tacos with carnitas and pineapple salsa.

The taco obsession continues - it has gone from a minor one to a major one.  By the time summer is over, I will probably have put just about every vegetable and meat I can think of on a blistered corn tortilla.  Maybe some people have issues with eating like that (maybe some people don’t know a good thing when they meet it), but until the idea of hand held meals make me run away screaming, I will continue to fold up everything I find into a tortilla. 

The latest version involves pork shoulder taking a little bath in citrus flavored water.  During the cooking process, it somehow transforms into amazingly tender, crispy, salty chunks of meat that falls apart with the most gentle of nudges.  We piled it high into homemade corn tortillas.  As fantastic as it was plain, we decided to add in sliced avocado and spoonfuls of pineapple salsa.  The avocado added a wonderful bit of creaminess and the salsa added the necessary sweet/spicy crunch.  The perfect side dish?  Watermelon cocktails loaded up with gin and lime.  I can’t imagine getting sick of eating like this.

Carnitas

Recipe from Smitten Kitchen and the Homesick Texan Cookbook

3 pounds boneless pork shoulder or pork butt cut into 2 inch pieces

½ cup orange juice

¼ cup lime juice

4 cloves of garlic peeled and crushed

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

Place the pork in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot.  Add the orange juice, lime juice, garlic, cumin, salt, and enough water to just barely cover the meat.  Bring the pot to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer.  Simmer uncovered for 2 hours.  Don’t touch the meat.

After two hours, increase the heat to medium-high and while occasionally stirring and turning the pieces, continue to cook for about 45 minutes, or until all the liquid has evaporated, leaving only the rendered pork fat.  Let it sizzle in this fat long enough to brown at the edges, turning pieces gently (they love to fall apart!), only as needed. When pork is brown on both sides, it’s ready!

Pineapple Salsa

2 cups pineapple, diced

1 jalapeno, seeded and diced

1 large radish (or 2 small radishes), diced

¼ cup cilantro, chopped finely

1 clove garlic minced

Juice of half a lime

Salt to taste

In a medium bowl, combine pineapple, jalepeno, radish, cilantro, garlic and lime juice.  Stir to combine.  Season with salt, to taste.  Let sit at room temperature for 15 min to allow flavors to meld.  Serve at room temperature or chilled.