Pulled Pork Stuffed California Avocados

Written by our friend Colleen of SouffleBombay.com

When you hear the words comfort food, typically, you envision heavy calorie-laden dishes. It doesn’t have to be that way. You can find ways to lighten up even the richest of foods.

Take these Pulled Pork Stuffed Avocados for example. You get all of the flavor and deliciousness of pulled pork without the heavy breads or biscuits often associated with a typical pulled pork sandwich.

Standing in for the bread are none other than California Avocados! The creaminess and flavor the avocados lend the pulled pork will have you questioning why you haven’t done this before! Plus with the avocado and some black beans added in you end up with a dish that is as nutritious as it is delicious!

Make your own pulled pork or take a short-cut and buy some remade, I know the pulled pork made by the Amish at my local 3-day a-week farmers market gives my recipe a run for its money! Either way, stuff avocado halves with your pork and top it with whatever you typically enjoy. We lean towards spicy so for us…the spicier the better!

These Pulled Pork Stuffed Avocados are great for lunch, dinner and even make a perfect tailgating dish! Everything can be prepped ahead, then when ready to enjoy, simple halve your avocados, stuff them and dig in!

Pulled Pork Avocados

Serves: 4–8

Prep time: 5–7 minutes
Cook time: 0 minutes
Total time: 5–7 minutes

Ingredients

Pulled pork (pre-made, or see make-ahead recipe below)
4 ripe Fresh California Avocados, seeded and halved
Toppings such as shredded cheese, scallions, sliced jalapeños, banana peppers, cilantro, black beans and sour cream

Directions

1. Season the avocado halves with a little salt & pepper. If they are not super-soft, run your fork across each avocado half to loosen up the flesh a bit.
2. Top each avocado half with hot pulled pork, then add toppings like shredded cheese, scallions, jalapeños, banana peppers cilantro black beans , sour cream or whatever you typically enjoy on your pulled pork. Dig in!

Pulled Pork

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 3–4 hours
Total time: 3 hours 10 minutes – 4 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients

5–7 pound pork shoulder

Spice Rub Recipe

3 Tbsp. paprika
1 1/2 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 1/2 Tbsp. Kosher salt
1 Tbsp. dry mustard
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
A few dashes of red pepper (Cayenne)

Directions

1. In a small bowl combine all the ingredients together for the rub.
2. Place pork in the pan or tin you will be cooking it in. Rub every inch of it liberally with your rub.
3. Place your coated pork into your baking dish or tin pan and allow it sit in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight. You really need to let it sit for at least 2 hours to allow the rub into penetrate the meat which will help draw out its natural juices while roasting.
4. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. Lower the oven to 300 degrees and cook for another 3–4 hours or until you can easily pull pork apart with 2 forks.
5. Allow the meat to cool, and then begin pulling it apart with 2 forks or your fingers. Discard any fat along the way. Toss the pulled pork with some of the pan drippings to keep it moist.

Notes: If you have a store-bought rib rub, that can be substituted for the recipe above