Cinco de Mayo is a great time to celebrate Mexican food, as many people in America (myself included) adore it. Tonight I’ll be serving carnitas tacos. This versatile meat base is incredibly delicious and has a number of variations: this is my Southern Californian version; though I omitted coca cola as is commonly found in carnitas recipes I’ve seen from there.

Ingredients:

3-5 lbs Pork shoulder, cut into 1 inch slices or chunks, trim and reserve excess fat and bones

1 tsp Black pepper

2 Tbsp dry Oregano

2 Tbsp dry Thyme

1 Cinnamon Stick

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

10 Cloves

10 bay leaves

10 crushed flat garlic cloves

1 whole onion, stew dice

1/4 cup brown sugar

Juice of 3 fresh oranges

Spent oranges

Water as needed (should be about 2-3 quarts)

Salt to taste

Method of prep:

Preheat oven to 400

In large pan, render pork fat. Once rendered, reserve crispy solids, add all spices, onions, garlic, spent oranges and sweat until fragrant (about 5 minutes). Once the oil has been seasoned, add remaining ingredients, and add water to cover by at least 1-2 inches. Bring to a rolling boil, cover. Throw in the oven until fork tender (should be about 2 hours).

To serve, drain the cooking liquor, and flake the meat. Heat your oven to broil. Add a little juice back to the flaked meat and lay flat on a sheet tray. Brown the meat in the broiler till crispy. Serve on toasted corn tortillas with fresh cilantro, sliced cabbage, lime juice, and the pork cracklin from earlier. It is especially good with bitter charred arbol salsa. Look for pics later!