Carnitas Tacos

Last Friday, I was craving something fresh and good to celebrate the 

first day of Spring and this is what I ended up cooking.

Carnitas Tacos

We actually ended up hosting a spur-of-the-moment dinner party.

It was great and the tacos were delicious.

Here is the recipe from the Williams Sonoma Essentials of Slow Cooking.

Carnitas

For serving:

warm corn tortillas

lime wedges

chopped yellow onion

Homemade Salsa (from my Grandmother, recipe follows)

chopped fresh cilantro

Ingredients:

salt and freshly ground pepper

1 boneless pork shoulder roast, (3 - 4 lbs)

1/4 cup olive oil

1 yellow onion, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 1/2 cups (12 fl oz) Mexican, lager-style beer (I used a Corona)

grated zest and juice of 1 large orange

grated zest and juice of 1 lime

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1. In a small bowl, combine 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Season the pork roast generously with the mixture and set aside.

2. In a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, warm the oil. Add the pork, and cook, turning frequently until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.

3. Pour off all but a thin layer of fat in the pan. Add the onion and garlic and saute until they begin to soften, 1 - 2 minutes. Add the beer and deglaze the pan, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.

4. You can cook it in the oven or a slow cooker.

Oven: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Add the pork to the beer mixture. Add the orange and lime zests and juices and the oregano. Cover and cook until the pork is very tender, about 2 1/2 hours.

Slow cooker: Transfer the pork to a slow cooker and pour in the beer mixture. Add the orange and lime zests and juices and the oregano. Cover and cook until the pork is very tender, 5 hours on the high-heat setting or 10 hours on the low-heat setting.

5. Once the pork is done, transfer it to a cutting board and cover loosely with aluminum foil to keep warm. Use a large, shallow spoon or a ladle to skim as much fat as possible from the surface of the cooking liquid. Using a large sharp knife and a fork, coarsely cut and shred the pork into small bite-sized pieces. Arrange the meat on a warmed platter or individual plates, moisten it lightly with the cooking juices, and serve at once with the tortillas, lime wedges, chopped onion, salsa (recipe follows), and cilantro.

Homemade Salsa:

3 medium tomatoes

1-2 large Jalapeno peppers

1/2 of large onion, coarsely chopped

1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro

1. Cook the tomatoes and peppers in a pot full of water and cover for about 10-15 minutes or until the tomatoes and peppers are softened.

2. Place tomatoes and peppers in a blender with the onion and cilantro. Add a little of the tomato and pepper water. Blend until pureed. If needed add more of the water.

3. Season with salt to taste.

4. Serve it warm or refrigerate it for later.