As soon as I saw it was National Taco day yesterday I pulled out some pork shoulder I had frozen. I love pretty much all Mexican food and would rather cook it than go out to eat it. I recently read through Diana Kennedy’s The Essential Cuisines of Mexico. It was interesting and I learned some new tricks, but it had gone back to the library so I decided to make up my own recipe.

I quick thawed the pork in some water, then cut it into chunks. I browned it a bit in a dutch oven, then added onion, garlic, and spices. Put the lid on and stuck it in the oven on low temperature for a couple of hours.

Ready to go into oven

When I pulled it out the meat was browned and most of the liquid had evaporated. It easily shredded when I used a large spoon and stirred it.

Cooked and shredded, ready to eat

In the meantime, I had made some tostadas. They are about my favorite way to eat any Mexican shredded meat, or even just with cheese melted on top with salsa.

To make them all you have to do is heat up a couple of inches of vegetable oil in a large, deep skillet or use a frying pot like mine. Heat the oil to 360 degrees, slide in the corn tortillas, then turn several times while they cook. They should be a light brown when done. I found out yesterday that Mission tortillas cook up better with less bubbling of the tortilla than other brands.

Frying corn tortillas. Note the fry thermometer. It is the best way to be sure the oil is hot enough before dropping in the tortillas.

Easy Pork “Carnitas”

3 lbs Pork Shoulder or Butt, cut into 2″ chunks
1/2 lge Onion, chopped
4 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 tsp Ground Cumin
1 Tbl Ancho chile powder (or any kind of chile powder you have)
3 Tbl Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper to taste

Brown meat in a dutch oven. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook for 5 minutes. There should be some liquid from the meat and onions in the bottom of the pot. If not, add about a half a cup of water. Cover the pot and put in a 300 degree oven for about 2 hours. Pull the pot out of the oven and check shreddability. If it does not easily shred, pop it back in the oven. Shred the meat and check to see if it needs more salt. The meat should still be a little moist. If it is too dry add a little more water or broth and put back in the oven with the lid on for a few more minutes.

To Serve:
Put a couple spoonfuls of meat on top of a tostado. Sprinkle with shredded cheese. At this point, you can put the tostado under the broiler to melt cheese, or not, whatever you feel like.

Top with any, or none, of the following:
Sour cream
Salsa
Shredded lettuce or cabbage
Avocado slices
Jalapeno, Poblano, or Anaheim chile slices

You can always put the meat and toppings in a soft flour or corn tortilla to make burritos. You can also buy precooked tostadas at most stores.