Carnitas and Carne Asada
Carnitas are traditional Mexican tacos filled with slow roasted pork. These tacos are served by street vendors in Mexico. The vendors roast the pork shoulder on a vertical spit rotating next to an open gas flame. When you order the tacos the vendor slices off a chunk of meat, chops it and cooks it a bit longer over a griddle. The recipe below employs a different cooking method. Decidedly not low fat, but still very delicious.
Carnitas
(parts of this recipe are borrowed from Food TV)
Ingredients for carnitas
2 pounds of lard (no, that is not a typo)
2 1/2 pounds of pork butt, trimmed and cut into 2-inch cubes
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 cup Chile de Arbol salsa
24 corn tortillas
1 onion, chopped
1 cup of cilantro leaves (no stems), coarsely chopped
1 lime, cut into wedges
Ingredients for the Chile de Arbol salsa
1/2 pound of roma tomatoes
3/4 pound of tomatillos, husks removed and washed
1 cup (30-40) Arbol chiles
A heaping handful of chopped cilantro leaves
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 cups water or low-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Make the salsa first. Preheat the broiler. Places the tomatoes and tomatillos on a baking sheet. Broil, turning occasionally until charred all over, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a saucepan and add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and cook until onions are soft, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a food processor or blender. Puree and then strain. Set aside.
To make the carnitas, melt the lard in a large deep saucepan over medium heat. Add the pork, salt and pepper, and simmer until tender, being careful not to crisp the meat, about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Remove the pork with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool. When the pork is cool enough to handle, shred the meat with two forks. Remove and discard any remaining fat. Transfer the meat to a medium saucepan, add 1 cup of the salsa and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, 5 to 8 minutes.
To serve, heat the corn tortillas and wrap them in a towel to keep them warm and soft. For each taco, stack 2 tortillas, layer with the meat, top with the onion and cilantro, and squeeze a little lime juice over the top. Serve with the remaining salsa if desired.
As an alternative to or accompaniment to carnitas, let me recommend carne asada tacos - a Tex-Mex variation on the traditional Mexican taco. The idea is similar, but the filling for these tacos is grilled flank steak.
Carne Asada Tacos
1 skirt steak or flank steak, rinsed and patted dry
fresh corn tortillas
1 onion, diced
1 cup of cilantro leaves, chopped (no stems!)
1 lime, cut into wedges
1 avocado, chopped
Chile de Arbol salsa (see above)
for marinade
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
juice of one lemon
juice of one orange
juice of two limes
1 teaspoon of granulated garlic
1/3 cup of chopped cilantro leaves (no stems!)
1/3 cup of chopped green onion
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
Place the steak in a large resealable plastic bag. Combine the ingredients for the marinade and pour over the steak. Seal the bag and place it in a shallow baking dish or pan. Allow the meat to marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
Remove the meat from the refrigerator and start your fire or light the burners on your grill. You will want to grill the steak over high heat. Once your fire is ready, remove the steak from the plastic bag and grill over direct high heat for maybe 8 to 10 minutes, turning once halfway through cooking time. You want to pull the steak off the grill when it is medium rare in the center. Remove the steak to your cutting board and cover loosely with foil for about 10 minutes (the meat will continue to cook while tented - you want to serve flank steak at no more than medium or it will be too tough to eat). During this time you can assemble your other ingredients.
Once the meat has rested, slice the meat into thin slices across the grain and then chop the slices into chunks. To serve, layer 2 corn tortillas, fill with meat, onion, cilantro, and avocado. Top with a squeeze of lime juice and a drizzle of salsa.
Carnitas
(parts of this recipe are borrowed from Food TV)
Ingredients for carnitas
2 pounds of lard (no, that is not a typo)
2 1/2 pounds of pork butt, trimmed and cut into 2-inch cubes
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 cup Chile de Arbol salsa
24 corn tortillas
1 onion, chopped
1 cup of cilantro leaves (no stems), coarsely chopped
1 lime, cut into wedges
Ingredients for the Chile de Arbol salsa
1/2 pound of roma tomatoes
3/4 pound of tomatillos, husks removed and washed
1 cup (30-40) Arbol chiles
A heaping handful of chopped cilantro leaves
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 cups water or low-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Make the salsa first. Preheat the broiler. Places the tomatoes and tomatillos on a baking sheet. Broil, turning occasionally until charred all over, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a saucepan and add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and cook until onions are soft, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a food processor or blender. Puree and then strain. Set aside.
To make the carnitas, melt the lard in a large deep saucepan over medium heat. Add the pork, salt and pepper, and simmer until tender, being careful not to crisp the meat, about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Remove the pork with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool. When the pork is cool enough to handle, shred the meat with two forks. Remove and discard any remaining fat. Transfer the meat to a medium saucepan, add 1 cup of the salsa and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, 5 to 8 minutes.
To serve, heat the corn tortillas and wrap them in a towel to keep them warm and soft. For each taco, stack 2 tortillas, layer with the meat, top with the onion and cilantro, and squeeze a little lime juice over the top. Serve with the remaining salsa if desired.
As an alternative to or accompaniment to carnitas, let me recommend carne asada tacos - a Tex-Mex variation on the traditional Mexican taco. The idea is similar, but the filling for these tacos is grilled flank steak.
Carne Asada Tacos
1 skirt steak or flank steak, rinsed and patted dry
fresh corn tortillas
1 onion, diced
1 cup of cilantro leaves, chopped (no stems!)
1 lime, cut into wedges
1 avocado, chopped
Chile de Arbol salsa (see above)
for marinade
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
juice of one lemon
juice of one orange
juice of two limes
1 teaspoon of granulated garlic
1/3 cup of chopped cilantro leaves (no stems!)
1/3 cup of chopped green onion
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
Place the steak in a large resealable plastic bag. Combine the ingredients for the marinade and pour over the steak. Seal the bag and place it in a shallow baking dish or pan. Allow the meat to marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
Remove the meat from the refrigerator and start your fire or light the burners on your grill. You will want to grill the steak over high heat. Once your fire is ready, remove the steak from the plastic bag and grill over direct high heat for maybe 8 to 10 minutes, turning once halfway through cooking time. You want to pull the steak off the grill when it is medium rare in the center. Remove the steak to your cutting board and cover loosely with foil for about 10 minutes (the meat will continue to cook while tented - you want to serve flank steak at no more than medium or it will be too tough to eat). During this time you can assemble your other ingredients.
Once the meat has rested, slice the meat into thin slices across the grain and then chop the slices into chunks. To serve, layer 2 corn tortillas, fill with meat, onion, cilantro, and avocado. Top with a squeeze of lime juice and a drizzle of salsa.
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