Tacos de carnitas

This month Sunset had a restaurant's recipe for authentic carnitas, where 5 pounds of pork butt is simmered in 4 cups of fresh lard for several hours.  With carnitas, the braised chunks are usually fried again in more lard. I'm sure the result is succulent and delicious, but whoa!

Here's another method, better for people who don't need to eat 800 calorie tacos.  Start with the same cheap hunk of pork roast and cut it into rough pieces, pulling off as much fat as possible. Brown the pieces well in a Dutch oven.

Add a small can of hot chopped jalapeños (I was lucky and had a can of the Hatch peppers) or the fire-roasted mild ones work too.  A bit of chopped onion, 2 or 3 garlic cloves, a splash of vinegar and sprinkle of chili powder, salt and pepper.  Bake the meat tightly covered in a 325 oven and try to forget about it while the smell slowly drives you crazy.  It will take at least 2 hours.

When the pork is very tender, put it in a bowl and break up the larger chunks.  At this point you can refrigerate it for serving later.

The final step-- yes, I did "fry" the meat before making the tacos.  I justified it because I only used a tablespoon of bacon fat left from making Spanish rice. They were delicious tacos; a little rich meat goes a long way.

And as Julia Child once said: The only time to eat diet food is while you're waiting for the steak to cook.