Slow Cooked Carnitas Tacos

If you are looking for a good taco recipe and are tired of those ground beef tacos, TRY THIS! They are sooo yummy! I originally found a carnitas recipe on RecipeGirl.com a few years ago, I tried it a few times, altered it, and leave you with my version below!

Slow Cooked Carnitas Tacos 

Ingredients

• 2 lbs pork shoulder (Boston Butt), bone removed, cut into 1½-inch pieces
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp ground black pepper ( I use fresh cracked pepper, but it doesn't matter)
• ½ tsp dried oregano 
• ½ large onion, cut into 4 pieces
• corn tortillas (small or medium are fine, but don't get the big burrito tortillas 
• canola oil
• diced onion
• fresh cilantro
• fresh lemons (2-3)

Method (use slow cooker, if you don't have one, a large pot will work too, but you will need to keep an eye on it as heat may not be distributed evenly)

• Trim excess fat off pork and make sure pieces are roughly even in size (1 ½ inch cubes)
• Add pork to slow cooker and top with salt, pepper, oregano and onion wedges
• Set slow cooker to "low" heat setting, or use the lowest heat setting on your stove. Let cook for ~6 hours or until meat is very tender and falling apart.  
• When meat is almost finished, begin frying tortillas in Canola oil. Add about ⅓ cup oil to frying pan and warm to medium-high heat. Add one tortilla and let fry flat about 1 minute. Then, using tongs, fold the tortilla in half and continue frying until golden brown and slightly crispy (about 30 seconds on each side). I don't like them hard, just a little crispy, but if you want them hard, keep flipping on heat for one minute extra. Transfer to paper towel and repeat process with remaining tortillas.You may need to add more oil  as you go if the pan gets low.
• To serve: Shred meat and add to taco shell. Top with diced onion, cilantro, and spritz some fresh lemon juice on top.
• Enjoy!

 

 

 

Braised Short Ribs

This weekend I decided I wanted to put my new dutch oven to good use. While I was at Williams Sonoma I came across a jar of their short-rib base. Short ribs sounded hard to tackle but with half the work done for me, I figured, "why not!?"  I just followed the recipe on the jar (below) and hoped for the best.

 

 

The result... pretty good! I would have liked a little more spiciness/ flavor.  Brian said it was delicious but i'm picky and felt it needed something more... maybe adding some carrots, fresh rosemary, and garlic to the pot while the ribs braise would have helped take it up a notch. Overall, a good meal.

Williams Sonoma Braised Short Ribs

Ingredients

• 4 lbs. beef short ribs, trimmed of excess fat and silver skin
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cut all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 jar Short Rib Braising Baste
• Polenta or mashed potatoes for serving

Slow Cooker Method (good for dutch oven or crock pot)

• Season the short ribs with salt and pepper. Dredge ribs in flour and shake off excess.
• In large fry pan over medium-high heat, warm olive oil. Working in batches, brown short ribs on all sides, about 3 min. per side.
• Transfer to a slow cooker; add braising baste. Cover and cook on low according to manufacturer's instructions until meat is tender, about 6 to 7 hours. 
• Transfer ribs to plate. 
• Skim fat off sauce; pour sauce into saucepan. Simmer over high heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 10 min. 

Serve ribs with sauce and polenta or mashed potatoes. Serves 4 to 6. 

Getting Started

Here is my list of must have items!

1. Microplane: The first time I saw one I had no idea what is was. Now, it is an essential. I can not imagine making a lot of recipes without it. I love using lemon peel in berries with zabaglione and without this tool, the task would be monumental! I also use my microplane to freshly grate cinnamon and nutmeg, as well as to top pasta with fine grated fresh parmigiano. If you ever need to add ginger to a recipe- this works great for that too. At $15, this is my favorite tool!

2. Le Creuset dutch oven: I was envious of Alex's Le Creuset for YEARS! They are pretty pricey, but wow, the results speak for themselves. I just got my very own Le Creuset TODAY (thanks to my amazing boyfriend) and feel like Carrie Bradshaw with a new pair of Jimmy Choos-- pure heaven!

3. French press: If you drink coffee or loose leaf tea, a french press is a great investment! When I make Tiramisu, I brew my coffee extra strong in my french press and it turns out wonderful. The flavors seem so much deeper. Loose leaf tea can be a pain because those damn leaves always manage to get into your cup... not with this! The extra fine mesh barrier keeps everything out of your mug! I got mine at Starbucks, but you can find these practically anywhere.

4. Lemons: Have I mentioned I like lemons? Did you see the blog header? I LOVE using lemons for cooking and for decoration. Lemon peel freshens up so many recipes... and the juice spritzed over some broiled salmon... yum.  Trader Joes sells lemons by the bag for an unbeatable price, so there is no reason to have a lemonless kitchen!    

5.  Towels: Okay, so they don't make the food any better, but they make me happy! New kitchen towels just make the whole kitchen feel brand new. The other day I got a new towel and I caught myself standing there just staring at it. Probably not the best use of my time, but like I said, towels make me happy!