Saturday evening was May 5, or Cinco de Mayo, a big celebration in Mexico, so there was nothing for it but to have Mexican food for dinner. I wanted to try something new, and I have visions of the carnitas that I had in Sausalito over 20 years ago. This was one of those meals that stands out in your mind as being perfect. It was beautiful sunny warm day, and we were sitting out on a deck over looking San Francisco bay, drinking margaritas and eating an enormous platter of long cooked pork with corn tortillas.
I could not replicate the sunny warm day in this cold damp spring that we are living through, and the view from my house though actually very nice, is not quite up to the standards of San Francisco Bay, but I could try to replicate the pork.
I stole ideas from several different recipes and this is what I came up with. This served 8 people with a little left over for fridge picking.
4lb pork shoulder roast
1 lemon halved
1/2 cup of orange juice
1 onion chopped
6 cloves of garlic peeled
If you are lucky enough to have skin on your pork remove it for later, then place the pork in a large pot with the remaining ingredients and almost cover with water.
Simmer on low for about 4 hours until the pork is falling apart. Check once in a while that there is still liquid in the pot, and top up if necessary. When the pork is cooked remove it from the pot and spread out on a foil lined roasting tin, add another 1/2 onion finely sliced.
Turn up the heat under the pot of liquid and cook the liquid down to about 2 cups. Now pour this over the pork.
About 1/2 an hour before this I had scored the skin and rubbed salt on it and placed it on another roasting tin and cooked in 400 oven until crisp.
You may have to be English or Mexican to appreciate a crisp cooked pork skin (crackling) but if you have never tried it give it a go you might surprise yourself.
About 20 minutes before serving, place the pork in a 350 oven and cook until the top is crispy and brown and most of the liquid has evaporated. I turned it over half way through so it would be crispy and brown all over.
I served this with warmed corn tortillas, grated cheese, sour cream, salsa, guacamole, thinly sliced onion and the crisp skin cracklings on top. I was supposed to take a picture of the put together taco, but I am afraid I ate it before I remembered to to do this. Any way the pork was delicious and I am sure if it had been a warmer day and we were able to eat on the deck overlooking Port Moody Bay, it might even have lived up to the original.
I could not replicate the sunny warm day in this cold damp spring that we are living through, and the view from my house though actually very nice, is not quite up to the standards of San Francisco Bay, but I could try to replicate the pork.
I stole ideas from several different recipes and this is what I came up with. This served 8 people with a little left over for fridge picking.
4lb pork shoulder roast
1 lemon halved
1/2 cup of orange juice
1 onion chopped
6 cloves of garlic peeled
If you are lucky enough to have skin on your pork remove it for later, then place the pork in a large pot with the remaining ingredients and almost cover with water.
Simmer on low for about 4 hours until the pork is falling apart. Check once in a while that there is still liquid in the pot, and top up if necessary. When the pork is cooked remove it from the pot and spread out on a foil lined roasting tin, add another 1/2 onion finely sliced.
Turn up the heat under the pot of liquid and cook the liquid down to about 2 cups. Now pour this over the pork.
About 1/2 an hour before this I had scored the skin and rubbed salt on it and placed it on another roasting tin and cooked in 400 oven until crisp.
You may have to be English or Mexican to appreciate a crisp cooked pork skin (crackling) but if you have never tried it give it a go you might surprise yourself.
About 20 minutes before serving, place the pork in a 350 oven and cook until the top is crispy and brown and most of the liquid has evaporated. I turned it over half way through so it would be crispy and brown all over.
I served this with warmed corn tortillas, grated cheese, sour cream, salsa, guacamole, thinly sliced onion and the crisp skin cracklings on top. I was supposed to take a picture of the put together taco, but I am afraid I ate it before I remembered to to do this. Any way the pork was delicious and I am sure if it had been a warmer day and we were able to eat on the deck overlooking Port Moody Bay, it might even have lived up to the original.
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