Home Style Mexican Dinner

Almost like clockwork, Mexican food beckons......weekly at a bare minimum around here.  Usually, that is the all the reason needed to head off to the nearest authentic Mexican restaurant and dig into some hot  salty chips and fresh spicy salsa, slow-simmered mashed and smokey pinto beans and something wrapped inside a tortilla.  You know what I'm talking about.  It's just so easy, and so tasty.  The thing is, its not so hard to whip up a decent south-of-the-border type dinner at home, it just takes a little bit pre-planning.

My favorite dish to order when I see it on the menu is  Carnitas.  For those uninitiated, this is a delicious, fall-apart pork dish, crispy on the outside, unbelievable tender inside, flavorful chunks of porky-ness served with flour or corn tortillas and toppings to create your own little wraps.  Turns out, it's an easy one to make at home as long as you have a crock pot, and a little time on your hands.   Since pork is the star here, it makes sense to find a great quality piece of meat.  We are lucky to have some local producers of pork here in the 'burgh, and that's where I'd start if I were you.  And don't forget, its the shoulder or butt that you want.  That's the piece with all of the flavor, imbedded with pork fat, that allows this cut to melt so beautifully.  Even a bone in the cut is OK.  It will be easy to pull out after you slow cook it.

So first, you slow cook the well seasoned (salt and pepper) pork shoulder on bed of raw onions until the meat melts into tender chunks.  Then, you take the entire contents of the crock pot - fat, slumpy onions, and pork, and toss into a hot saute pan, searing at high heat to create the crispy finish that defines a good batch of carnitas.  Be sure it is well done, crispy, and seasoned.

What I love about the result is that you can create the wrap of your dreams with that delicious pork.  My favorite things to dress it with are homemade guacamole and salsa, lettuce, diced red onion, and a drizzle of sour cream mixed with a little milk (a home version of mexican crema).  But you can top yours entirely differently!  One thing it really does NOT need is cheese, the calling card of many mexican dishes.  I think it's due to the richness of the pork that makes cheese an unnecessary afterthought.  In fact, I imagine it would do more to mask the flavor of the pork than accent it.   But you cheese-heads out there may disagree, and can go ahead and give it a try!  Myself, I am thinking of those smokey beans, and hoping some may come my way soon.