You didn’t expect me to start the month of MARCH OF TACO MARCH with only one meal of two paltry tacos, did you? Okay okay, the tacos weren’t exactly “paltry.” I would go so far as to call them “plentiful.” But still, two tacos won’t cut it on day 1. Especially when I’ve got a crock pot full of pork that’s been simmering and making my apartment smell amazing all day long.
I’ve made this carnitas recipe a few times with success – it’s easy, doesn’t take any special equipment other than a slow cooker, and it has made consistently good pork. The recipe as it is is solid, but I’ve started tinkering with the spices a little. This time, I added some cinnamon, ground mustard, and lime juice. A+ additions.
This is an easy one to get the timing of everything synced. Once the meat is done and shredded, it can hang out while the tortillas are made, then a quick trip to the frying pan to crisp it up while the tortillas sit in a warmer (I have a tortilla warmer that my wonderful MARCH OF TACO MARCH co-voyager and girlfriend got me, but the tortillas can be wrapped in foil and put into a warmed oven). After that, it’s a quick assembly. Tortilla, carnitas, onion, cilantro. You can leave it at that, but since I had some queso fresco left over from breakfast, I crumbled some of that on these bad boys. A little squeeze of lime, and it’s perfect.
My beverage of choice tonight: a mezcal margarita. 2:1 mezcal to cointreau, juice from one or two limes shaken with ice, then poured over ice into a kosher salt-rimmed glass. I love them. The mezcal gives it a fantastic smoky flavor, and freshly squeezed lime juice pushes this way, way above any sort of mix you can find. Limes are cheap. A bottle of mezcal can get pricey, but like with most liquor, you get what you pay for. You can find some good deals, though I’d recommend going to the next level above something like Monte Alban. There’s nothing wrong with ol’ Monte, but there’s much better stuff out there if you’re willing to spend $10-15 more. I’ve liked everything I’ve had from Del Maguey, and you can find their Vida for about $35.
TACO COUNT – 5
