Nachos, Burritos and Tacos, who knows...

I dig Mexican food, as you may have noticed. One thing I'm particularly fond of is a good tamale. As you might recall, I've got a 5lb bag of Masa waiting to be turned into tamales. Whatever will I fill them with? Pork, also highly likely will be chicken, cheese and jalapenos, in some combination or another.

In preparation for my tamale-stravaganza, I decided to make some "pulled pork" tacos for dinner, and then save the leftover meat for the tamales.

Mexican shredded braised pork (aka Carnitas)
4 lbs of Pork butt (shoulder, Boston butt) -- boneless is ok, bone in will taste better
1 onion, cut into large chunks
rub -- whatever you'd use on your bbq -- these days I'm using Mesquite Country (if I don't make my own)
canned tomato sauce
beer! -- Miller Lite, the official domestic light and cold of BeefRobot
The below spice mix will season approximately 6-8 oz of liquid.
1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
2 tsp Cumin
1 Tbsp Chili Powder
1tsp Mexican Oregano
a Bay leaf or two
1.5 teaspoons Garlic Powder
1 tsp crushed red pepper

You'd be wise to start this process two days before you really want to eat. One night will work, if necessary, and I suppose you could do this all in the same day, but, you're going to be with this thing for some time should you choose that option.

Coat the outside of your butt with your bbq rub. Heavy, on all sides; don't be shy, remember, you're seasoning at least 4 inches of meat here. Note: if your rub is of the sweet variety, this is probably not the application for it. Get, or better yet create, something savory, preferably with some heat. Once you're good and coated, wrap the whole thing in plastic and let it rest in the fridge for a few hours. Hopefully overnight.

Warm your biggest dutch oven on the stove on medium-high heat and add a tablespoon of oil. I like this Le Creuset knockoff that I got as a wedding present. This thing rules. And it's way cheaper than the real deal. Anyway, when the oil just starts to smoke, throw your hog in it. Don't move it for a good 5-6 minutes. Once it's seared nicely on the one side, flip sides and repeat. Continue this until the butt is seared all over. Meanwhile, mix up your first round of spices. I'd start with enough to season two cups of liquid and make more if necessary. What liquid are we going to season? Beer. Pretend you're making the most hardcore michelada ever. Mix all the dry seasonings, combine the beer with a can of tomato juice, and whisk in the dry seasoning.

I will tell you that I cheated at this point, and used a can of Hatch Enchilada Sauce as part of my braising liquid (along with the seasoned beer). You should feel free to do the same, assuming you can find said sauce. It is absolutely unnecessary though; you could certainly just make your own braising liquid as described above. Throw the chopped up onion in the pot and add enough liquid to the pot to come 2/3 of the way up the sides of the meat. It took about 16-18 ounces for me. Cover this and put it in your 275 degree oven until the butt is done.

How do you know when it's done? Well, its temperature should register in the 170 degree range, but, it should also be fall apart tender. This will take some time, probably upwards of 3 hours, if not longer. Don't rush it; you're developing flavor and tenderness. If it needs to cook to 200 to be tender, let it. Tough tamales/tacos = not so good.

When the pork is 170 degrees and fall apart tender, pull the meat out of the pot and allow it to cool. Pour the juice from the pot into your gravy/fat separator and allow the fat to rise to the top. When the meat is cool enough to handle, remove as much fat as you can and pull it apart using two forks, or your fingers.

Once you've got the meat shredded, add it back to the pot and add a little of the cooking juices back at a time until it reaches the consistency you'd like. I had to use ALL of the liquid from mine. If you run out of liquid, season up some chicken stock and use that. This is a divergence from true carnitas, which would cook in the pan in its own fat until crispy. If you want crispiness (for tacos or burritos) throw this mess under the broiler until it has the crispiness you desire. Then add more of the braising liquid. It's up to you. The meat is now ready to eat, but, if you can refrigerate it and wait until tomorrow, it will be so much better.

For the tacos, I made a simple slaw with cabbage, lime juice, garlic powder, oil, salt and pepper. This went atop my pork taco with some avocado slices and sautéed onions/tomatoes. Coro's tomatillo salsa would have been nice as well, but he has yet to publish the recipe. A-hole.

When you try this, you're going to like it. Prepare yourself, as this is going to be an ongoing theme until I've decided I've got enough filling to ensure making tamales is a worthwhile effort.

--Brad