a constantly reliable recipe. You can't beat it. Last Friday, I decided I wanted nachos but didn't have any ground beef that was thawed out. I did however have some pork shoulder and decided to get creative.
On my last grocery run, I decided to pick up some canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. We use these often so I picked up a few. I pulled my pork shoulder out of the refrigerator and made a delicious marinade with lime juice, orange juice, and a few spices. The pork shoulder sat in the refrigerator for an hour and then I seared it, added in some crushed tomatoes and chipotle peppers and let is braise in the oven for about 3 ½ hours. Oh, and while you're here, you have to check out these Mexican Street Corn Nachos and these Loaded Fresh Vegetable Sheet Pan Nachos!
the end result was epic
The end result was epic. A tender, flavorful, smoky, delicious piece of pork shoulder shredded into pulled pork. I mean, you could cut this with a spoon! Not to mention, the gravy that was in the pan from all of the juices of the meat was phenomenal. Truly.
Although 3 hours cooking time isn't the fastest recipe, it's SO worth the wait. Hence as to why I made this Chipotle Pulled Pork Nachos recipe on a Friday. I was relaxed with a glass of wine, a good movie, and was completely content vegging out on my couch after a ridiculously long week at work. That's a story for another time, but you get the gist.
let's talk ingredients
Pork Shoulder: This recipe calls for three pounds of pork shoulder. It's fairly inexpensive and is sold in large quantities at the grocery store. I cut three pounds off of the shoulder and then vacuum sealed and froze the remaining meat for another time. Be sure to cut off the fatty layer on top of the shoulder. This helps the seasonings and marinade fully penetrate the meat and yield a more flavorful result.
Seasonings: The seasonings in this Chipotle Pulled Pork Nachos recipe is what make it so special. This recipe calls for cumin, red pepper flakes, smoked paprika (my favorite), salt and pepper (of course), onion powder, parsley, chili powder, and oregano. All of these flavors come together and really shine!
Garlic: Because every recipe needs garlic. Duh! lol
Oranges and Limes: Have you ever seen Salt.Fat.Acid.Heat? Samin Nosrat goes to Mexico for the acid portion of the show and talks about how acid can really tenderize meat. She follows a few home cooks and chefs and learns their culinary styles, a lot of which consists of citrus - an acid. This recipe is no different, I used oranges and limes to tenderize the pork and provide a nice sweet yet acidic flavor. It works, trust me!
Crushed Tomatoes: For added acidity and flavor!
Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce: These chipotle peppers are the star of the show. They add a beautiful smoky flavor and tiny tiny bit of heat. Don't worry - if you don't like spicy food, these will not burn your mouth!
How to make chipotle pulled pork nachos!
First I marinaded the pork in the citrus and seasonings. Ideally, you should marinate the meat for about an hour, but if you want to take a little shortcut, 30 minutes will do. It's long enough to get the process started. Then I seared the meat in a large dutch oven and then added in the chipotle peppers and the crushed tomatoes.
Pop that dutch oven into the oven and braised for 3 ½-4 hours, until the meat is fork tender.
The next step is completely optional. I made my own tortilla chips. Don't be impressed, all I did was cut tortillas into triangles and deep fried them for about 3-5 minutes, until it got toasty. Honestly, I prefer homemade tortilla chips. They're more crunchy and sturdy... I find that they cup the cheese really nicely when melted together with the nachos. You can absolutely buy store bought tortilla chips for this recipe. This is my preference so do what works best for you!
What toppings do you put on nachos?
So here's where you can personalize this dish to your liking. Me personally? I like sour cream, salsa, jalapenos, and a quality salsa.Oh and of course cheese, Copious amounts of cheese. Did I say cheese? Yes, because these Chipotle Pulled Pork Nachos go exceptionally well with cheese. I used the Mexican Cheese Blend that they sell at the market for a nice mix of cheeses and a quality cheese pull!
However, you can add whatever you like. This includes but isn't limited to guacamole, lettuce, pico de gallo, beans, corn, chopped onions etc. The list goes on!
And while you're here, you've got to try my Mexican spaghetti for a delicious meal!
What's the best cheese for nachos?
A lot of people say it's cheddar. What do I think personally? I enjoy a mix of cheddar, queso quesadilla cheese, asadero, and monterey jack cheese. These are the cheeses that are in my favorite Mexican blend from Lucerne. They sell it at my local Safeway so that's what I've been using and I really like it. It's simple and easy and tastes great. And the cheese pulls are epic!
How do you store nachos?
Tip - store everything separately. Do not mix the nachos and the pork and the cheese and the toppings and expect it to be fresh the next day. It'll be super soggy. Once everything is together, there's really no going back. However, if you have leftovers from the pork, store the pork in a airtight container. Store the tortilla chips in a ziploc bag. Also, store all of the toppings in either airtight containers or the containers in which they came in so long as they can be sealed.
More Mexican Recipes!
- Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Mexican Street Corn Sweet Potato Fries
- Honey Soy Garlic Pork Chops
- Peanut Curry Braised Ribs
- Chipotle Salmon with Pomegranate Arils
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Let's stay connected on social media and continue to cook together! Also, if you decide to make this recipe, please leave a star rating on the recipe card and leave a comment below! Tag @BritneyBreaksBread on Instagram and hashtag #britneybreaksbread so I can see your creations! I hope that you love this recipe as much as we do!
Chipotle Pulled Pork Nachos
Equipment
- Dutch Oven
Ingredients
- 3 lbs Pork Shoulder
- ½ tsp cumin
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp parsley
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp oregano
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 4 cloves garlic, diced
- 2 oranges, juiced
- 2 limesÂ
- 14.5 oz Crushed tomato
- 7 oz Canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
- 1 bag tortilla chips
- Salsa of your choosing
- 2 cups Mexican Cheese Blend
- Cilantro, for garnish
- Avocado, for garnish
- Sour Cream, for garnish
Directions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Remove fatty layer from pork shoulder (if applicable) and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add cumin, red pepper flakes, smoked paprika, onion powder, parsley, chili powder, and oregano to a small bowl and whisk together until combined. Coat pork with seasonings and add to z large ziploc bag.
- Squeeze oranges and lime juice into ziploc bag and add diced garlic cloves. Allow pork to marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour.
- Coat the bottom of an oven safe dutch oven in olive oil. Heat oil on high. Remove pork from ziploc bag and sear on both sides, about 4-5 minutes per side. Add chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and crushed tomatoes. Season with additional salt.
- Braise in the oven for 3 ½-4 hours, until pork is fork tender. Keep oven on.
- On a large plate, add tortilla chips/nachos as the first layer. Sprinkle cheese and add the pulled pork. Add more tortilla chips on top and then another layer of cheese and pulled pork. Add to the oven for about 5 minutes so that the cheese can melt.
- Top with salsa, avocado, sour cream and cilantro - and any toppings you'd like to add! Squeeze lime juice on top and eat up!
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