Tacos La Playita Carnitas Food

CARNITAS WALKING TACOS

Steps:

• Place the pork shoulder, garlic, bay leaves, large chunks of onion, ancho chile powder, cumin, cloves, orange juice, lime juice, 1 tablespoon salt, a generous amount of black pepper and 1/2 cup water in the bowl of a 6-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook until the meat is tender and can easily be shredded with a fork, 4 hours on high or 6 hours on low.
• Remove the pork to a large bowl and use two forks to shred. Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of the pork and 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has evaporated and the pork is crispy and dark brown, about 15 minutes. Remove to a plate and repeat with the remaining oil, pork and 1/2 cup cooking liquid (discard the remaining liquid), another 15 minutes.
• Open the tortilla chip bags and crush a few of the chips. Gently roll down the tops of the bags about a third of the way. Fill the bags with some dollops of sour cream, then pork, then garnish with the finely chopped onions, radishes, cilantro and a few dashes of hot sauce. Serve with the lime wedges.
• In a small bowl, combine the sour cream, mayonnaise, chili powder, salt and lime zest. Set aside.

PORK CARNITAS TACOS

Steps:

• Tie the thyme sprigs together with kitchen twine; combine the pork, garlic, bay leaves and thyme bundle in a large Dutch oven. Add the vegetable oil, lime juice, orange juice, 1 cup water and 2 teaspoons salt and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low; cover and gently simmer, stirring occasionally, 1 hour.
• Uncover the pot and continue simmering, stirring once or twice, until the pork is tender, about another 1 hour, 15 minutes. Increase the heat to medium; cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is mostly evaporated, about 35 more minutes. Discard the thyme bundle and bay leaves, then increase the heat to medium high so the pork starts to fry. Cook, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot occasionally, until the pork is golden brown and crisp in spots, about 10 more minutes. Serve in tortillas with assorted toppings.
• Combine 1 thinly sliced red onion, 1 cup cider vinegar, 1/2 cup water, 2 tablespoons sugar, 2 bay leaves, 1 teaspoon each coriander seeds, mustard seeds and cumin seeds, 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt in a small saucepan. Boil 2 minutes; let cool.

TACOS LA PLAYITA CARNITAS

Steps:

• Cut the pork butt into 6 or 7 large pieces. Combine salt, pepper, bay leaves and oregano in a small bowl then sprinkle over the pork on all sides, using all the seasoning mixture. This step is best done 1 or even 2 days in advance. Leave uncovered in the refrigerator until ready to use.
• When you are ready to cook, remove pork from the oven 1 hour in advance. Heat lard in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add pork (in batches if necessary, don't crowd the pan) and brown pork on all sides, about 5-8 minutes per side.
• Add remaining ingredients to the pot, then add enough water to cover three-quarters of the way up the side of the pork. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, turning occasionally until pork is pierced easily with a fork, about 3 hours.
• Remove pork from pot, leaving liquid simmering on the stove. When pork is cool enough to touch, shred or cut into bite-sized pieces. Return pork to pot and raise the heat to medium-high. Continue cooking until almost all the liquid has evaporated and all that is left is the rendered fat. Turn the heat to low and fry meat, stirring frequently until edges are crispy and well-browned.

TACOS DE CARNITAS

Steps:

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Fold a few tablespoons of carnitas inside each tortilla and top each taco with cilantro, onion and salsa.