Nico's Cook In, Cook Out

Irish Stout Pork Tacos with Pineapple Salsa

Name: Irish Stout Pork Tacos with Pineapple Salsa
Total time: 315 min
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 3 kgs of boneless pork shoulder, cut into half fist sized cubes; 2/3 oranges, quartered - leave the skin on; 10 garlic cloves; 1 can of Irish stout - you can use non alcoholic stout or cola if preferred; 2 onions, quartered; 1 tbsp cumin; 1 tbsp dried oregano; 3 bay leaves; Mini soft corn tortillas to serve; For the pineapple salsa; 2 white onions, finely diced; Handful coriander; 400g pineapple, tinned or fresh, diced

Nico ReynoldsFrom the series · Nico's Cook In, Cook Out

315 min totalServes 6Medium

Time315 min

Serves6

SkillMedium

ShowAll Fired Up

Method

Place the pork in an oven proof pot with the garlic, bay leaves, cumin, oregano , oranges , stout and onions

Place a lid on the pot and cook in an oven at 150C for 3 hours until pork is tender

Remove the pork from the pot and save the braising liquid.

As pork cools, remove the oranges and bay leaves and simmer the braising liquid

When the meat and the liquid has been separated, spread the meat over a baking sheet, drizzle with some of the braising liquid and roast for on a high heat until the outside is crispy

When the pork has cooled, shred it using two forks.

To make the pineapple salsa, soften the white onion in water for 10 minutes before draining off the water and mixing with the diced pineapple and chopped coriander

To assemble, first warm your tortillas over your gas flame or in a hot pan, then fold and fill with the shredded pork and the pineapple salsa.

Cook's notes

There are a myriad of ways to spice carnitas, but the one thing you can't live without is the orange — quartered, skin on, straight into the pot. Some traditions should never be broken.
No stout in the house? Non-alcoholic stout or cola both work in the braise. A slow cooker does the job too — just make sure to crisp the pork up at the end.
While the pork cools, let the braising liquid simmer to lose the excess moisture, then drizzle it over the shredded meat before it goes under high heat — crisping it is traditional, and those crunchy edges against the tender middle are the whole point.
Soaking the diced white onion in water for 10 minutes takes the raw sharpness out — a trick worth remembering any time you're serving onion uncooked.
Soft corn tortillas are the only taco vessel for me. Warm them over a naked flame, then keep them soft in a steamer basket or under an upturned plate until you're building.

Serve with Keep it simple: warm mini corn tortillas, the pork, a good spoon of pineapple salsa and coriander. Lime wedges, a splash of hot sauce and a cold stout or lager on the side.

Make ahead & storage The braised pork keeps for up to 3 days in the fridge or freezes for 3 months — crisp it fresh each time rather than reheating it already crisped. Make the pineapple salsa the same day you serve it so it stays sharp.

Recipe by Nico Reynolds · From the series Nico's Cook In, Cook Out · Photography © Appetite Media
Published 13 July 2026 · Updated 15 July 2026

Nutrition

Per serving · estimated

137kcal

7gprotein

23gcarbs

3gfat

Approximate — calculated from the ingredient list using USDA food data. A guide, not a medical figure.

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