Pork Carnitas Tacos

Ingredients

6 pounds pork butt, cut into two-inch chunks.

¾ cup vegetable oil

¾ cup water

5 cloves garlic

Juice of three limes

Juice of two oranges (substitute tangerines if you want)

3 bay leaves

5 sprigs thyme

Kosher salt to taste

For the pickled onions:

One red onion thinly sliced.

1 cup cider vinegar

½ cup water

2 Tbsp sugar

1 teaspoon each cumin seeds, mustard seeds, peppercorns

¼ tsp salt

2 bay leaves

Instructions:

Tie Thyme sprigs together with kitchen twine. Combine the pork, vegetable oil, water, garlic, lime and orange juice, salt, bay leaves and thyme in a large Dutch oven. Bring to a low boil over medium heat, then turn it down to simmer. Cover and cook for one hour, stirring occasionally.

Uncover and cook for another hour to hour and fifteen minutes till the pork becomes tender. If it is not tender, keep cooking. Stir more frequently until the liquid is mostly evaporated. Discard thyme and bay leaves. Continue to stir, breaking the meat down into smaller pieces. When it is tender it will be easy to break the chunks up more or smash them into small pieces. Continue cooking until the liquid is gone, stirring frequently to keep the pork from sticking to the bottom of the Dutch oven. When the liquid is mostly gone it is ready! Serve a dollop on a small flour or corn tortilla (whichever you like – I use flour), grate your favorite cheese on top and finish with pickled onions (see recipe below).

Pickled onions:

Put spices in a small piece of cheesecloth and tie it up with kitchen twine. Combine the spice packet, sliced onion, water, cider vinegar, sugar, and salt into a small pan. Bring to a boil for two minutes then remove from heat. Refrigerate till it is cool.