Pork Carnitas
A few weeks ago, whole bone-in pork loin was on sale here. Well, I had been inspired by Jacques Pepin in Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home to consider buying a whole loin and cutting it up myself. So I had myself a little education about butchering, and ended up with a tenderloin, a loin roast, some meaty ribs, about 12 boneless pork chops and a picnic roast — not to mention the couple of pounds of stir-fry meat that I got since I wasn’t the best butcher on my first go-around. Oh, and bones for soup, if I find the right recipe.

So, since I have all this pork right now, I was looking for a new recipe and I found a great one. It was super easy and smelled great while cooking. Next time I’ll probably double the recipe. If you (and your children) like spicy food, you might want to kick it up a notch. I made it as directed and then Jon and I added Tabasco along with the garnishes that we used while eating it on warmed flour tortillas.

12 servings
3¼ hours 15 min prep

3 lbs boneless pork
4 cloves minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup dry vermouth
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 dozen warmed flour tortillas

Garnishes: sour cream, sliced green onion, guacamole, chopped tomato, salsa, shredded cheese, whatever you usually like with mexican food

Cut the pork into 1/2 inch cubes.
Place pork in Dutch oven with garlic, oregano, bay leaf, vermouth, salt and pepper.
Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occaisionaly.
Partially cover and cook BARELY SIMMERING for 2 hours.
Remove the cover and add 1/2 c water.
Increase the heat back to med-high and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the pork is very soft and shreds easily.
Watch carefully, so that it doesn’t burn.
Remove bay leaf, and stir meat vigorously to shred meat.
Serve in warm tortillas, topped with garnishes.