cinco de mayo carnitas + garnishes

 
I accidentally made these carnitas on Cinco de Mayo.  It's true- I didn't even realize that Cinco de Mayo was upon us when I planned to make them.  Here's the deal: I've got 12 people coming into town for Scott's graduation from pilot training in a mere 5 weeks, and I don't want to serve something to a bunch of people that I've never made before (unless it's at supper club) so my intention was to try this new recipe for carntias out and it just so happened that I tried it out on the same day as Cinco de Mayo (I know, I know, I must REALLY be a Latina!! my heart's desires have come true!!)  They were excellent.  I've been searching for the perfect carnitas recipes, so I'm trying out a few.  This one is Bobby Flay's plus a few twists of mine- I'll let you know my twists by using the word "optional."  Carnitas (or pulled pork tacos) are a real labor of love.  However, they're fool proof because you can throw everything but the kitchen sink in there (trust me, Kate and I have done it before) and they still turn out delicious.  Fix them to meet your taste buds along the way.


Ingredients for Carnitas- don't be intimidated by the amount!

• pork shoulder (3 lbs or so, unless you're feeding 12 people in which case I'd say 5 1/2 lbs)
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 2 dried ancho chili peppers, stemmed and de-seeded
• 2 dried new mexico chile peppers, " "
• 4 dried cascabel chile peppers, " "
• ***I couldn't find cascabel chiles so I just upped the amount of new mexico and ancho chiles. they come in big bags (dried) at wal mart or latin markets...I obviously had to use wal mart
• 1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 1 cinnamon stick (optional)
• 2 bay leaves (optional)
• oregano (optional but necessary)
• 1-2 chiles in adobo (optional)
• apple cider vinegar (optional but necessary)
• can of whole tomatoes (didn't use it this time but I will in the future)
• tomato paste (see above parenthesis)
• 1/2 cup port (I didn't have this so I just used red wine)
• 12 sprigs of thyme
• tortillas (note: I dampen a kitchen towel and wrap the tortillas in it and microwave it for around a minute and they're perfect)
• cilantro, limes, cabbage slaw, pickled red onions, guac. for garnish (recipes for guac, pickled red onions, and slaw below)

Directions for Carnitas

• get your slow cooker ready on the LOW setting
• pat your meat dry and season it liberally with salt and pepper- I'd also encourage you to add cumin to this process
• in large sautee pan, heat your oil and get it to smoke
• once it starts smoking, add your meat and sear on all sides (remember what we've talked about with searing- if it doesn't lift up easily, it's not done searing- you want your meat BROWN on the outside)
• when it's seared, stick it in the slow cooker
• meanwhile, put all your dried chiles in a pot and fill it with your chicken stock, turn the pot onto medium heat and bring to a simmer
• once it's at a simmer, remove it from the heat to allow it to steep for 15 minutes
• in the same pan you just seared your meat in, add your onions, garlic, cinnamon stick, and bay leaves (and tomato paste if using) and a good pinch of salt (put pan on medium-high heat)
• stir around until the onions are fragrant and translucent.  
• now add your red wine and chile stock (take your chiles out so you can de-seed them, dont worry about chopping them) with the 12 sprigs of thyme (this would also be the time to add your tomatoes and chile in adobo, if using)
• let this simmer and go de-seed the chiles- add them to the mix when you're done
• in batches, pour your stock mixture goodness into a blender to blend everything together (hold your blender down with a towel and apply pressure otherwise your lid will fly off because of the heat)
• taste for seasonings.  at this point I wish I would have added a chile in adobo sauce but the commissary didn't have them so I didn't
• add a few big dashes of oregano, some apple cider vinegar (maybe 1/3-1/4 cup)
• did I forget anything?  just dump it all together and blend it together- that's the point.  
• dump this sauce over the pork in the slow cooker and let it do its' thing for around 12 hours (at least 10).  every so often you can check for flavorings, though.

the good news is, you really can't mess it up.  if you want more heat, add some chili powder, or use more chiles, or use some jalapenos.  it's so versatile- the good news is, whatever you do, thanks to the slow cooker, your meat will be so tender! now onto garnishes

Pickled Red Onions

• 1 large onion, finely sliced
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro (don't have to have this)
• Salt and pepper

Cabbage Slaw

• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 2 tablespoons dijon
• 2 tablespoons clover honey
• cilantro (as much as ya want)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 2 cups finely shredded napa cabbage
• 2 cups finely shredded red cabbage
• 1 large carrot, peeled and julienned

*I just used a bag of angel hair slaw (double the bags for this recipe)- but make sure to NOT overdress your slaw! you want CRUNCH! I made this mistake, and it was still yummy, but I was wanting more crunch.  note to self for next time.

Mere's guacamole

everyone has their own delicious recipe for guac, and everyone's is different, but here's mine:

• 3 ripe avocadoes
• 1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
• 3 limes
• salt
• purple onions, chopped finely and soaked in ice water for about 10 minutes (it gets rid of the bite of red onions- promise!)
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• tomatoes (optional- I don't normally use them)

once you've cut open the avocados and get the seed out, spoon out the inside into a bowl and mash with a fork.  drain your onions from their ice water and add them with the garlic, cilantro, tomatoes (if using) and give it a GOOD pinch of salt.  stir to combine.  now start addin' that lime juice!  at this point, it's up to your taste buds- taste as you go for more salt or lime and enjoy!!

Add all of this to your tacos, fold up, and enjoy!!