Tacos carnitas

We celebrated Cinco de Mayo and Taco Tuesday in spite of Corona! Kent especially loves the crispy bits of meat and this recipe makes for lots of those crispy gems! The only thing we decided is that next time we need more jalapeños in the salsa Verde as this just wasn't spicy enough!

Carnitas
2 medium onions
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
3 pounds boneless pork butt (shoulder), rind removed, cut into 2-inch cubes
Kosher salt
1 medium orange
6 cloves garlic, split in half
2 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick, broken into three or four pieces
1/4 cup vegetable oil
6 medium tomatillos (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled and split in half
2 jalapeño peppers, split in half lengthwise, stem removed
3 limes, cut into wedges
1 cup crumbled queso fresco or feta
24 corn tortillas
Directions
1.
Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 275 degrees. Cut one onion into fine dice and combine with cilantro. Refrigerate until needed. Split remaining onion into quarters. Set aside. Season pork chunks with 1 tablespoon salt and place in a 9 by 13 glass casserole dish. The pork should fill the dish with no spaces. Split orange into quarters and squeeze juice over pork. Nestle squeezed orange pieces into casserole. Add 2 onion quarters, 4 cloves garlic, bay leaves, and cinnamon stick to casserole. Nestle everything into an even layer. Pour vegetable oil over surface. Cover dish tightly with aluminum foil and place in oven. Cook until pork is fork tender, about 3 1/2 hours.

2.
Set large fine-meshed strainer 1 quart liquid measure or bowl. Using tongs, remove orange peel, onion, garlic, cinnamon stick, and bay leaves from pork. Transfer pork and liquid to strainer. Let drain for 10 minutes. Transfer pork back to casserole. You should end up with about 1/2 cup liquid and 1/2 cup fat. Using a flat spoon or de-fatter, skim fat from surface and add back to pork. Shred pork into large chunks with fingers or two forks. Season to taste with salt. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Transfer remaining liquid to medium saucepot.

3.
Add tomatillos, remaining 2 onion quarters, remaining 2 garlic cloves, and jalapeños to saucepot with strained pork liquid. Add water until it is about 1-inch below the top of the vegetables. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce to a simmer, and cook until all vegetables are completely tender, about 10 minutes. Blend salsa with hand blender or in a stand-up blender until smooth. Season to taste with salt. Allow to cool and refrigerate until ready to use.

4.
To serve: Place casserole dish with pork 4-inches under a high broiler and broil until brown and crisp on surface, about 6 minutes. Remove pork, stir with a spoon to expose new bits to heat, and broil again for 6 more minutes until crisp. Tent with foil to keep warm.

5.
Meanwhile, heat tortillas. Preheat an 8-inch non-stick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Working one tortilla at a time, dip tortilla in bowl filled with water. Transfer to hot skillet and cook until water evaporates from first side and tortilla is browned in spots, about 30 seconds. Flip and cook until dry, about 15 seconds longer. Transfer tortilla to a tortilla warmer, or wrap in a clean dish towel. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

6.
To eat, stack two tortillas on top of each other. Add two to three tablespoons carnitas mixture to center. Top with salsa verde, chopped onions and cilantro, and queso fresco. Serve with lime wedges

Favorite tri-tip recipe

Santa Maria tri-tip roast

From NYT Cooking 

1 whole tri-tip, about 2 pounds
3 tablespoons beef rub of your choice or from this recipe (2 tablespoons finely ground coffee
1 ½ tablespoons kosher salt
1 ½ tablespoons granulated garlic
1 heaping teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon brown sugar
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon cinnamon)

PREPARATION
Trim silver skin. The meat may have a thick layer of fat, some of which can be sliced off, but keep a good amount to help baste meat.
Sprinkle meat with rub and massage lightly all over. Cover and refrigerate at least an hour or as long as overnight. Remove from refrigerator an hour before cooking.

To oven-roast a tri-tip, prepare meat with rub and refrigerate as instructed. Heat oven to 175°C degrees. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil or other cooking oil to a large, heavy ovenproof pan. On stovetop, heat on high until pan is very hot, then add tri-tip, fat side down. Turn heat to medium-high and sear roast for about 4 minutes. Turn the roast and put it in the oven. Cook it for about 10 minutes a pound, checking with an instant-read thermometer until it reaches 54°C for medium-rare. Let sit for 15 minutes before slicing against the grain.
To grill the tri-tip:
Prepare charcoal grill or heat a gas grill to high. Place roast on grill and sear one side well, 6 to 8 minutes, checking for flare-ups. Turn the roast and sear other side for about the same time. Then lower gas to medium-high or move the meat to a cooler part of the charcoal grill.
Turn meat again and cook another 8 to 10 minutes. Flip and cook again. A 2-pound roast will require about 20 to 25 minutes total cooking time. The roast is ready when an instant-read thermometer reaches 54°C when inserted into the thickest part of the meat.
Rest roast on a cutting board 10 to 20 minutes. Slice against the grain. The roast is shaped like a boomerang, so either cut it in half at the center of the angle, or slice against the grain on one side, turn the roast and slice against the grain on the other side.

Brown-sugar balsamic glazed pork tenderloin

Crockpot Brown Sugar Balsamic Glazed Pork Tenderloin

Serves: 6

 

Ingredients

2 pounds Pork tenderloin

1 teaspoon Ground sage

½ teaspoon Salt

¼ teaspoon Pepper

1 clove Garlic; crushed

½ cup Water

½ cup Brown sugar

1 tablespoon Cornstarch

¼ cup Balsamic Vinegar

½ cup Water

2 tablespoons Soy sauce

Instructions

Mix together the seasonings: sage, salt, pepper and garlic.

Rub over tenderloin. Place ½ cup water in slow cooker; place tenderloin in slow cooker.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

hour before the roast is finished, mix together the ingredients for the glaze in a small sauce pan: brown sugar, cornstarch, balsamic vinegar, water, soy sauce.

Heat over medium and stir until mixture thickens, about 4 minutes.

 

Brush roast with glaze 2 or 3 times during the last hour of cooking. (For a more caramelized crust: remove from crockpot and place on aluminum lined sheet pan, glaze, and set under broiler for 1-2 minutes until bubbly and caramelized. Repeat 2 to 3 more times until desired crust is achieved.)

Serve with remaining glaze on the side.

Favorite scones

Cream Scones

2 c (9oz) flour

1 Tbs baking powder

4 Tbs sugar

½ tsp salt

4 Tbs cold, unsalted butter, cut into cubes

3/4 c. heavy cream

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla

2 Tbs sugar for sprinkling on top

 

Place dry ingredients in bowl of food processor and pulse to mix. Add butter and pulse until combines. Add cream, egg and vanilla; mixing just until combined. Knead briefly. Form into 2 disks and cut into a total of 16 scones. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes.

Bagels - of the Everything type variety

Herb and Onion Bagels                                                                    A foundation recipe

1½ c. warm water

1 Tbs sugar

2 tsp salt

1 envelope yeast

4½ c flour

1/4 c. olive oil

2 tsp dried, minced onion

pinch of garlic powder

(1 tsp dried, minced garlic)

10 c. water

Combine warm water, sugar, kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Set aside for 5 minutes or until the mixture foams. 

Add the flour and olive oil and mix on low speed with the dough hook attachment until well comibined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls aways from the side of the bowl, 4-5 minutes. Add in the dried, minced onion, garlic and any herbs. Knead for 30 second to 1 minutes longer or until herbs are incorporated.

Remove the dough from the bowl and oil it lightly with olive oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place for 1 hour, or until the dough has doubled in size. Once dough has risen, turn dough out onto floured work surface. Divide dough into 8 equal pieces.

Roll each dough piece into a 10" long rope, rolling the dough with your hands outward until rope has formed. After dough has been rolled into a rope, squish down one end of the rope an dform into a bagel shape, pusshing the squished end into the side of the bagel. Place formed bagels on a greased, rimmed baking sheet. Cover lightly with a kitchen towel and allow to rise for 15-20 minutes, untl bagles are puffy and slightly risen.

After the bagels have risen, heat the oven to 425°. Line 2 half sheet pans with parchment paper; set aside. Bring the 10 c. water to a boil. Three at a time, place the bagels in the boiling water for 30-45 seconds per side. Remove from water using a large flat spatula and return to baking sheet. Brush the top of bagels with a little more olive oil and sprinkle with Everything Bagel seasoning. Bake until dark golden brown in color, 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

*Do first rise overnight, bringing to room temperature at least 30 minutes before finishing the bagels.

Sunday Roast

InstantPot Pot Roast

3 lbs beef chuck roast

Salt to taste

Fresh ground pepper

Garlic powder

Onion powder

4 tbs olive oil, divided

1 c. beef broth with additional beef bouillon added

1 c. red wine

1 pkt dry onion soup mix

1 white or yellow onion, quartered

1 pound baby potatoes

1 c. baby carrots

1 parsnip, peeled and cut into large chunks

6 cloves of garlic, peeled, left whole

Sprinkle roast with salt and set aside. Add 2 Tbs olive oil to InstantPot and set to saute. When oil becomes hot and shimmery, add roast and sear for 4-5 minutes on each side. Sprinkle with additional seasonings. Add broth and wine to InstantPot. 

Add vegetables, 2 Tbs olive oil and onion soup mix to gallon sized ziploc bag and shake until vegetables become evenly coated with the mix. Put veggies into the InstantPot and distribute evenly around roast. Place lid on InstantPot with steam valve closed. Switch to manual and set for 60-80 minutes on high. (70 is about right). Do a natural release for at least 10 minutes and then quick release. 

Whole Wheat Molasses Rolls

Whole Wheat Molasses Rolls

1 c. warm water

4 tsp yeast

1 tsp sugar

2 c. flour

1/4 c. packed light brown sugar

1/4 c. molasses

3 Tbs honey

2 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder

2 Tbs butter, softened

1 large egg

2 tsp salt

 2-1/4 c. whole wheat flour, divided

 1 egg white, lightly beaten

1 Tbs old-fashioned oats

2 tsp sunflower seeds

Place the water, yeast and 1 tsp sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Let stand 10 minutes or until foamy.

Add the all-purpose flour and turn mixer to medium speed. Add light brown sugar, molasses, honey, cocoa powder, butter, egg and salt an dbeat for 2 minutes. Switch the the dough hook. Add 1 c. whole wheat flour and beat for 2 minutes. Add remaining 1-1/4 c. whole wheat flour and beat until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and kneead 4-5 times. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning to coat the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place, about 1-1/2 hours. Make into rolls and let rise again. Bake at 350° for 20-22 minutes.