February 12, 2013


I've said it before and I'll say it again I am obsessed with the special food magazines at the check out counters :)  That being said again I was pleasantly surprised when I stepped up to the counter and saw Better Homes and Gardens Mexican!!!  Of course, I grabbed it up.  I love all things mexican and wold eat it everyday.  So, would my kids not so much the bearded fella.  Although, I do have a couple of recipe's for carnitas pinned I decided to do the one out of my new magazine as it, seemed to fit my purpose for the day.   Carnitas are porky goodness by the way so, I decided to take it one step further and make pickled onions to go with them.  Here are both of those recipes.

                                                                   Carnitas

3 pounds boneless pork shoulder roast
2 Tbls. lard or vegetable oil
1/3 c. chopped onion (1 small)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 c. water
1 tsp. finely shredded orange peel
1/2 c. orange juice
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. mexican oregano or regular, crushed
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 bay leaves

Trim fat from meat.  Cut meat into 1 1/2 inch cubes.  In a Dutch oven cook meat, half at a time, in hot lard over medium-high heat, stirring to brown evenly.  Remove meat from Dutch oven.  Add onion and garlic to pan, cook until lightly browned and tender.  Return meat to Dutch oven.
Add the water, orange peel, orange juice, thyme, salt, oregano, crushed red pepper, and bay leaves to Dutch oven.  Bring to boiling, reduce heat.  Simmer covered, for 2 hours.
Remove lid; increase heat so mixture boils gently.  Cook uncovered for 30-40 minutes or until nearly all of the liquid has evaporated, gently stirring occasionally.  Discard thyme sprigs and bay leaves.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer meat to a serving bowl.

My note:  After removing the lid to continue the cooking process it really didn't take long for the liquid to disappear and be really careful when stirring at this point because, the meat literally starts to fall apart.

                                                                   Quick Pickled Red Onions
                                                                    (Gebolias Encurtidas)

1 red onion, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices
1/4 c. grapefruit juice
2 Tbls. orange juice
2 Tbls. lime juice
1 tsp. coarse sea salt or kosher salt
1tsp. mexican oregano or regular oregano, crushed
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. cracked black pepper

Preheat broiler.  Arrange red onion slices on a baking sheet.  Broil 4-5 inches from heat for 8-10 minutes or until charred and tender, turning once halfway through broiling time.  When cool enough to handle, separate onion into rings, discarding any large dry blackened pieces.
In a medium bowl combine onion, grapefruit juice, orange juice, lime juice, salt, oregano, garlic, and pepper.  Cover and chill for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours before serving.

My note:  I am embarrassed to say this but, I don't know how my broiler works I know maybe someday I will figure it out.  Anyway I just heated the oven to 450 and cooked the onions as if they were in the broiler worked just fine!!!

I served these little morsel's of goodness with corn tortilla's, guacamole, cheese, salsa, and the pickled onions.  Although, I heated up the corn tortilla's we didn't used them instead,  the bearded fella and I opted to just fork the meat and dip it in any condiment that was handy.  They were so damn good we almost ate all of them.  They would make a good sandwich topped with the onions which were delish also, tart and tangy just like a pickle should be.  I liked the grapefruit for pickling quite a different but, really nice tang. I did make the onions first thing in the morning so, they would have lots of time to reach their flavor potential before dinner :)  I will be making these again and again maybe for that summer BBQ!!!!  Enjoy!!