Ty's Favorite Pork Carnitas

Tyler often wants to make this dish when he is in a country where pork is easier to acquire than it is in Turkey. He also doesn't carry the recipe with him so I'm putting it here where he can find it easily. We follow instructions from Rick Bayless but he has published at least two variations, one of which recommends cooking the pork in lard. This is a very tasty method, but lard without a bunch of shelf-stablizing chemicals is hard to find. In the version below, the pork ends up frying in its own fat which is essentially the same as being cooked in lard. This is a simple but wonderful taco filling on its own but can be combined with other authentic foods to make a real Mexican taco.

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Ty's Favorite Pork Carnitas

Source:  Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen

Serves 2-4, depending on other fillings

1 pound boneless pork shoulder, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes

(this can also be done with country-style ribs but increase the amount since some will be bones)

1/2 t salt

1 T fresh lime juice, optional but very tasty

Place the pork in a heavy 2-quart saucepan and cover with water by 1/2 inch. Add lime juice and 1/2 teas salt. Over medium heat, bring to a simmer with the pot partially covered. Continue to cook until the water and lime juice are absorbed. The meat will begin to fry in its own fat (this takes about an hour). Turn the heat down to low or medium low, cover the pot and cook, turning the meat often until it is evenly browned. As it cooks it will become tender. Using two forks shred the pork and serve on warm corn tortillas.

This recipe is easy to multiply.

Pork shoulder will have good amounts of fat to render. I prefer it to the country-style ribs, which can vary in quality in the supermarket.