Tacos De Carnitas

cookiedog's Note:

2001 Best Recipe from the San Francisco Chronicle. Serve with avocadao slices, sour cream, and limes and of course margaritas! Recipe courtesy Tara Duggan

• Total Time: 3 hrs 15 mins
• Prep Time: 45 mins
• Cook Time: 2 hrs 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 12

• 4 1/2 lbs pork butt
• 6 cups water
• 7 slices orange zest
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 onions, diced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 cinnamon sticks, preferably Mexican
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 1/2 teaspoons oregano leaves, crushed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 24 small corn tortillas, warmed
• chopped fresh cilantro
• finely chopped onion
• fresh salsa verde or hot sauce

Directions:

1. Trim any thick fat from the outside of the pork butt. Cut the meat into 1-inch cubes. Discard any cubes that are pure fat, but don't try to trim all of the fat out of the meat.
2. Put the pork in a large pot. Add the water the strips of orange zest, garlic, onion, red pepper flakes, cinnamon, bay leaves, oregano, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and cloves. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Skim off any scum that forms on the surface. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours, until the pork is very soft, adding more water if necessary to keep the meat submerged. Season with salt.
3. Bring to a gentle boil and cook until the water has evaporated about 30 minutes. Cook a little longer to fry the meat slightly. (Note: if you want extra-crispy carnitas, fry approximately 25 minutes.) Watch carefully to prevent burning.
4. Remove the bay leaves and cinnamon sticks. Put the meat in a fine strainer and push gently with a wooden spoon to remove any excess fat. Discard the fat.
5. Fold a few tablespoons of carnitas inside each tortilla and top each taco with cilantro, onion and salsa.

Reviews

[Chicagoland Chef du Jour]

Simply delicious! I used pork shoulder/ butt and all the ingredients. All of the flavors blended smoothly and nothing was overwhelming. Served on flour tortillas & topped with avocado slices, chopped fresh cilantro leaves and onions. I did not take the meat to the browning stage, just short of it, keeping it moist. This is company worthy and great for a family weekday dinner, we will make this often. Cookiedog, thanks a BUNCH! YUM!

[MarraMamba]

outstanding group of flavors. I thoroughly enjoyed it, even though my mother called while it was cooking and the pot burnt :D Luckily the pork had ended in a pile so there was enough that had not been touched by the charring lol. The verde sauce, chilantro and sour cream (i used fat free) just freshened the whole thing up. Thanks so much for posting.

[Charmie777]

Fantastic!!! I loved cooking it all day!!! In the end, I dumped the whole can of verde sauce in. Topped our tacos with chopped onions and cilantro and a smidge of cheese!