This shortcut recipe for easy pork mole tacos brings out authentic Mexican flavors…with a twist! Ready in minutes! Plus more carnival inspired recipes for your next backyard barbecue. Sponsored by Curly’s BBQ.
Carnival-Inspired Party Foods with Curly’s BBQ
Prior to becoming a full-time recipe developer for the blog, my husband owned and operated a food truck for almost 2 years. He found a lot of his inspiration in carnival style foods — which are often battered and fried, over-the-top, creative creations designed to attracted attention and wow taste buds. In fact, one of my husband’s top-selling items on the truck were fried sandwich cookies topped with Mexican caramel and whipped cream.
This summer Curly’s BBQ challenged my husband to whip up two unique party recipes for a backyard barbecue event. My husband drew on his favorite carnival food classics to create Easy Pork Mole Tacos and Fried Baby Back Ribs.
There’s never a shortage of family and friends ready and willing to taste-test my husband’s latest recipes!
Easy Pork Mole Tacos
Taco trucks are a staple at carnivals and festivals, and tacos happen to be one of my husband’s specialties. This shortcut recipe for pork mole tacos brings out authentic Mexican flavors…with a twist!
What is Mole?
Mole is a traditional Mexican sauce, often incorporating over twenty ingredients (even chocolate!) For our pork mole tacos we used the most common variety, Mole Poblano, which is the rich dark sauce that most people associate with mole.
Since making homemade mole can take a long time and LOTS of components, we used a pre-made mole sauce to save time. To make it our own and provide depth of flavor, we added peanut butter and chicken broth.
Another shortcut was using Curly’s BBQ Sauceless Pulled Pork — it’s precooked so you don’t have to spend hours in the kitchen to get that authentic barbecue taste. Love it!
The addition of fresh chopped spinach and my husband’s tangy homemade pink pickled radishes perfectly balances out the richness of the mole.
TIP: We used Curly’s Sauceless Pulled Pork, but if you prefer chicken, Curly’s BBQ Sauceless Pulled Chicken is amazing too! See how we incorporated it in our Chicken Chipotle Melt Sandwiches here.
This shortcut recipe for easy pork mole tacos brings out authentic Mexican flavors...with a twist! Ready in minutes!
- 1 package Curly's BBQ Sauceless Pulled Pork
- 4 ounces mole sauce
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 Tablespoon peanut butter
- Pink pickled radishes and onions
- 8 corn tortillas
Combine mole sauce, chicken broth, and peanut butter in a medium sauce pan, whisking together as the mixture heats.
Once sauce is well incorporated and warmed through, add Curly's BBQ Sauceless Pulled Pork and toss until meat is fully coated in mole sauce.
- Layer corn tortillas with shredded spinach, a heaping portion of mole pork, and pink pickled radishes and onions.
Note: Nutrition information is a rough estimate only; actual values will vary based on the exact ingredients used and amount of recipe prepared.
Carnival Style Fried Ribs
When my husband and I visit local festivals, one of our favorite things to do is check out all the food stands and see what they’re frying up. You can find just about anything battered and fried at a carnival — it’s such a fun way to eat your favorite foods!
We love Curly’s BBQ Baby Back Ribs, and thought it would be exciting to fry them up carnival-style! Not only do fried ribs taste amazing, but it makes them almost mess-free to eat — perfect when you’re nibbling appetizers while standing up at a backyard barbecue!
Here’s how to make them:
Prepare one rack of Curly’s BBQ Baby Back Pork Ribs according to directions on package, allow to cool enough to handle, then wipe off excess sauce. Cut into individual ribs.
Batter each individual rib (we used funnel cake batter for that authentic carnival flavor) and fry in oil for about 2 minutes, until the coating starts to turn a light golden brown.
TIP: Make them gluten free with our gluten free funnel cake batter recipe, available here.
Remove from oil and allow to dry on paper towels to soak up any excess oil.
We served ours with extra BBQ sauce for dipping:
Where to Find Curly’s BBQ Products
You can find all of the Curly’s BBQ products we used for our recipes at most major grocers in the refrigerated meat section. It doesn’t get more convenient than that!
Click here to see more recipe inspiration and products available from Curly’s BBQ.
Which recipe would you most like to try? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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More Carnival Style Favorites for Your Backyard Party
Stacey aka the Soccer Mom
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Last updated on July 29th, 2019 at 11:55 am
Isadora Guidoni says
August 13, 2018 at 8:46 amNever heard of mole tacos before but they look really good and kinda cute!