Carnitas a casa

In my former life I lived in Chicago in the middle of Bucktown, a city neighborhood just north and west of downtown. Bucktown was pretty well gentrified by the time we moved in, but vestiges of its former working class/immigrant vibe still remained and made it the interesting neighborhood it was. One of those was a Latino grocery store called Carnicerias Guanajuato, which housed inside of it an absolute gem of a taco stand. If better tacos existed in Chicago, I never found them. For just a few dollars, you could get two or three tacos de carnitas, a braised crispy pork taco made up of various pork "parts." Authentic carnitas can be made up of the whole pig pretty much -- shoulder and rib meat, cheeks, liver, and skin and are often slow cooked in lard seasoned with a bunch of stuff, including orange rind. The meat is served on two smallish corn tortillas, then topped with chopped cilantro and onion and served with lime wedges, salt and a simple salsa verde or rojo. The combination of various textures and flavors within the meat make an authentic taco de carnitas really special and the accompaniments add a freshness and zest... its just awesome. Great, now I just drooled on my sweater.

If you live in Chicago, you shouldn't make your own carnitas at home -- just go to the Guanajuato market and eat them there (its on Ashland just north of Division). You can also buy the meat to go from their meat department, already cooked and ready to go. If you don't live in Chicago there is a decent substitute that you can make at home which is really easy and actually still pretty awesome too. It also does not involve cooking any pork cheeks or liver if that makes you queasy. Or vats of lard, if that also makes you queasy.

Tacos de Carnitas*

serves 4-6

4 lb. bone in pork shoulder, cut into large cubes

1 qt. beef stock

1 large bottle of store bought salsa (I use Pace or something similar, medium or hot depending on your preference)

water

salt

accompaniments:

lime wedges

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

about 1/2 c. chopped cilantro

good salsa verde or salsa casera (our favorite is the Herdez brand, which comes in small cans)

salt

corn or flour tortillas**

*This recipe is adapted from one I found some time ago on a favorite food blog of mine, Simply Recipes.

** After buying a lot of poor to average corn tortillas from gringo grocery stores I have concluded that I am better off making these with flour. By all means, if you can find decent, i.e. fresh that day, corn tortillas then do that. I know el Rey in Milwaukee has good corn ones that are often warm on the shelf when you buy them. I have not found a decent Latino market in the Twin Cities yet.

In a large dutch oven, combine pork, salsa, about 1/2 T salt and beef broth. Add enough water to cover the meat and heat to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook on the stove top for at least three hours, until meat is fork tender and pulls apart easily.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a cookie sheet or other large roasting pan by covering with foil for easier clean up. Remove the meat from liquid, shred into bite size chunks, and spread out on cookie sheet, making sure not to crowd the meat too much. Roast meat for 10-15 minutes (check after 10) until crispy and browned.

To assemble tacos, first warm the tortillas in one of a few ways. The best way I've found is to heat them directly on a gas burner by setting the flame to medium and flipping them quickly to just toast on both sides. You can also warm them in a lightly greased skillet, or worst case scenario microwave them 1-2 at a time for about 10 seconds each. Keep the prepared tortillas warm on a covered plate or other basket.

Place a small amount of meat on each tortilla, and then top with chopped onion and cilantro, a shake of salt, a squeeze of lime, and a dollop of salsa. Buen Provecho!