Carnitas Update

Hello all!

Kate here. I am so glad that Meredith posted the carnitas recipe! (See below). This is something we made when I went to visit her over spring break and I FELL IN LOVE with them. Of course, tacos of any kind make me melt into a warm puddle of happiness. When I came home from seeing her I immediately made them the next day for some friends that came over for Sunday lunch. I really don't have too much to add to her wonderful recipe... but I did take some lovely pictures that I would like to share with you all to further illustrate this kind-of-intense-but-totally-worth-it cooking process. Well, ok, let's be honest, I took the pictures and I just want to show them to you :)

When I made the carnitas I added a "pasilla" chili, per Bobby Flay's suggestion. It adds some smokey flavor and a little heat. Also, I added several thai chilis (not pictured) to crank up the heat.

This is what the meat should look like after you sear it. Nice and brown. Huge hunk of meat, huh? It was a little intimidating for a semi-vegetarian like myself...

These are all the juicy little brown bits left on the bottom of the pan that you are going to scrape up when you de-glaze it with your blender concoction.

This is the meat sitting in it's delicious little hot tub. It's happy in there.

After 12-16 hours, the bone literally comes right out. The meat has completely melted off.

I served it with simple garnishes: corn tortillas, lime wedges, avocado, and cilantro.

Here's a close up of the little beauties.

Oh, also, I didn't have time to make a fancy drink. So I served ice water and "clementine" water. It was a hit.

Note: I put some pretty crazy things in these tacos that I thought gave it so much depth of flavor. Explore with what is in your pantry! I put in peanuts, cacao powder, COFFEE, cinnoman, several kinds of chilis, and lots of honey and apple cider vinegar until I achieved the perfect balance of sweet and smokey.

Ok that's all! Thanks for indulging me! See Meredith's post below for the full recipe.