On a rainy day in Dallas (wishful thinking!), there is nothing like the smell of something cookin’ in the crock-pot. At DMA, we LOVE our crock-pot and have been dabbling in the art of “throw a little of this and a little of that” with ours for years to experiment with slow cooking techniques.

In this episode of Office Eats, Megan’s slow-cooker BBQ pork tenderloin recipe is accompanied by taco accoutrements that make the perfect, better-than-restaurant (really!) lunch.

The Ingredients:

For the crock-pot

• 1 pork tenderloin
• 1 Vidalia onion, sliced into petals
• 1 jar of your favorite BBQ sauce – We used Sweet Baby Ray’s (Compliments of our very own Texas Rangers)
• ¾ cup water
• Kuhn Rikon Salt & Pepper Grinders

For the taco preparation

• 1 head of cabbage, julienned
• 1 roma or Campari tomato, diced
• 1 cup of crumbled Cacique Queso Fresco
• 1 bunch of fresh cilantro, diced
• I cup of Onion Crunch
• I package fresh corn tortillas (we used Mission White Corn Tortillas – check out those fiber and protein numbers!)
• 3 limes sliced into wedges

The Equipment:

• Crock-Pot – The Original Slow Cooker (a big one, to accommodate the big pork tenderloin)
• Breville Compact Smart Oven
• 2 paring knives
• 2 cutting boards

The Process & Prep Time:

• As soon as you get to the office in the morning, add all of the crock-pot ingredients into the crock-pot and cook on HIGH for 4 hours. When 4 hours is up, turn off the crock pot and shred the pork using two forks.
• About 30 minutes before the pork is done, gather the team for a slicing and dicing party in the office kitchen
• Slice the cabbage, dice the tomatoes and the cilantro and add each to separate bowls with the cheese and Onion Crunch so that folks can add toppings as they please
• In the oven, heat the corn tortillas on low until they are just warm. Remove them from the oven carefully and keep them warm in between two paper towels.
• Time to create your masterpiece! Start by filling adding the pork and your toppings of choice to the corn tortillas. Top it all off with a squeeze of fresh lime and enjoy!

Tips & Lessons:

• Our pork tenderloin (it was big) shredded to fill almost 20 individual tacos – with leftovers.
• Use hard shell tacos to mix it up
• Top with your favorite homemade salsa or pico de gallo for added heat and flavor (and sour cream would have been a very welcome and delicious addition)

Fills the air with the smell of comfort and hits a home run with the team on flavor!

Posted by: The Optimist (Megan Zweig)