Carnitas Tacos
Carnitas is Spanish for little meats and is traditionally pork simmered in lard; mmmm lard, is that the gym calling? Not here, I have developed a different method with similar results. Does that make this dish low fat? Well no. I first tasted carnitas outside of Joshua Tree National Park in the little town of Twentynine Palms (I didn’t count, but it seemed like there were more). I had rock climbed all day and was famished. I found this hole in the wall place where I was definitely the only gringo. First glance at their extensive salsa bar and a look at the dollar per taco price tag, I knew I was in the right place. One bite and the flavor explosion hit me. I was hooked. Five tacos later I needed to be rolled back to my campsite. I’ve since eaten many a carnitas taco but I spent years attempting to replicate those first ones. I think I managed to come pretty darn close. The best part is it’s done in a slow cooker which makes it virtually fool proof. You’re not a fool are you? A big shout out to Pam Fong who provided several of the pictures, she does phenomenal work.
What you’ll need
Approximately 8 ½ hours total time
Slow cooker
Baking sheet and foil
4-5 lb. pork butt/shoulder
2 T tomato paste
1 large sliced red onion
8 cloves of garlic
3 sliced jalapenos
1 bunch chopped cilantro
2 tsp peppercorns
1 T coriander seeds
1 T cumin seeds
3 tsp dried oregano
1 dried pepper such as ancho or chipotle, split in two
2 bay leaves
1 T salt
Juice of 4 limes
½ C chicken broth
Corn tortillas
Place the pork into the slow cooker and spread the tomato paste over the top, go ahead and get those digits dirty. It’s a messy job, but it will help the spices to stick.
Add ¾ cup of the onion (you’ll utilize the other ¼ cup later, fridge it), garlic, jalapenos and cilantro (also reserving 2 T for later). Squeeze the juice of 2 of the limes over the meat (again, the other two for later) and add chicken broth.
Next up grab your spice grinder or your trusty old mortar and pestle (seriously, get one if you don’t have one) and powder the cumin seed, coriander and peppercorns. Sprinkle over the meat along with the oregano, salt, dried pepper and bay leaves.
Set the slow cooker to low and like go to work or something, you’ve got 8 hours.
Remove the meat from the slow cooker and put it in a large glass baking dish or bowl and then pour the liquid over the top. Using two forks shred the meat and mix together. Now set your broiler to high. Using tongs put the meat on a foil lined cookie sheet in an even layer. Place under the broiler until very crispy on the outside, turning/stirring the meat frequently. This should take 10-20 min. Meanwhile, alternate the desired number of tortillas between damp paper towels and microwave for 30-60 sec until warm.
Mince the remaining onion and mix with the cilantro and juice of 2 limes in a small bowl. Serve taco meat on the tortillas along with the lime mix as well as cheese and sour cream if you are so inclined.
