Carnitas and Salsa Verde
Carnitas and Salsa Verde Dish Guide
For The Carnitas
3 - 3.5 lb pork shoulder cut into ~2 inch chunks
1 T oil
1 t dried Mexican or Greek oregano
2 t ground cumin
1/4 t cayenne pepper
The peel and juice from one orange
2 bay leaves
2-3 cups whole milk (enough to mostly cover the pork when braising)
Salt and Pepper to taste
In a large pot or dutch oven over medium high heat, brown the pork pieces on all sides. Work in batches if needed to prevent over-crowding the pan. Once all browned, return all pork and any accumulated juices to the pot and add the cumin, cayenne, oregano, bay leaves orange peel and juice and milk. Bring to a simmer ensuring the pork is mostly submerged in the liquid. Cover and reduce heat to medium low. Stir every 30 minutes or so until the pork is fork tender but not falling apart, about 2 hours. Once fork tender, place the pork pieces in a baking dish and spoon some of the rendered pork fat from the pot over each piece. Place in a 450 degree oven for 20 minutes, flipping halfway through. For extra crispy carnitas, broil for the last 4-5 minutes. Remove and serve as is with rice and beans or smash the carnitas lightly and place into flour or corn tortillas and top with ...
For the Salsa Verde
6-8 tomatillos with husks removed
2 cloves garlic
Handful of fresh cilantro
Juice of one lime
1 jalapeno sliced in half (remove seeds if you are spice-averse)
1/4 cup diced white onion
Salt and Pepper to taste
Place the tomatillos and jalapeno on a baking sheet and drizzle with oil. Bake at 425 for 25-30 minutes or until the tomatillos are softened and beginning to burst and the jalapeno is soft and browning a bit. Let cool to room temperature and then add to a blender or food processor along with the garlic and lime juice and salt and pepper. Pulse a few times until the salsa is homogeneous and then add the fresh cilantro and onion and pulse a couple more times to incorporate. We prefer nice chunks of onions and cilantro leaves and a chunkier texture overall but blend it as much as you like. You can add water if it is too thick for your taste.
Top the carnitas tacos with the salsa and additional fresh onion, cilantro and jalapeno if desired. Saludos!
Dish Notes
If you don't like any spice at all, omit the jalapeno completely from the salsa, you'll never know the difference if you are a spice wimp, ahem, spice-averse. If you need to keep this dairy free then substitute the milk for any kind of stock. This makes enough carnitas for 6-8 servings so be prepared with leftover ideas such as ... carnitas hash, shredded carnitas sandwiches (just shred the meat, add BBQ sauce and yum), carnitas mac and cheese.
