Pork Carnitas Tacos
Labor Day weekend for me normally means the Minnesota state fair and 70-degree weather, but this year it's football games and getting caught up with tasks around my place. My alma mater, University of Minnesota, played its first game of the season on Thursday and came away with the W. Last night people were lined up to get into high school football stadiums and today the whole city has been taken over by a sea of burnt orange. I'm hoping to make it to a real Texas football game this year, so fingers crossed.
Hurricane Harvey hit last weekend and it's ugly. Luckily in Austin, we didn't get much physical damage, but the coast is really hurting. It's great to see Texas rally together to support those in need. Mother nature or not, don't mess with Texas.
In case you haven't heard, Austin and most of the surrounding area is out of gas. This is something I've never experienced and have always been able to go to a gas station and fill up my vehicle. I was on the phone with my parents yesterday and they asked how much gas was down here, and I said it didn't matter because you can't buy it. Yikes.
Last weekend I was cooped up in my neighborhood with the rain making it unsafe for me to travel, but Whole Foods was still open and stocked so I headed over there to get some food. Last Friday, one of my friends had a movie and tacos night and made carnitas tacos that were incredible so I knew I wanted to recreate those, plus I had a new dutch oven I needed to break in, so it was perfect. I also realize I have an addiction to dutch ovens, I'm working on it.
Growing up in the midwest, the only exposure I ever had to carnitas was at Chipotle in college. I'm glad that has changed and I understand what good carnitas actually taste like. Acidic, citrusy, spicy, not soggy, and perfect with an extra squeeze of lime juice on time.
I've gotten to repurpose it all week into different meals - tacos, enchiladas, breakfast tacos, omelets, carnitas Benedict, carnitas nachos - and I haven't been disappointed yet. I reheat them in a skillet and then stick it under the broiler for a few minutes to crisp up.
Pork shoulder, or pork butt, is a really good cut of meat to start of trying to cook because the best way to do it is low and slow. It's not lean, it's very very fatty, especially if you don't take the fat cap off the back. The fat packs a lot of flavor, I mean bacon and pulled pork sandwiches are delicious for a reason. This is a cut of meat that you can buy, season, and stick in the oven for hours and will come out delicious every single time, given your seasonings work well together.
These are great to make if you're trying to feed a large group of people, perhaps for a tailgate party, and keeps for just over a week in the fridge so you can make it well before game day and reheat it the day of!
Ingredients
6 pound bone in pork shoulder, with most of the fat cap removed and cut into smaller pieces
1 tbsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tbsp mexican oregano
1 tbsp cumin
3-4 bay leaves
1 tsp adobo sauce
3 jalapenos, stemmed
2 small yellow onions, quartered
2 oranges, cut in half
2-3 limes, cut in half
2 cups water
For the tacos: Tortillas, chopped onions, lime wedges, salsa
Instructions
Preheat oven to 275 degrees Fahrenheit with the rack placed in the middle.
Heat a large dutch oven over medium-high heat, and once hot, add the pork and bone. Add the dry spices, bay leaves, and adobo sauce and mix together. Then add the jalapenos, onions, oranges, limes, and water. Cover and place in the oven until pork is easy to shred - anywhere from 2 hours to 4+ hours depending on how big your pork shoulder chunks are.
Once fully cooked, remove all of the pork pieces from the dutch oven and shred them. Strain the remaining solids (onions, peppers, fruit, bone) out of the dutch oven and discard. Reduce the amount of liquid in the dutch oven by at least half by simmering over medium-high heat. Once reduced, put the shredded pork back into the oven. Right before serving, take the portions out you want and crisp up under the broiler for a few minutes. The pork will have crispy edges and remain juicy on the inside.
Build tacos and enjoy!
*I'm sure this would be suitable for a slow cooker as well by putting all the ingredients in and leaving on medium-high for 8 hours, though I haven't tried it.