Carnitas is a much better name than pork tacos.
Seriously, how has it been a month since I’ve posted? I blame the photo of the day thing I’m doing on Flickr. I’m taking a picture everyday and posting the photos on Flickr with a nice little description…and this is taking the wind out of my blogging sails. Sorry. If you really really really care about what I’ve been up to lately, head on over to my Flickr page. There are lots of pretty pictures of food and flowers and plants over there.
And just to prove that I do still cook….
Pork carnitas. Yummy pork carnitas. If you’re not familiar with carnitas, you ought to be. The pork is a nice change from the usual beef or chicken. But maybe you don’t like pork quite as much as I do. Most people don’t.
These are from the May 2009 issue of Everyday Food Magazine and the recipe is available on the Everyday Food website. I followed the recipe to the letter for the pork. I didn’t, however, use the same toppings they used. Instead I topped my pork with sharp cheddar cheese, fresh pico de gallo (made with just picked cilantro from my herb garden) and sour cream.
As you look at the recipe, I’m pretty sure you’re going to scratch your head and say “Ewwwwww!” Yes, the recipe does instruct you to simmer/saute the pork in a mixture of milk and orange juice. Yes, this does sound gross. Yet I followed the recipe and I can assure you that the pork did not under any circumstances taste gross. The milk and orange juice thing repulsed me so much that I almost wanted the pork to taste bad. Shouldn’t milk and orange juice curdle when mixed together and shouldn’t mixing them together ruin the pork? Despite my skepticism, the pork was scrumptious.
This blog writing thing was fun. Maybe I should do it again sometime soon. Maybe if I do it again sometime soon people will still want to visit my site. Wishful thinking?
Friday, 12. June 2009 8:43
haha no I’d visit more if there were more goodies to look at… I like the idea of cooking chicken with oj & milk. I bet the chicken is extra tender.
Friday, 12. June 2009 13:54
Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm! I made carnitas a couple of weeks ago, using OJ but no milk, and they were yummy, especially topped with homemade pico de gallo. Next time I will try your recipe. A similar–and delicious–dish is Laylita’s fritada de chancho (http://laylita.com/recipes/2008/02/11/fritada-chancho). I was very doubtful about browning meat without fat, but it works. Glad to see you back!
Saturday, 13. June 2009 8:11
I’ve been cooking for my family for 21 years – experimenting with thousands of recipes. My son refers to this recipe as “the best thing you make, Mom.”
Now that’s an endorsement! Should I also mention this household fights over the leftovers??
Sunday, 14. June 2009 20:10
I was looking at a drink menu recently and recoiled at one drink that had milk and orange juice in it. The truth is that I actually recoiled when I saw the first ingredient–Malibu rum–but it just got worse from there.
Monday, 15. June 2009 21:02
Crap, my milk and orange juice argument just fell apart as I just remembered that homemade Orange Julius is made with milk and OJ…and they’re tasty.
Tuesday, 23. June 2009 10:13
These look super yummy and hearty!