I have yet to meet someone who doesn’t like tacos. They’re simple yet rich, casual yet special, and the perfect party food.
I reserve speedy ground beef tacos for weekday suppers. For entertaining, I turn to the grill for tender beef steak or fish tacos. For do-ahead cooking, there’s nothing better than long-simmered meat cuts, seasoned highly with chiles and vegetables, from the Dutch oven or slow cooker.
Pork shoulder proves economical for a crowd; I just need to invest time to dry rub the pork a day or so in advance and then give it a few hours in the oven. For super-tender taco meat, I chose a large naturally raised, bone-in pork shoulder roast. Lean pork loin and tenderloin will not yield the moist meat shreds so perfect in tacos.
A combination of pure ground Mexican chiles, salt, a hint of cumin and oregano makes a deep red rub that pairs perfectly with succulent slow-cooking meat. Coat the roast heavily with the rub, then it can sit in the fridge for a day or more.