Tortillas & Carnitas: Gringo Style

The sun is shining and I’m so not going to sit here all day — even though I nearly already have.  So this will be quick, and much less fattening than the last few posts I’ve done.

A few days ago, I was cruising through the bake aisle at my usual grocery store — I know — big surprise!  But I spotted a bag of masa harina.  You know — that stuff you make tortillas with — and I thought, “What the hell!”  I imagined myself patting those cute little fat corn patties the ladies used to make in Old Town while we were waiting for our dinner reservation to be called. Mmmmm….There surely couldn’t be much to it, right?

I ran the idea past my husband whose eyebrows lifted….“Carnitas?” he asked, expectantly?  Absolutely!  So I threw a few frozen pieces of pork into the crockpot with some cumin seeds, chopped onions and garlic and forgot about it for a few hours or so.  At one point, I began to smell something, and actually alarmed that I had left a pot on the stove and forgot about it, ran downstairs to find the crockpot, simmering away.  How lame can I get?

When my son got home from school, I casually asked him if he wanted to help me make tortillas, and he immediately said, “Sure!”  What a kid.

The pictures speak for themselves, the pork was perfect after we added some salt and pepper, and the condiments were just the right touch.  How long did it take?  About 20 minutes start to swallow.  Sometimes The Little Red Hen can round up some takers!

Roll the ball of dough between two pieces of plastic wrap, then peel off the plastic carefully. Throw the tortilla onto the griddle for a couple of minutes, flippng three times until very small brownish spots appear.

Shred the pork, and prepare the condiments:

Diced jalapeno, tomatoes, green onions, avocados, shredded cabbage and cheese, with chopped cilantro and green salsa.

They slide right down — even if they’re not perfectly round!