Carnitas, my sweet

Doping myself up was totally worth it. I'm not sure spending two hours squeezing the juice from 2 pounds of key limes was, though.

I made the Cooks Illustrated recipe for carnitas tonight . . . and tonight, I am hailed as a hero in my home.

Throw into a large dutch oven. . .

3-4 lb pork butt (or picnic shoulder or boston butt . . . there are several names)
(Have butcher remove bones and cut into 2 inchish chunks. Trim some of the fat cap, but leave most of the fat intact.)

1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
1 small onion, peeled, cut into quarters
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried oregano
juice from large lime
2 cups water
1 med. orange, juiced and cut in half (throw in both the juice and the orange halves)

bring to a simmer, put on the lid and stick in 300 degree oven for 2.5 hours. Remove from oven and allow to cool on stove top for 30 minutes.

Remove meat chunks, set aside for now. Remove onion, orange, bay leaves. Boil liquid (do NOT try to skim fat) until it is reduced to about a cup.

shred up the meat, removing the big bits of fat . . . toss in reduced cooking liquid. spread out on cookie sheet, sprinkle with a little bit more salt, and stick under broiler for a couple o' minutes. Take out of broiler, toss to turn and stick under broiler again for a couple of minutes. You'll get crispy little edges to the meat.

Serve as tacos or in burritos. Top with sliced radishes, pico de gallo, sour cream, slice jalapenos . . . anything you like. I like Pico and radishes . . . Phenom likes cheese, jalapenos, sour cream.

The meat is fall apart tender, has good flavor . . . is very mild but savory. I rounded out the meal with drunken (sweet/spicy) beans, fresh cantaloupe, and a key lime pie.