I got this recipe from funnytummycafe.com, but apparently that website no longer exists so I wanted to put it here in case I ever spill water on my paper recipe and ruin it. We LOVE this recipe. Lots of ingredients, but really not too hard to make.
Ingredients:
-3 to 4 lb pork roast (loin, butt, shoulder—I prefer loin for leanness), cut into 1 1/2 to 2 inch cubes
-3/4 tsp. salt PER pound of meat (so 2 1/4 tsp for 3 lbs and 3 tsp for 4 lbs., doesn’t need to be perfect measurement, but don’t overdo it!)
- 2-3 Tbsp. oil, divided
-Juice of one orange
-Juice of one lime
-1/4 of an orange’s rind (after juicing the orange half, cut the peel in half again and that’s your 1/4 rind)
-1/2 to 1 jalepeno pepper, seeded (1/2 results in mild pork, 1 is medium, go with 2 for hot)
- 1 cup water
-1 cup chicken or vegetable stock ( I used 1 cup water & 1 tsp chicken bullion)
-1 tsp liquid smoke
-1 to 2 Tbsp brown sugar or honey
-1 tsp. dried Mexican oregano (I just use regular oregano)
-1 tsp. cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
-1 Tbsp dried, minced onion or 2 tsp onion powder
-3 garlic cloves
-1/2 tsp cracked black pepper OR crushed red pepper
-2 bay leaves
-corn or flour tortillas or lettuce leaves, and any other taco toppings you’d like
Instructions:
For the Pork:
1. Place cut up pork cubes in a large bowl. Rub the salt into the meat, and refrigerate for at least one hour or overnight.
2. Remove pork from refrigerator and heat 1 Tbsp oil in large stockpot or dutch oven over med-high heat. Add pork in batches so that there’s plenty of room for each piece to touch the bottom of the pan and brown on all sides. Add more oil as needed for each batch. **to brown pork well, you need to let it just sit for a couple minutes on each side without moving it. If you continuously move it around, or “stir fry” it, it will not achieve a nice caramel brown color.
For the sauce:
3. Place everything but the pork, oil, salt, and bay leaves in a blender and blend on low speed. You can pulse it if you need. Blend as much as you want depending on how much of the jalapeno pieces and orange peel you want to see. Refrigerate if not using immediately.
For the braising method: (this is what I always use, as it doesn’t seem the crockpot saves much “work”)
4. When pork is browned, pour sauce over pork in stockpot, add the two bay leaves and bring sauce to a boil then reduce to a low simmer and cover! Let simmer on very low heat for 2 hours.
5. After simmering, remove lid. Raise heat to medium or med-high to bring back to a boil. Boil liquid for 30 to 40 minutes or until nearly all liquid has evaporated. Don’t let it dry out completely! I remove mine when there’s just a little liquid (maybe a half inch) in the bottom, and it’s perfect.
6. Remove the bay leaves and give the meat a good stir with a wooden spoon and allow the pieces to fall apart.
7. To assemble: Place meat in tortilla, followed by guacamole (I use Pioneer Woman’s guacamole & pico de gayo recipe), Top with other toppings you like, such as cheese, sour cream, and cilantro or tomato.
For the SLOW COOKER method:
8. After browning pork, place it in a slow cooker together with the braising liquid you blended. Add the bay leaves, and place on low for 6 to 8 hours. When complete, pour all the liquid into a pot or saucepan and bring to a medium boil for 30 to 40 minutes to reduce the liquid down to 1 cup or less. When liquid is dark and slightly thicker, remove from heat, remove bay leaves and pour back onto the pork. Stir to incorporate sauce and break up chunks. Follow above instructions for assembling and serving.
