One of our favorite Mexican meals is Carnitas Tacos on homemade tortillas with fresh guacamole. Yum! The pork is cooked in the slow cooker. The tortillas are some work but so worth the effort. I have really been into making tortillas lately, both flour and corn tortillas. I even went and bought myself a handy dandy tortilla press for making the corn tortillas. The flour tortillas I roll out by hand with a rolling pin.
Slow Cooked Pork Carnitas Tacos
1 T. chipotle chile powder ( I can't find chipotle chile powder so I use regular chili powder)
2 t. ground cumin
2 t. garlic powder
1 1/2 t. salt
1 t. onion powder
3 lb. boneless country-style pork ribs
flour tortillas or taco shells
Combine all ingredients except pork and tortillas in a small bowl. Trim some of the fat from the pork. Coat pork with rub; place in slow cooker. Cook on low 8 to 10 hours or until browned and tender enough to shred.* Remove pork; reserve cooking liquid, removing any fat.
*Could be more or less depending on how hot your slow cooker runs. Mine runs hot so it takes me less time. You want it to be tender enough to fall apart when you put a fork in it.
Shred pork with two forks. Stir in enough reserved cooking liquid into pork to moisten. Serve with tortillas and fresh guacamole.
(Pork can be made two days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Reserve liquid separately, removing any fat that hardens on surface. Reheat pork with liquid before serving.)
Homemade Guacamole
3 avocados, halved, seeded and peeled
1 lime, juiced
1/2 t. kosher salt
1/2 t. cumin
1/2 t. cayenne pepper
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 T. chopped cilantro
1 clove garlic, minced
In a large bowl place avocado and lime juice. Toss to coat. Add the salt, cumin, cayenne pepper and then mash together. Fold in the onions, tomatoes, cilantro and garlic. Let sit at room temperature for about an hour before serving.
I added a little Fruit Fresh in it to help it not to turn brown so fast.
Homemade Flour Tortillas
2 1/2 c. flour ( I use half all-purpose and half whole wheat)
1 t. salt
1/4 c. shortening
1 c. hot water
You can do this in a heavy duty mixer with a dough hook, in a bowl to mix by hand, or I like to mix mine in the food processor.
Mix the flour and salt together. Add the shortening and combine until crumbly. Slowly add the water. Mix until combined. It should have the consistency of playdough.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. I used my pancake griddle (heated to about 350 I think) last time and it worked well. That way I could cook 4 to 6 at a time. While your pan is preheating, divide the dough into 8-10 balls, depending on how big you want the tortillas. On a lightly floured surface roll the balls as thinly as possible into circles.
Place the dough onto your preheated pan and cook until large bubbles appear, about a minute. Flip and cook for another 30 seconds to a minute until the tortilla is cooked through but not brown or burned. Repeat with remaining tortillas, keeping the cooked tortillas under a clean kitchen towel.
Homemade Corn Tortillas
2 c. corn masa mix
2 c. warm water
Mix masa mix and water together for about 4 minutes. Divide into approximately 16 portions. Press into a 6"round shape using tortilla press lined with waxed paper or with hands. Peel tortillas from the waxed paper and place on preheated 400-450 degree griddle for about 20 seconds. Flip tortilla and cook for another 20 seconds. Additional flipping may be necessary to fully cook the tortilla. It should bubble and puff up.
If anyone tries making their own tortillas let me know how they work! Enjoy!
