Hey folks, hope you all are well. I wanted to post this recipe and dedicate it to two old friends (sisters) I knew way back as my way of saying HELLO and I miss them. So Alice and Ann, this is for you. Been a while. I know if you came out here to the Casa and hung out with me and my wife it'd be like old times in no time. Good friends. So the feast I am putting down for my friends is Carnitas (red oak wood smoked pork butt) with homemade flour tortillas. Enjoy, I'll be updating the photos as things progress.
Mis en place
3-4 pound pork butt
2 Tbls Cumin Seeds
2 Tbls Corriander Seeds
1 Tbls Red Pepper Flake
1 Tbls Onion Powder
1 Tbls Garlic Powder
1/2 cup brown sugar
(OR I package of taco seasoning mixed with 1/2 cup brown sugar)
Rinse off pork butt and dry with paper towels, set it on a large piece of heavy duty foil.
Meanwhile roast the spices (except the brown sugar) in a small skillet on low heat, about 5 minutes, they will become fragrant as heck. Next add the brown sugar and spices to an old coffee mill or a mortar and pestle and grind until you have a fine powder. Apply that "rub" all over the meat, top and bottom. Place meat in a cold smoker and smoke at 250 for about 5 hours.
OR if you don't have a smoker cut up an onion into slices and place in a large heavy dutch oven, place meat on top of the onions, cover and slow cook in your oven for 5 hours at 250... You want an internal temperature of the meat to get to 185 or 190.
Watching a video while I keep an eye on my meat temp remotely...
Now a lot of you meat eaters will say MIKE isn't that like a really long time for a piece of meat too cook ?? Yeah it is, but like cooking a brisket or pork butt for pulled pork (think BBQ style) you cook the meat low and slow to a far higher temperature than you normally would BECAUSE it has a lot of fat working thru it that will slowly break down. End product will have a lovely crusty bark on the outside but be fall apart tender and juicy and DELICIOUS. Really amazing. So once the meat is done take if off your heat source and leave covered for about 1/2 hour. Then pull apart with two forks into shreds.
Serve up with your favorite salsa or Pebre and home made tortillas, guacamole, rice, beans, you get the idea. It's a feast and it's so easy and lazy you'll be happy you did it.
Homemade tortillas:
Mis en place
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 Tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder (the stuff in the red can)
3 oz Crisco (or lard)
about 1 cup HOT water
Combine flour, baking powder, salt, shortening and mix together with your hands in a large bowl until it gets coarse like corn meal, then add the hot water and stir with a wooden spoon until the dough comes off the side of the bowl. Work the dough about 3-4 minutes like this young lady does.
Cover dough with a soft towel and let rest 1/2 hour. Roll dough into a log and cut into 12 same sized pieces. Roll each of those on a little flour into a ball. Once you've done all 12 let those rest under a covered bowl 15 minutes. Then get your heavy skillet on high heat and begin rolling out the dough into tortillas. Cook about 2 minutes on each side until the dough bubbles some. Flip and repeat with all 12. Keep on a plate covered with a soft towel until service time. Combining your really great SMOKED pork carnitas, the lovely tortillas, guacamole, some salsa and the adult beverage of your choice is a sure fire way to let your friends and family know you love them... Here's an old photo to give you serving suggestions - these are the really SMALL corn tortillas, doubled up, Mexican food truck style.
Enjoy. More photos later...
Carnitas resting in foil. When the wife gets home I'll crush up a couple of avocados and add a little pebre an lemon juice to it for guacamole.
Mike
5 days later I was tired of the tacos so I made a triple batch of Matrha Stewart pie crust but substituted 1/3 of the butter with Crisco. Sauteed small cubes of white potatoes, onions and some EVO until it got a little crisp, then added about a cup of the Pebre and the finely cut up carnitas, sautéed that with about a cup of chopped cilantro a little salt and sugar to taste. Terrific with fresh fruit.
Paired up with some fresh fruit it's amazing.
I noticed I did not include the Pebre recipe: Pebre is a condiment served in Chile (and I am sure there are variants like it in other Latin countries) at table when you order in most Chilean restaurants, they bring out a small plate of "bread" little biscuit type rolls served with butter and Pebre. Pebre is used to jack up the heat and flavor on any savory dish there.
Pebre
Mis en place:
2 cups diced tomatoes
1 cup diced onion
1/3 cup diced mild green chile (seeds and all)
2 Tsp minced garlic
1 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup EVO
salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
Combine all incredients in a bowl and taste for seasoning. Noticed Pebre has NO ACID, no lemon juice or such. It's what separates it from other Latin condiments like salsa. You can also tone down the heat a little by adding the kernels of one ear of fresh sweet corn UNCOOKED. It gives the Pebre more color and texture. See photo above.
Mis en place
3-4 pound pork butt
2 Tbls Cumin Seeds
2 Tbls Corriander Seeds
1 Tbls Red Pepper Flake
1 Tbls Onion Powder
1 Tbls Garlic Powder
1/2 cup brown sugar
(OR I package of taco seasoning mixed with 1/2 cup brown sugar)
Rinse off pork butt and dry with paper towels, set it on a large piece of heavy duty foil.
Meanwhile roast the spices (except the brown sugar) in a small skillet on low heat, about 5 minutes, they will become fragrant as heck. Next add the brown sugar and spices to an old coffee mill or a mortar and pestle and grind until you have a fine powder. Apply that "rub" all over the meat, top and bottom. Place meat in a cold smoker and smoke at 250 for about 5 hours.
OR if you don't have a smoker cut up an onion into slices and place in a large heavy dutch oven, place meat on top of the onions, cover and slow cook in your oven for 5 hours at 250... You want an internal temperature of the meat to get to 185 or 190.
Watching a video while I keep an eye on my meat temp remotely...
Now a lot of you meat eaters will say MIKE isn't that like a really long time for a piece of meat too cook ?? Yeah it is, but like cooking a brisket or pork butt for pulled pork (think BBQ style) you cook the meat low and slow to a far higher temperature than you normally would BECAUSE it has a lot of fat working thru it that will slowly break down. End product will have a lovely crusty bark on the outside but be fall apart tender and juicy and DELICIOUS. Really amazing. So once the meat is done take if off your heat source and leave covered for about 1/2 hour. Then pull apart with two forks into shreds.
Serve up with your favorite salsa or Pebre and home made tortillas, guacamole, rice, beans, you get the idea. It's a feast and it's so easy and lazy you'll be happy you did it.
Homemade tortillas:
Mis en place
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 Tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder (the stuff in the red can)
3 oz Crisco (or lard)
about 1 cup HOT water
Combine flour, baking powder, salt, shortening and mix together with your hands in a large bowl until it gets coarse like corn meal, then add the hot water and stir with a wooden spoon until the dough comes off the side of the bowl. Work the dough about 3-4 minutes like this young lady does.
Cover dough with a soft towel and let rest 1/2 hour. Roll dough into a log and cut into 12 same sized pieces. Roll each of those on a little flour into a ball. Once you've done all 12 let those rest under a covered bowl 15 minutes. Then get your heavy skillet on high heat and begin rolling out the dough into tortillas. Cook about 2 minutes on each side until the dough bubbles some. Flip and repeat with all 12. Keep on a plate covered with a soft towel until service time. Combining your really great SMOKED pork carnitas, the lovely tortillas, guacamole, some salsa and the adult beverage of your choice is a sure fire way to let your friends and family know you love them... Here's an old photo to give you serving suggestions - these are the really SMALL corn tortillas, doubled up, Mexican food truck style.
Enjoy. More photos later...
Carnitas resting in foil. When the wife gets home I'll crush up a couple of avocados and add a little pebre an lemon juice to it for guacamole.
Mike
5 days later I was tired of the tacos so I made a triple batch of Matrha Stewart pie crust but substituted 1/3 of the butter with Crisco. Sauteed small cubes of white potatoes, onions and some EVO until it got a little crisp, then added about a cup of the Pebre and the finely cut up carnitas, sautéed that with about a cup of chopped cilantro a little salt and sugar to taste. Terrific with fresh fruit.
Paired up with some fresh fruit it's amazing.
I noticed I did not include the Pebre recipe: Pebre is a condiment served in Chile (and I am sure there are variants like it in other Latin countries) at table when you order in most Chilean restaurants, they bring out a small plate of "bread" little biscuit type rolls served with butter and Pebre. Pebre is used to jack up the heat and flavor on any savory dish there.
Pebre
Mis en place:
2 cups diced tomatoes
1 cup diced onion
1/3 cup diced mild green chile (seeds and all)
2 Tsp minced garlic
1 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup EVO
salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
Combine all incredients in a bowl and taste for seasoning. Noticed Pebre has NO ACID, no lemon juice or such. It's what separates it from other Latin condiments like salsa. You can also tone down the heat a little by adding the kernels of one ear of fresh sweet corn UNCOOKED. It gives the Pebre more color and texture. See photo above.
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