Father’s Day is coming up, and appropriately, today’s recipe comes from a dad. A good friend from high school, Robert Enriquez, kindly shared with me his recipe for slow cooked carnitas. It has a surprise ingredient: cola! My first exposure to carnitas was in Tijuana at a restaurant called Uruapan. We sat at heavy wooden tables and were served family style. I have loved carnitas ever since, but never knew how to make it.
Two-Day Carnitas
Day One:
4-LB (approx.) pork shoulder butt roast
12 oz. can of cola
Garlic powder to taste
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Tapatio Hot Sauce to taste
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Combine ingredients into crock pot. Cover and cook on high for 7 hours. The time is variable according to your brand of crock pot. When it is fork tender and falling apart, it is done. Let the meat cool enough to be able to remove the fat. Refrigerate overnight, and dream of tomorrow’s delicious carnitas!
Day Two:
1 sweet onion, diced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
Serrano chile, diced (optional)
1 T. vegetable oil
1 doz. corn tortillas
Fresh lemon slices
Defatted pork roast
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Combine first three ingredients and set aside. In a large frying pan add vegetable oil and heat. Add pork and begin shredding meat as it is heating up. Heat corn tortillas on a comal, or directly over stove flame, and fold in half. Stuff warm tortillas with carnitas, diced onion and cilantro, and top with a squeeze of lemon. Homemade salsa would be a good addition as well. The meal total came to about $15, or about $1.00 per soft taco with plenty of left-overs. Muy sabrosa.
Thank you to my Schurr High friend, Robert Enriquez for this recipe. Go Spartans! Do you have a recipe you would like to share with Cheap Eats? Email me at bettygogogonia@aol.com.
