Tacos De Carnitas

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

• Ready In: 3 hrs 15 mins
• Serves: 12

Ingredients

• 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.