We debuted our Pure Michigan Tacos at Grill on the Hill Eggfest at Treetops Resort this past Saturday to great acclaim, winning best pork butt and falling just short of people’s choice.

This recipe comes with a funny story, but one that I’m pretty proud of. I had planned to make an apple slaw to top the smoked pork on the tacos, but found out the morning of the event that slaw was not allowed due to health code rules. Deciding that we couldn’t just put pork on a tortilla and call it a taco, Troy and I did what good cooks do: we improvised.

We decided to dice and sauté up the apples on the Big Green Egg. However, since we hadn’t planned on that, we didn’t have any butter or anything to sauté them in. Digging through my cooler, I found a few bottles of Cheerwine that I use for my pork, so we decided to use that and it turned out phenomenally. The sugars and cherry syrup caramelized the apples perfectly and the flavors melded with the rest of the taco.

Without further adieu, here’s the recipe:

Lather your pork butt with yellow mustard to allow your rub to stick (you can also use olive oil), then apply a healthy dose of your desired rub. I used my new Down With the Swine pork rub, which has some maple sugar sweetness on the front end and then some cayenne, sriracha, hot paprika heat on the back end.

Get your smoker up to between 325-350. I know, I know, that’s not exactly low and slow. Since we were under a time crunch at the Eggfest, we had to go hot and fast, and believe me when I say as long as you do it right it turns out just as good. I used a combination of hickory and post oak for this cook.

Put your rubbed pork butt into a half foil pan, fat cap down, then place into your smoker. You’re going to let it go for a few hours before doing anything to it. Just let it absorb that smoke and make sure your temp doesn’t spike too hot.

Once your pork butt starts getting into the 100s internally, it’s time to apply some moisture and build flavor. I like to do this one of two ways. You can spritz with Cheerwine every half hour or so until it reaches 150. Or you can mop with Gentry’s Roscoe’s Mop Sauce. This is what I did because I like the extra vinegary, peppery flavor profile that it adds.

Once you hit 150 internal, it’s time to cover with foil. Before you do so, pour up to a bottle of Cheerwine into the foil pan. You will already have some pork juices in there, so just be careful not to overflow your pan. Then cover with some heavy duty foil and let it ride that way until it hits 203 degrees internal.

At 203, it’s time to remove from the smoker and place into a Cambro or a cooler covered with some towels and let it rest. You can rest it for a few hours if needed. At Grill on the Hill, mine came off between 8am and 9am and the event went from 12-4pm. I had four 10-pound butts and they stayed steaming hot in the Cambro the entire time. No, they didn’t lose their great bark either.

While your butts are resting, it’s time to dice up some apples. You don’t want to do this too far ahead of time because your apples will go brown. Once they are diced, hit them with your rub.

Remove the plate setter from your Big Green Egg (if you’re using something else, just crank up the heat) and place a cast iron pan onto the grate. Pour half a bottle of Cheerwine in and let it heat up and reduce down a little bit. Now pour your diced apples in and sauté for about 10 minutes. You don’t want them to get mushy, but you want them to soften a bit and still retain some crunch.

When those are done, it’s time to assemble your tacos. Place a handful of pork onto a street taco. Make sure to get some of the bark onto each taco. Top it with some of your apples, then give it a squirt of barbecue sauce. For this, we used my Up North Sauce, which is a tomato based sauce with flavors of cherry and maple. Those paired perfectly with the rest of the taco. Finally, sprinkle some crushed pork rinds (pork dust) over the top.

The presentation is great and all of the flavors meld perfectly. Some of your guests might be iffy about the pork dust on top, but once they taste it they’ll believe. You get the smoky meatiness of the pork, the sweetness of the apples and Up North Sauce, the kick from the Down With the Swine Rub, and the crunch of the pork dust.

Give this recipe a try and let me know what you (and your guests) think!

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