Quick Black Bean Chilaquiles

You may be a Derby fan, and I like the idea of celebrating the Kentucky Derby—what’s not to love about strong minty whiskey drinks!?—but I’ve never really gotten around to it. Probably because it always falls around the same time as Cinco de Mayo, and I live for Mexican food.

Carnitas (for tacos!)

I'm bad at a some things (including math, laundry, and singing), ok at a couple things, pretty good at a few, and absolutely, totally great at one thing. That one thing, my friends, is roasting pork. 

I'm not trying to brag or anything, but seriously, I'm really, really good at pork shoulder. It's a gift. It's my calling. I usually just throw stuff in without actually measuring, but for your sake, I finally measured and wrote stuff down. Please make these carnitas you guys, seriously. You need to make this pork. 

Also, tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo. You know, that one holiday in the US where we eat a ton of Mexican food and drink margaritas. Otherwise known as my favorite food holiday. I love everything about Mexican food. I could eat tacos all day long. Especially carnitas tacos. I judge taco places by their carnitas, and I would absolutely go back to a place that served my carnitas. 

This pork is tender and crispy at the same time. It's tangy and salty and a little bit spicy, with hints of cinnamon and citrus. Dreams are made of this stuff. 

When I'm doing BBQ style pulled pork, I use the slow cooker, but for carnitas, I like to use the oven. The pork gets tender and juicy, but the edges get crispy, which I think is what really make this pork awesome. 

Oh, PS… T-minus five months until my wedding! WHAT. I have a lot of spray painting to do. Any volunteers? 

Pork Carnitas (for tacos!)
Loosely inspired by this recipe

Be prepared for a couple hours of marinating, but if you're in a rush, you can just marinate for an hour and it will still turn out delicious! 

4-5 lbs pork shoulder

Juice from 2 large oranges (about 1 cup)

Juice from 1 lime

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 large serrano pepper, diced

1 tablespoon tamarind concentrate*

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon cumin

1 tablespoon oregano

Fresh ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 bottle of light beer (Mexican beer like Pacifico)

Trim major fat off of pork shoulder (ok to leave a little bit, but get as much as you can), and cut pork into 4-5 big chunks. Put in a large bowl.

Whisk together orange juice through cinnamon, and pour over the pork. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the fridge for 2 hours to overnight. 

Preheat oven to 375.

On the stovetop, heat a large oven-proof stockpot over medium-high. Remove pork pieces and pat dry (reserve marinade). Sear each pork piece, just 1-2 pieces at a time, (too many in the pot will make it steam) on each side. Add all the seared pork pieces, reserved marinade, beer, and brown sugar to pot. 

Bake covered for 2.5-3 hours. 

Right in the pot, shred with a fork and stir into the sauce (remove any fat pieces that might be in there). The pork should be fall-apart tender.

To make it a bit crispier, I like to put it back in the oven for 10 minutes after shredding.

For tacos, serve in warm corn tortillas, with diced white onion, cilantro, and cotija cheese. 

*I use Tamicon brand, often found near the Mexican or Asian aisle in the grocery store.