Tacos Carnitas
Slowly braised pork shoulder, fragrant, tangy and sweet, paired with homemade pickled red onion, fresh coriander and grilled pineapple makes this a perfect dinner. Wrap it all in flash grilled blue corn tortillas and enjoy with a squeeze of lime.
Ingredients
For the carnitas
700g pork shoulder, cut into 2cm pieces
Peel of 1 orange, peeled into strips
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 white onion, finely diced
1 cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
2 tsp ground cumin
2 teaspoons oregano
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cloves
large bunch coriander, leaves picked and roughly chopped
fresh pineapple, sliced into 1cm thickness slices
1 red chilli
Corn tortillas
Limes
For the pickled red onion:
1/2 red onion, finely sliced into slithers
2 cups red wine vinegar
1 tbsp brown sugar
Method
For the pickled red onion:
Slice the red onion into slithers, about 0.5mm in thickness. Pace in a small airtight container and set aside.
In a small saucepan, warm the vinegar and sugar, stirring continuously only until the sugar has completely dissolved and the liquid is a little bit warm but nowhere near boiling. Once the sugar has dissolved, pour the liquid into the container with the sliced onions, ensure all onions are completely submerged, then close container and refrigerate to cool and pickle for a minimum of 2 hours.
For the Carnitas:
In a large heavy bottomed pan on medium heat, fry the onions in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, stirring continuously until soft and translucent (about 10 minutes). Add minced garlic, and stir until fragrant. Turn heat to medium-high, and add the pork shoulder, and continue to stir, until meat has browned on the outside.
Add cinnamon, orange peel, oregano, cumin, chilli flakes, bay leaves and stir briefly, then add enough water to cover the meat (water line should reach about 5cm above meat). Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, and allow to slowly simmer for 3 hours.
Once the water has reduced almost entirely, take te heat up to medium-high, and allow the braised meat to cook a little further for about 15 minutes in order to crisp the edges. Remove cinnamon stick and bay leaves, cover and set aside.
On a griddle pan on high heat, grill the pineapple slices until caramelised. Place each slice on the hot griddle, and allow to sit without moving for 1 minute, then flip to the other side and leave for another minute. Set aside to cool, and slice into small cubes.
To serve, flash fry each tortilla on a hot dry pan for a few seconds on each side, spoon the braised carnitas, and top with the grilled pineapple cubes, finely diced fresh red chilli, coriander, raw finely diced onion, pickled onion slithers, your choice of salsa and a generous squeeze of lime.