Cinco De Mayo: Carnitas

With Cinco De Mayo about a week away, I've started to put my menu together, in celebration. It really isn't much of a different menu, since it's ALWAYS Cinco De Mayo at my house. Mexican food is my favorite! I seriously could have Mexican everyday. But it deserves some special recognition. When I started thinking about it, the first thing that came to mind was Carnitas. For those who aren't aware, Carnitas is Spanish for 'little meats,' this dish is simply small bits or shreds of well browned pork. A while back, my BFPV taught me her recipe and with her permission, I'm sharing it with all of you. It's so flavorful! And EVERYONE in my house just loves when I make it now. My sister usually comes over for this dish and even takes some to go. We like to make Tortas (mexican sandwiches) or Tacos with the Carnitas and they are just DELICIOUS.

Carnitas
Ingredients:
3-4 lb. Pork Butt
1 Onion sliced
4- 6 Garlic Cloves (your preference)
2 Oranges (juiced)
2 -3 tbs Seasoned Salt (preferably Lawry's Seasoning) Just eye ball it. You want the pork coated well.
2 tbs Garlic Salt-Using the same technique as seasoning with the seasoned salt.
Salt (eyeball it)
1 Reynold's Oven bag (Large size)


Directions:
Place pork butt in a baking pan or casserole dish. With a knife, poke holes around the pork and insert the garlic cloves. Cut slices into the pork, just deep enough to fit in onion slices. Stuff them with the onions. Juice the oranges over the pork. Season the entire pork butt with all the seasonings. Place the pork butt into the oven bag and pour all the juices from the pan into the bag as well. Poke a couple holes into the bag. Close the bag, using the bag ties that are provided. Place the bag back on the pan and into a preheated oven of 350 degrees, for 2 hours.Once finished, with a fork, shred pork and it's ready to go!

For a Torta: Use Bollio bread (an oval shaped Mexican bread. Typically found in a Mexican bakery but also in Food4Less stores). Spread refried beans on one side of your bread and mayo on the other side. Add your carnitas and your favorite toppings; avocados, lettuce, tomatoes, queso fresco, jalapenos or your favorite salsa.

For Tacos: Just use corn or flour tortillas and again, add your favorite toppings. A yummy guacamole on top is a great addition to these tacos.