Fajita Butt Tacos

A while ago I decided it was time to create my own fajita seasoning. I had tried a couple of the store bought fajita spice mixes to season the chicken cutlets for my quesadillas but I just wasn't satisfied.  So I went online and searched "fajita seasoning" and looked through a bunch of different recipes.  Most of them were very similar and included salt, paprika, chili powder, sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, and usually cayenne pepper for some kick.  To the pantry I went, hoping I wouldn't have to make a trip to the store.  We had everything but the chili powder so I improvised and used the chipotle pepper spice I already had instead of going to the grocery store for chili powder. I also added black pepper and cumin.  After a little bit of tweaking here and there, this has become my go-to seasoning for the chicken, shrimp and steak that goes into tacos, quesadillas, nachos, and any other mexican/southwestern dish.

Then, a couple of weeks ago, I had another stroke of genius.  I was watching some barbecue competition show on tv and as each of the competitors was generously coating their huge cut of pork with their own special spice rub, I immediately thought of my fajita seasoning and wondered what it would be like on a smoked pork butt.  I had to try it!  So this past weekend I picked up a little four pound pork butt roast.  I gave it a good coating of my fajita seasoning, wrapped it in plastic wrap, and let it sit in the fridge overnight.  The next day I threw it on the smoker and let it go all day until the internal temp reached 200 degrees.  I let it rest for about an hour and then pulled it to be used in tacos.

While the butt was still resting, I put together a salad/relish kinda thing I discovered last summer in Honduras.  In a large mixing bowl I combined a bag of cole slaw, a diced red bell pepper, chopped fresh cilantro, the juice from one lime, and a little vinegar.  I seasoned the mix with salt, pepper, and cumin, and gave it a generous toss, making sure everything was mixed very well.  This stuff is even better the next day so I prefer to make it a day in advance so that the ingredients can hang out together in the fridge (I'm just not very good at planning ahead, didn't happen this time!).    

Once the fajita butt has rested and been pulled, I put a handful of it in the middle of a flour tortilla and top it with the Honduran salad.  These tacos are ridiculous!!!