I religiously eat two items for my birthday each year, Tacos (of any kind) and KFC Original Recipe Fried Chicken. Because these are hands down, two of my favorite foods on the planet. In light of my recent birthday, I've posted two AMAZING recipes from the Food52.com website for citrus rubbed pulled pork tacos and southern fried chicken. Enjoy!

Pulled Pork Tacos: I love using my slow cooker to create tasty meals such as this one. These tacos can also be turned into burgers, salad or mini burgers, whatever you can dream up. I enjoy this dish because you can start in before you leave for work and your meat will be ready when you get home. The slaw takes minutes to assemble so you'll have dinner in no time!

Citrus Rubbed Pulled Pork (Serves 6)

2pounds boneless pork roast
3tablespoons kosher salt
1tablespoon ground black pepper
1tablespoon granulated garlic
1tablespoon onion powder
2limes, zested
2tablespoons oil

Combine all dry ingredients and the lime zest.
Rub on the pork roast to coat evenly, you may not use all of the mixture.
Heat a nonstick crock pot insert or a saute pan with the oil.
Once the oil is hot, sear all sides of the pork roast.
Once the meat is seared, cover entirely with water (if using a saute pan, transfer to crock pot first). Place in insert in crock pot and cover.
Cook on high heat for 6 hours in the crock pot.
Once the meat is done, transfer to a 9" x 13" pan and shred with a pair of tongs.
Spoon some liquid from the crock pot over the shredded meat to keep juicy. Cover until use.

Citrus Slaw

3tablespoons fresh lime juice
2tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2tablespoon sugar
1tablespoon fresh grated ginger
3/4teaspoons kosher salt
1/2teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
8ounces raw cole slaw mix (or make your own)
12corn tortillas

In a medium bowl, mix everything together but the cabbage and the corn tortillas.
Add the cabbage and coat well.
Warm the corn tortillas and fill with pulled pork and slaw. Garnish with a lime spritz, jalapenos or green onions.

Southern Fried Chicken: This fried chicken was nearly two decades in the making. Growing up in the panhandle of Florida before spending 8 eight years cooking in Birmingham, AL this recipe has been tested, tweeked, refined and perfected through out the years. The spice rub and buttermilk brine give the chicken flavor and tenderness like no other. And the trick to frying is starting with a lower temperature that increases through coking to insure perfect crispness and the right amount of browning.

Southern Fried Chicken (Serves 6)

Spice Rub

6chicken leg quarters (leg and thigh separated)
1teaspoon dried thyme
1teaspoon dried marjoram
2teaspoons onion powder
2teaspoons garlic powder
1.5teaspoons cayenne pepper
3tablespoons salt
1tablespoon black pepper

Butter milk Brine

1-2quart buttermilk
4tablespoons vinegar-based hot sauce
6cups all-purpose flour
peanut or canola oil for frying

In a medium bowl, mix all of the dry spices. Add chicken and toss until well coated. Let the mixture stand at room temp (if cooking within 4 hours) or refrigerated in a large bowl for one hour.
Pour enough buttermilk over the chicken to cover completely and stir in the hot sauce. Leave on the countertop for one to three hours, or refrigerate up to 24 hr. Pour chicken legs into colander and allow excess buttermilk to drain.
In a large bowl, mix the flour with salt and pepper to season well. One-by-one add the chicken pieces, making sure they are thoroughly coated with flour on all sides. Leave them in the bowl with the excess flour while you wait on the oil.
Fill a very large pot 4-6 inches deep with oil and heat to 325 degrees. Grab each piece of chicken and slap it back and forth between your hands a few times to knock off the excess flour before slipping it into the oil. As the legs go into the oil, the temperature will drop. Turn the flame to high to increase the temperature to 350 as the chicken cooks. Cook 12-18 minutes until golden brown and at least 160 degrees at the bone, Remove to a rack to drain and season immediately with salt. Cool a few minutes and serve.