← Nouns Cooking · Mexican

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg boneless pork shoulder, cut into 5 cm chunks, fat left on
• 2 tsp Salt
• 1 tbsp lard or vegetable oil
• 1 white onion, quartered
• 6 cloves Garlic, peeled and lightly crushed
• 2 Orange, juiced, squeezed halves kept
• 1 tsp Dried oregano
• 1 tsp Cumin
• ½ tsp Black pepper
• 2 Bay leaves
• 500 ml water, roughly
• 1 tbsp sweetened condensed milk, for extra browning (optional)
• 18 warm corn tortillas
• 1 bunch Coriander (cilantro), chopped
• 1 Lime, cut into wedges

Method

1. Pat the pork dry and season it all over with the salt.
2. Heat the lard or oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Brown the pork in two batches for 8–10 min each, turning, until golden on most sides.
3. Return all the pork to the pot with the onion, garlic, orange juice and squeezed halves, oregano, cumin, pepper and bay leaves. Add water until it comes about halfway up the meat.
4. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down low, partly cover and simmer gently for 2 hours, turning the pieces now and then, until a fork slides in with no resistance.
5. Take off the lid and fish out the orange halves and bay leaves. Turn the heat to medium and let the liquid bubble away for 20–30 min, stirring more often as it reduces, until the pork is sizzling in its own fat and browning. Stir in the condensed milk, if using, for the last few minutes.
6. Break the pork into chunky shreds in the pot and let it fry for a few more minutes for crisp edges. For extra crunch, spread it on a tray and put it under a hot grill for 3–5 min.
7. Serve in warm tortillas with coriander, lime wedges and your favourite salsa.

Tips

• Leave the fat on the pork: it renders out and is what the meat fries in at the end.
• Skip the condensed milk if you need the dish dairy-free; the orange still gives lovely caramelised edges.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Pati Jinich RecipeTin Eats