Carnitas
Mexican night (i.e. excuse for too much tequila) with a friend. Standing around in my kitchen, listening to Mana, drinking Modelo and different tequilas with sangrita. Occasionally pausing to stuff a taco in our faces. She was in charge of the guacamole. We made fresh corn tortillas, which is a must. I tried a different recipe for the carnitas, and it worked well. Might have been better than the grill method I've used in the past, but it's been so long I couldn't say for certain. Here it is:
chunks of pork shoulder
in a stock pot with an onion, bay, clove, cinnamon stick, maybe an orange peel
cover in cold water, bring to the boil, reduce heat
simmer covered for at least 90 mins skimming any crud that comes to the surface and topping up if necessary with cold water
once the pork is very tender, uncover and bring up heat
boil until the pan is almost dry, with the pork fat remaining (maybe 30 mins?)
break the pork up, season and fry in its own fat until it's how you like it
chunks of pork shoulder
in a stock pot with an onion, bay, clove, cinnamon stick, maybe an orange peel
cover in cold water, bring to the boil, reduce heat
simmer covered for at least 90 mins skimming any crud that comes to the surface and topping up if necessary with cold water
once the pork is very tender, uncover and bring up heat
boil until the pan is almost dry, with the pork fat remaining (maybe 30 mins?)
break the pork up, season and fry in its own fat until it's how you like it