best pulled pork tacos my tastebuds ever tasted.

my dear friend monica came to visit us and she made us THE BEST pulled pork tacos in the united states - possibly the world, but i haven't had the privilege of traveling much yet. ;) she stumbled upon the recipe on Pinterest of course. now, i am no julia childs, but i tried the same recipe a few weeks later and it turned out wonderfully! here is the link & recipe: http://www.healthyfoodforliving.com/?p=17245

Carnitas (Pulled Pork Tacos)

Ingredients for the pork:

• 3 lb boneless pork loin roast, cut into large (3-4 inch) pieces (do NOT trim away the small amount of fat)
• 2 tsp Kosher salt
• 4 tsp ancho chile powder
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
• 1-2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, or enough to cover the bottom of the pot
• 12 fluid oz beer, (or chicken stock), preferably with citrus notes
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

Accoutrements for the tacos:

• warmed corn tortillas
• avocado slices
• 2% plain Greek yogurt (or sour cream)
• fresh cilantro
• hot sauce (such as Tobasco Chipotle Pepper Sauce)
• lime wedges
• salsa (John tried salsa verde and said it was a great accompaniment)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Combine salt and rest of spices in a small bowl. Spread spice mixture onto a plate. Evenly coat the pork pieces on all sides with the dry rub.
3. Heat oil in a dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add in the seasoned pork pieces, and sear all sides until browned (about 1 minute per side). Remove pork from the dutch oven.
4. Pour in the beer (or chicken stock) and scrape the bottom of the dutch oven to deglaze and release the browned bits of pork. Add in the orange juice, and bring mixture to a boil.
5. Add in the seared pork. Cover dutch oven and place in oven for 1/2 hour.
6. Remove lid, turn pork pieces over, and return to oven–uncovered–for about 1 1/2 hours, or until the pork is fork-tender, turning the pork pieces 1-2 times during the cooking process.
7. Shred pork right into the sauce using two forks. Toss the pulled pork with the reduced sauce. There will be less sauce than there is for BBQ pulled pork (or mySpicy Pulled Chicken), so don’t expect a super saucy end result.
8. Serve with accoutrements.

boy lauren sure knows her stuff! :)
try it! i dare you. i couldn't find the ancho chile powder or the particular brew of beer she used, but i used regular chile powder and a little bit of chipotle chile powder, and fat tire beer. it still tasted delish! :) but my mother-in-law found ancho chile powder at walmart! of all places...

next time i'll take pictures of mine.