Carnitas With Spicy Pickled Vegetables And Cactus Salad

Serves: 2

Fatima Kris

1 January 1970

Based on User reviews:

35

Spice

50

Sweetness

47

Sourness

40

mins

Prep time (avg)

6.2

Difficulty

Ingredients:

2720 g

Lard

1

Salt

6 cloves

Garlic

Directions:

1

For the pork: Melt the lard in a large pot over medium heat

2

Squeeze the juice from the citrus fruits into the lard along with the skins

3

Add the pork shoulder, bay leaf, onions and salt

4

Turn the heat down to medium-low, cover the pot and cook the pork, about 1 hour and 45 minutes

5

In the meantime, for the pickled vegetables: In a non-reactive pot, bring the vinegar, chiles de arbol, salt and peppercorns to a boil

6

Take off the heat and add the green beans, wax beans, carrots, corn, garlic and jalapenos

7

Chill in the refrigerator to cool down, at least 1 hour

8

Will hold in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks

9

For the cactus salad: Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat, add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and grill the cactus paddles until soft and charred, about 10 minutes

10

Remove the paddles and set aside

11

Add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and grill the scallions until just cooked, about 3 minutes

12

After the cactus and scallions have cooled, dice them up and mix with the tomatoes, chile and lime juice

13

Season with salt and pepper and reserve

14

After the pork has been cooking and is soft, turn the heat up to medium-high and add the cola

15

Cook until the pork caramelizes, 15 to 20 minutes

16

To assemble the carnitas, strain a spoonful of the pork from the fat and serve on a warm corn tortilla

17

Garnish with the pickled vegetables, the cactus salad and lime wedges