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Carnita Tacos

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Carnitas Tacos with Pickled Onions

Well, I missed the Cinco de Mayo train with this recipe.  I was getting ready to post this last Sunday, but I got into a cleaning mood all Sunday morning and completely cleaned every surface in my house.  I even vacuumed my balcony.  Who does that?   It was one of those moments when your realize that you are totally turning into your mom.   I am having those a lot lately!

I feel like May is going by so fast.  I was shocked the other day that it was already May and now we are already halfway through.   We are on summer time already apparently.   I know it’s no longer Cinco de Mayo, but one of the great thing about Mexican food is that you can eat it all year round.

Carnitas

Since I have moved to California, Carnitas have become my favorite kind of taco.  What are Carnitas you ask?  Carnitas are the Mexican version of pulled pork.  The pork is shredded and then cooked a little longer to caramelize.  What’s better than carnitas?   Well I would say carnitas in a corn tortilla topped with salsa verde and your choice of pickled onions or cabbage slaw.   Oh yeah, that’s what I am talking about.

Carnitas Tacos

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Carnita Tacos
Author: 
 
Ingredients
  • 4-6 lbs. bone-in pork shoulder
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • 1 orange, juiced
  • 1 teaspoon chile powder
  • 1 teaspoon ancho chile powder
  • 2 bay leaves
  • ½ teaspoon cumin
  • 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • Kosher salt
Instructions
  1. The night before- Cut pork shoulder into 3-4 inch pieces, trimming off the excess fat. Sprinkle pieces of the the pork with kosher salt and stick in a large sealable bag to refrigerate overnight.
  2. The day of- Preheat your oven to 350°F.
  3. In a large Dutch oven or pot heat oil over medium-high heat. Sear pork pieces on all sides about 2-3 minutes on each side. You may need to do this in 2 parts to lay all the pork pieces down flat. Remove the browned pork to a plate.
  4. In a 1 cup measuring cup squeeze a lime and orange and fill remaining cup with water. Pour into the Dutch oven and scrape the brown bits off the bottom. Add in chili powders, bay leaves, cumin, garlic, onions, and a pinch of kosher salt to the liquid. Return the pork back into the pot and then add water so that ⅔rds of pork is covered.
  5. Place in oven to cook for 2½ to 3 hours without a lid. Turn the pork a few times during the cooking time. The pork is cooked when most of the liquid is gone and pork falls apart easily with a fork.
  6. Shred the pork with two forks. Return pork back to the oven and cook until pork crispy and caramelized. This will take 15-20 minutes.

 

Pickled Onions

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Pickled Onions
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Ingredients
  • 1 red onion, sliced thin
  • ½ cup vinegar, apple cider or white
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 1 tbsp. sugar
  • 1½ tsp. Kosher salt
Instructions
  1. Mix vinegar, warm water, sugar and salt in a small bowl until sugar is dissolved. Add onions into a mason jar or sealable container. Add vinegar mixture to jar and refrigerate for at least day.

Cabbage Slaw

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Cabbage Slaw
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Ingredients
  • 1 cup Shredded red cabbage
  • juice from ½ lime
  • fresh cracked salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
  1. In a container stir together cabbage, lime juice, salt and pepper. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Source- Carnitas and Pickled Onions adapted from Shared Appetite, Cabbage slaw adapted from Skinnytaste

sisterk (2)

Fiesta Chicken Tacos with Pineapple Salsa

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I sort of invented this recipe one night because I didn’t feel like going to the grocery store.   I was reading through my Cooking Light 2010 Annual Recipe Cookbook and spotted a recipe for Chicken Tacos with a Jicama and Mango Slaw.  I then immediately thought about how good this would be with pineapple salsa instead of the slaw.  I  happen to have pineapple on hand and knew that the spicy chicken and the sweet and tart pineapple salsa would be a perfect combination.  In the end the mixture of the two were delicious and it was even fussy-boyfriend approved.   The whole recipe is easy to pull together and you can even eat the leftover pineapple salsa with some tortilla chips. That is, if there is leftovers.

Pineapple salsa

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Fiesta Chicken Tacos with Pineapple Salsa
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Recipe type: Entrée
 
A Spicy chicken with peppers and onion, topped with sweet and tart pineapple salsa, served on a warm corn tortilla.
Ingredients
  • For Pineapple Salsa:
  • 1 cup chopped fresh pineapple
  • ¼ cup chopped red onion
  • ¼ cup chopped red pepper
  • Handful of chopped cilantro (to your liking)
  • 1 juiced lime
  • For Chicken Filling:
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1 pound of skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into strips
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • ½ teaspoon chili powder
  • ⅓ teaspoon cumin
  • ⅛ teaspoon ground red pepper
  • 1 cup red pepper, sliced into strips
  • 1 onion, sliced into strips
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 8 corn tortillas
Instructions
  1. For Salsa: Mix all ingredients in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator until tacos are ready
  2. For Taco Filling: Heat 1 teaspoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat.
  3. In a bowl combine chicken strips, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, and ground red pepper.
  4. Add chicken mixture to pan and cook for 3 minutes. Remove chicken from pan.
  5. Heat remaining 1 teaspoon of oil in the same skillet and add in pepper and onion strips. Cook for 3 minutes.
  6. Add chicken back to pan and cook until chicken is done. Sprinkles with salt.
  7. To Serve: Heat corn tortillas in a warm frying pan sprayed with cooking spray. Heat both sides until warmed.
  8. Serve chicken/pepper mixture on warmed corn tortilla and top with pineapple salsa.

Source- Adapted from Cooking Light and Cook Yourself Thin
Have you ever made up a new recipe to use up ingredients you had on hand?   What did you end up making?

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