Cartinas Soft Tacos

Let’s get real, people! Remember back when we completed the 10-day pledge from 100 days of real food? Well, we’re back at it again! We’ve cut out white flour, white sugar, and are sticking to good-for-you-oils and low processed food. At first it might seem like we’ll have nothing delicious to eat, but we just make the regular food we crave with a few simple substitutes.

These carnitas soft tacos are so good. Braising the pork is not as hard as you think- just add a little dry rub and a little liquid and pop it in the oven. A few hours later it will come out savory and succulent. Your family will have fun building these tacos and individualizing their meal.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. bone-in pork shoulder

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon celery salt

1/2 teaspoon cumin seed

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 red onion, rough chop

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, crushed

2 poblano peppers, seeds removed and thinly sliced

Optional taco bar toppings:

Cilantro

Monterey Jack cheese

Lime

Guacamole

Sour cream

Tomatoes

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325°. Combine chili powder, turmeric, celery salt, cumin seed, and cayenne pepper in a bowl and mix. Using your hands, work the dry rub over the entire pork shoulder. Reserve any leftover dry rub.

Heat a dutch oven over medium high heat and when hot, add olive oil to coat. Place pork in the dutch oven. Brown the meat 4 minute on each side and 1 minute on the edges. Transfer browned pork to mixing bowl with left over rub to rest.

Add onion to the dutch oven and sauté for 2 minutes. Then, add the garlic and sauté for another minute. Add 1 cup of water and scrape up the bits from the bottom and sides of dutch oven.

Return the pork and remaining dry rub to the dutch oven. Add enough water so that the liquid comes 3/4 up the sides of the pork. Cover and place in oven for 2.5 to 3 hours until pork easily falls apart when pulled with a fork. Transfer pork to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes. Pull all the pork (now carnitas!) apart with two forks.

In a medium sized skillet, add thinly sliced red onion and poblano peppers and cook until tender and slightly browned.

Set up your taco bar with whole wheat tortilla shells, carnitas, onion/poblano mixture, cilantro, guacamole, cheese, lime, and more.