ninfa's carnitas recipe ninfa's carnitas recipe

Claire A little after the fact, sorry, but I hope that you found, as we do, that this reheats very well, and is definitely something you can make almost a day before you need it. Otherwise, get that pork into a pan and roast it low and slow. They taste so delicious that it is hard to push away from the table! Im awful at estimation. Juice of 1 lime, juice and peel of 1 orange. Diced up the meat (a bit more than the recipe calls for) and added ingredients as directed to the crockpot. I already have my pork in the fridge and am eager to go. And if you were looking for a great way to spend the afternoon of a Friday half day at work, buy some beers, make this soup, this pudding and these carnitas and invite your friends over. thank you for another delicious recipe made this tonight and this was just AMAZING. It fits my better halfs paleo-diet and fits my delicious requirement. Pour bouillon mixture into the skillet with the vermicelli. Oh and make sure you have fresh tortillas for this one. I love this recipe and am so looking forward to going to my English butcher and ordering pork butt! 1/2 pound tomatillos, husked 1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and cut in half 2-3 cloves garlic 1/2 cup cilantro leaves 1 teaspoon lime juice cup water Salt Instructions Roast the chiles and tomatillos under the broiler until blackened on both sides, about 10-12 minutes, turning once. Is there any type of schedule? do I worry enough?? During the braising stage, do you need to add additional water to keep it over the meat? I never feel the ones I get are fresh/yummy (unless fried, but fried is a whole other topic). Next time I will leave some of the broth for sure. So So So good. Put them in tortillas with a bit of sliced red cabbage tossed in lime and topped with green onion dressing (from the slaw link above). Deb, Ive made these carnitas twice now, following the recipe exactly, and I double it each timeyum! I used a pork loin with some fat on it because thats all I had, worked great. I used loin so there was little fat for crisping; I just put a bit of olive oil in a large skillet and browned the meat in it as the bottom of the Dutch oven was black once the liquid evaporated. I usually do a 4 pound boneless pork butt, cut in 2 inch cubes, I made these last night and will be making them again ASAP! Here in Japanhaving lived in California for a long time the one cuisine we truly miss is Mexican.The Japanese, as brilliant as they are about food, just dont get it, and thus Mexican ingredients are nearly impossible to find. I am so intrigued by this cooking method! Hahaha I just inherited those same wooden square plates from my parents LOVE them! Had them this morning for breakfast with toast, a fried egg, a little siracha, and some avocado.. YUM! Pork butt = pork shoulder, yes. Yum. Would you like more Homesick Texan? There is a place here in town called Curras which i HIGHLY recommend should you ever venture to Austin that does their carnitas with a little coca-cola thrown into the mix. I guess some where along the way I learned to brown the meat first. Because there definitely will be a next time! The fat makes it work best. Christina No reason not to throw a bottle of beer in before adding any additional water needed to get it to the right level. Thank you for posting this recipe. I totally agree. Take it out, pull it apart, chop it up, eat it. Select Broil and adjust the time to 8 minutes. my mother used to make these for me. Ill definitely try the carnitas recipe..and serve with the Homesick Texans delicious and easy homemade flour tortillas. My husband said it was the best carnitas hes ever had. Just made my house water. The meat was then mixed with a sauce and cooked in the slow cooker for another hour until the sauce was caramelized. Simple and extremely delicious! Thanks! Gonna go get my pork butt and give your recipe a try. If you were to, how would you modify the recipe? Any food that can be associated with Friday Night Lights in any way is clearly one that I need to be making and eating on a weekly basis. Yum yum yum. Also, how best to heat them up if I have to make them a day early? This is so much easier than the traditional recipe that I have in my Mexican cookbook! Im sitting here taking a break from work while devouring some leftover chili for lunch your Beef Chili recipe. Bring to a boil over high heat. My enameled cast iron dutch oven has finally gotten stains that even barkeepers friend cant remove but this recipe was the best thing to ever come out of it! I love this recipe. I thought I would only get them when I went taco trucking but, after reading this recipe I may never have to leave my kitchen! Instructions Combine lime and orange zest with cup water. Voila! ooo yes please! I made them at home for my husband in our crock pot a couple months ago (actually not too bad a way to make em!) Made these yesterday amazing! This is a fantastic recipe! The meat is like buttah. I know, such a tease! I almost wished I hadnt of cooked the broth down so much because that was delicious. 1/2 cup orange juice With the braise and the sizzle, I knew there would be enough fat marbling to handle the long cook. Hubby LOVED it and I couldnt stop eating the little crispies at the bottom of the pot! Adapted, just barely, from The Homesick Texan Cookbook, 3 pounds boneless pork shoulder or pork butt, cut into 2-inch cubes Also feta, crema, pickled jalapenos, cilantro, chopped green onions and avocados! Two days isnt a problem. Follwed the recipe to a tee. Thanks! I was scared to boil the meat so I stopped heating it when there were some bubbles but not many. This Ninja Foodi method allowed me to get it all done in less than an hour. Absolutely delicious & very easy to make. Yum! Hi, Im thinking to cook the pork in the same ingredients as listed for 8hrs? for my boyfriend, who grew up in Mexico. cant wait to try these! Do you think it would be as good if I made it with a pork roast or tenderloin? My house smells amazing I am so tempted to stir them in the first 2 hours!!! Now I just have to decide if I want to brave churros or not. And rather dry. Sorry for the tease! This dish sounds super. The bubbles should barely, if at all, be breaking the surface. They were, indeed, delicious. We live on a ranch in Canada and thinking about trying this recipe out with my wife. Butter ribs do sound delicious, right? I dont know what it is, the color of the composition? I am making these right this second! CARNITAS 21. Hi, I am hosting a New Years Day get together, and I wanted to make these for it. Looks great! Its been on low for 10 hours and smells delicious. I have never made carnitas, I dont even really like pork, but OMG, these were so good! The flavor was incredible! Thanks! Thanks for sharing! Ninfa's Mexican Restaurant. I showed my butcher the recipe and he gave me the cut it called for. Hope someday its as good as yours. this will be my go to recipe always, easy and delicious. One year ago: Spicy Squash Salad with Lentils and Goat Cheese, Buckeyes and Spaghetti with Chickpeas Top with cilantro or any of your favorite toppings. I love love you blog and with no good mexican here in Sydney Australia I was desperate to try this out. Maybe I just anticipated too much from it. I want these and I want the cookbook,too . Is your dutch oven enamel covered or is it plain cast iron? Curious to know how many people a 3-lb shoulder would feed. The children loved it and requested that I make it again ASAP. its just the best. I am going butt shopping tomorrow. I only changed up two things, ONE I used the bottled MOJO from the latin section of the supermarket, its orange juice, lime juice and bitter orange juice and seasonigs because im too damn lazy to juice oranges and limes. Yup, these were fan spanking tastical. Its thirty degrees outside and Ive git a pot of pork braising on the stove and a pot of pinto beans simmering life is good :). Huh I always thought you needed lard to fry the braised meat, so Ive never gotten around to it. ;-). Thanks so much for reminding me that I had this recipe tucked away! Mine ended up being more like two layers of meat so could this have been the cause of too much liquid? Most of the liquid evaporation will happen when you turn up the heat in the last 45 minutes, so I dont remember a lot of exposure up top until the end. HOW TO MAKE CARNITAS Prep - Cut the pork butt into 1" cubes. Hi Whitney I havent tried it but it sounds like something that could work. Hold the horses. I liked doing it this way. 1 teaspoon Kosher salt, plus more to taste, Corn tortillas, for serving plus When pork has browned on both sides, its ready (there will be liquid fat in the pan). I cant turn on the stove for two hours it would break havoc on my light billelectricity aint cheap in Puerto Rico :(, I love LOVE this recipe and have made it many times. YUM! When I saw this recipe my soul sang crispy pork! Update: On second thought, Im going to nix the rib option as the pieces will be smaller and this recipe will have too long a cooking time. jeff no need to brine overnight if tenderness is what youre looking for. These carnitas sound great and so, so simple to make! She asked if I was hungry, as shed just cooked, Read More New Years Day queso compuestoContinue, I spent part of my junior year of college living in Spain. This was sooooo good. Holy carnitas, batman. . Woweven easier than the Cooks Illustrated recipe I love so much. I was dreaming about the carnitas of my youth, surprisingly growing up in Hudson County NJ gave me access to some of the best Latin American cuisine in the country. Love it! Have you ever made this the day before? David Lebovitz also has an amazing carnitas recipe. Im a terrible cook. Would you happen to know a variant of this that utilizes a crock pot for slower cooking? :). radishes. Make sure you use the fatty cut like shoulder or butt like the recipe says. ), but needlessly. The Dutch oven is enamel and I finally got the grease out with a vinegar/baking soda mixture and a metal grease scrubber. Most of the Mexican restaurants in New York City are owned by Pueblans, but there is one in the Bronx called Real Azteca that is proudly owned by Michoacans. Thanks for sharing this recipe. The key here is to disturb the meat as little as possible so that it remains in bigger chunks. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Queso flameado directions: 1. I found your recipe and video instruction last year over the Fourth of July weekend! Ever! I bet those would be fun to take :). Now I am going to have to make this, maybe both the Texas and New Mexico versions for Christmas morning. Cant wait to see your cookbook! I saw Lucinda Scala-Quinn of Mad Hungry make it on her show using just the water to cover & salt & couldnt possibly believe it was that easy. Recently I found a butcher who I am able to communicate with about pork shoulder, and voila, I made my first attempts at Pozole. I already tried turning the the temperature down, with the same results. I make in the crockpot all the time, shred and place under the broiler to crisp up. The one in the photo looks perfect. Totally making this. Merci. The pork was silky with a hint of crunch that was balanced by the chewy corn tortilla and tangy salsa. Cook for 3-4 minutes until tender. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. I usually stick a (bone in) pork roast in the smoker, with apple twigs, and a steaming pot of water kind of smoke roasting good for ducks too. Is is tender enough as it is and not really worth the extra effort? Sounds simpler than a galv. We always wish there were more crispy bits when we order these at restaurants so having smaller pieces worked better for me. I would love to try this recipe, but my husband is seriously anti-Mexican food. We had gotten a shoulder with bone in, so left the bone in the pot for flavor while cooking down. (Granted, I was splitting time between my four-year-old and the carnitas at the time.) Ive never made carnitas before tonight but they turned out pro! If I try this again while away from home, I will probably leave the lid on the whole time. My husband and I were fighting over who got to scrap the delicious burnt crumbs out of the pan since the meat was all gone. I subbed the same amount of pineapple juice and just thought you should know, it was amazing that way, too! so. Smear pork shoulder with oil. Preparation. So simple and delicious! Ive been travelling to Texas for work recently and for breakfast, my Texan colleagues treated me to kolaches (aka sausages wrapped in a savory croissant-like pastry with salty jalapenos). Well, whoop-de-doo, this sounds great. i hate pork (i know) but have done this recipe at least a dozen times with lamb and its AMAZING! Best brown bag lunch Ive had in ages. And its quite extraordinary. Once all the pressure is released, open the lid and remove the orange, onion, and garlic cloves. I do not normally post comments, but I saw so many people with the black crust on the pan issue, I thought I would share our experience. Butter? Actually, pork shoulder and pork butt are the same thing. 1 teaspoon ground cumin This is the recipe Ive been waiting for. The only item I would update is that next time I will make 1.5 times the amt of dressing called for in the slaw. We ate the carnitas in burritos with all the fixings. But the ones you make at home are the best. Hi Deb, have you seen this recipe that was in a recent GQ? in my 9qt Dutch oven. I havent made it in one but these three comments, oh and this too, talk about how they approach it. For anyone who doesnt eat pork, you can try using shoulder of lamb, which is exceedingly delicious with such treatment. Cheese enchiladas: the essence of Tex-Mex. Thanks for this fantastic recipe :). Place in a pot 4-5 lbs pork butt, 2 C water & 1 onion; Add the spices 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt, 3/4 tsp pepper, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp oregano, 2 bay leaves. You mean this is basically like what I do to make pulled pork, except cut up in cubes and browned when the juices dry up? Here's how to score the best deals on tickets, plus all the free promotions you won't want to miss. I apparently over simmered while simmering the meat, and the rest of the water boiled off in about 15 minutes after switching to medium-high, but they still came out so delicious! Whats that you ask? I made this recipe last night and couldnt resist adding a couple glugs of fresh apple cider to the margarita bath. Slight food coma afterwards but definitely worth it. Zadzi They do fry in lard their own rendered lard from the braising process. ive been wanting to make these at home for forever but never dared try assuming i couldnt achieve the juicy tenderness and flavor in the pork but this recipe just nails it. A perfect solution! A seventh-generation Texan, she was indeed homesick during the two decades she lived in New York City, but the call of home recently brought her back to the Lone Star State. Anyway, it was great and the leftovers are even better! Its one of my favorite recipes of all time. My two favorite cooking blogs together at last :) This homesick Texan cant wait to visit so I can buy both yalls cookbooks! You dont want such a vigorous boil that it starts to break up the meat into little pieces; you just want the stove hot enough that it reduces the liquid and fries the meat in the 45 mins it will take for a nice caramelized crust to form. (BTW, he didnt tell me carnitas were his favorite food in advance because he didnt want me to be disappointed if he didnt love this version. Hes so adorable! Doubled the spices and juices and apparently added way too much water and had to suck about a quart out with the turkey baster after almost 3 hours simmering. PamYoure so welcome and Im glad you enjoyed the carnitas! MAMA NINFA'S ORIGINAL TACOS AL CARBON Fajitas in a Flour Tortilla with Pico de Gallo, Guacamole, and Chile con Queso . I dont think theyre meant for everyday consumption but man oh man, they make one amazing breakfast. Id like to make it again for company this week, but since I work it would be good if I could reheat. The method is brilliant and only one pan to clean up. Remove the roast and place on a sheet pan or plate. Thanks. I think Mexican night is going to have to include these next week! And to add to the confusion, a pork shoulder is actually a HUGE piece of meat usually divided into two parts, the afore mentioned butt and the picnic. Generously salt and pepper pork chunks on all sides. SIGHTSEEING: Fun Houston landmarks you can see from your car, Its an opportunity for parents to spend time with their kids, said Padilla. A friend made these for us when we were in New Orleans (where Im from) for the Christmas holidays, 2011. I even pulled out a ruler and 2 inches ended up being smaller than I thought, so I trimmed my pork shoulder (which I had purchased already cut for stew) into even smaller pieces. The first time I made these (using the recipe on Lisas website) it was such a revelation. Toss onion halves in the bottom and coat the meat with salt, pepper, and oregano. Thanks for the tip, Deb! Just for clarification. Thanks! Just as i was thinking that there was no way this was going to come together, I heard the tell tale sound from the bottom of my DO, and the browning had begun. I made this slaw from homesick texan: Im not in love with the Air Fryer basket on the Ninja Foodi as there is no long handle. Thank you so much! Did I just misspell butcher that badly? At that point a thick black scary layer had formed on the bottom of my pot. Ill be doing a full and thorough review on the Ninja Foodie soon. I am from Guadalajara. And Im heading into the kitchen as we speak. I love it all; its so accessible and is at just the right level of cooking for me. The. I used 3 large chicken breasts and reduced the recipe accordingly about in half. Oh sweet carnitas! so simple and delicious and ridiculously tender. Wow. This recipe was fabulous. But should you want to experiment, it might be worth starting with short ribs. I have been craving carnitas and this recipe looks mouthwateringyum! Thanks for this recipe and the recommendation. Also, Ali Larter says this is her favourite blog! If you need another slaw recipe (and you know, I always do) theres a fine one with a jalapeno buttermilk dressing within that we pretty much inhaled with our carnitas. This recipe was excellent and the leftovers I took to work on Monday had my co-workers thinking their sandwiches and left over pizza were a little lame! Take careenjoy the holidays and thanks for the recipes!! The broth was put in the fridge to congeal fat, then fat removed, the broth was frozen for soup. slow cooked deliciousness! It cut down on the time at the end and ensured that the meat was perfectly cooked. So delicious. The best carnitas I ever ate were at Ninfas in Dallas (see comment #68. It was fantastic! Thank you for sharing this. Never had carnitas beforemy only regret is making this with only 2.5 lbs of pork butt. Too much meat for suface area of my giant le cruset stock pot and broiled half of the meat to get the browning. Thank you! Ive gotta try this at-home recipe the next time I have a crowd over. Literally just pulled this off the stove and the meat is TaF (tender as f***). This was awesome! And I have her book! I really enjoy your blog thanks for the inspiration! I could not stop tasting the dressing and sampling the pork during those last 30 minutes! Sadly, my expectations were not met. So now that I have that solved, would definitely make again! Id hate to run out when Im serving this for friends! I dont really want to defrost the whole shoulder and then have to cook it two different ways. Amazingly, it pleased both my 4 1/2 year old and my 2 year old (once we convinced them to try it). Mmmmcarnitas! I was in the southern part of the country, in Granada, which is not too far from the, Read More Fish tostadas, Veracruz styleContinue, When my grandparents were in graduate school at the University of Kentucky, they wereof coursehomesick Texans. Slow-Cooked Pork with Molcajete Sauce, Green Onions and Sliced Avocado Tried the Carnitas in soft tacos at El Camion on 12th Street Ave A. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F. Put the poblano and onion slices in the bottom of a heavy pot. Trust it! we use carnitas for tacos, for pulled pork, just adding bbq sauce. :). CARNITAS 16. You probably wont believe it but my friend, who was born just a south of Mexico City braises the meat in cola, orange and lime juice. And then I served the recipe for strawberry sorbet that I found on your site. Asian cuisine is great, but most of the time I like to stick to my culinary heritage and save my cash by staying in. Warm tortillas, avocado, salsa however, to add enough liquid I used the rest of a can of chicken stock that I had. Glory! Let sit for 30 minutes to come to room temperature. Cover. And your mini-mop, oh my, what a cutie. These look amazing and I believe I will need to go buy the cookbook! Its a totally 180 from the world I live in, much in the same way New York is like the fast paced version. its incredible! Genius! After a spell, the pork was no longer cooking in water but was instead cooking in the fat. Ninfa's Mexican Green Sauce is creamy with a kick of heat. Set it & forget it easy!! While that sounds delicious, I need to avoid sugar. This recipe is AMAZING!! These Crispy Pork Carnitas are made in the Ninja Foodi in less than 1 hour. I made this over the weekend and it was a big hit stuffed into steamed corn tortillas. Kris.I presume youve given the dutch oven a good soak. Wow, I can not believe how easy that is! I made this for my extended family over the weekend it was absolutely delicious and was a huge hit with the guys. Seems like it would boil down during a 2-hour period. Layer the onions, garlic, juiced orange halves, orange wedges, and bay leaf on the bottom of the Instant Pot insert. I go to visit my high school friend in Central Mexico each year this time Im bringing the kids and well go for Sunday lunch in the middle of nowhere for carnitas. Perfect addition to my Mexican / TexMex repertoire! I reheated the leftover pork this afternoon in a skillet. I just finished reading the commentary, recipe and all the comments. Any suggestions on where to buy good quality pork? Continued with the recipe and about 30 min into the boiling down the liquid, beautiful, tender, delicious-looking meat appears! Will also try trimming so of the the excess fat off, since there didnt seem to be a shortage of fat to go around :-) Thanks for the wonderful receipe! And I too couldnt believe how easy it was. Maybe its because Ive never really had a pork carnita. http://www.gq.com/food-travel/recipes/201109/best-family-meal-recipe-osteria-stellina-restaurant. I made this, but they burned pretty quickly after raising the temperature after the 2hrs. This last batch was for a teacher appreciation lunch and now I know they know I love my teachers! I will keep you posted. oh, and for those asking about the slow cooker simply brown the meat on the stove, then add the browned meat cubes, garlic cloves, spices, and a cup of liquid (i also usually add a thickly sliced red onion) and let it go. Sprinkle with cheese 4. It was hard not to touch the meat for the first 2 hours, but for once I decided to follow a recipe to the T, and am glad I did! Brilliant the last 20 mins. Let it sizzle in this fat long enough to brown at the edges, turning pieces gently (theyll be eager to fall apart), only as needed. Worth the time to get the sides of the cubes and many of the parts and pieces brown. Family loved the regardless and I made Migas for breakfast with the leftovers. love love LOVE carnitas! Made this for a pot luck. Add the onion, minced garlic, jalapeno and . I eat it of course, but oh the pain! Take the orange and squeeze the juices over the pork. as meat cooked quicker than directed and liquid cooked out before the 2 hours. Cheers! Im planning a trip to Texas in late August and while Ill be hitting several cities Im most looking forward to visiting Houston as I havent been there in over a year. 18.49. Thanks for this! If you don't care about reusing the oil, heat it to 350F and fry the pork until the exterior is crispy. Maybe some breakfast carnitas with the leftovers. Follow the recipe and dont be worried it will work out! Wow I have to make this straight away! Cant wait for leftovers. IT DID NOT MATTER. We LOVE carnitas cant wait to try this recipe. Definitely a disappointment since I was cooking for a crowd. These are fantastic, easy, fill my need for tasty and offer opportunity for changing them up once I have made them true to recipe the first time. To adjust for the slow cooker, I did not add the water. Thanks Deb. (hes never asked that before!). This is better than traditional carnitas that uses lard. Queso! Overall, really excellent recipe! I defer to freshly squeezed but over several hour cooking time and lots of pork flavor, you wont know the difference in the end. As soon as I saw that first picture pop up on my screen, I thought I need to eat this. This is a good dish for picky eaters because we serve it with taco stuff and barbecue sauce, so everyone has a choice. Can you recommend another cut of meat? We ate ours with Trader Joes salsa verde, which is probably completely inauthentic but was very tasty. Put the stuff in the pot during halftime of the early NFL games and youll be ready as soon as the late games are ending. I bought 3.5 lbs of pork shoulder for a group of 6, hoping to have plenty of leftovers. Your email address will not be published. However, I do not have a large enough heavy pan or dutch oven. I am not generally a pork lover, but I dream about these carnitas. Never heard of this method before but it works and is so simple. Do you de-fat at the end of the cooking when it is easier? Thank you Homesick Texan and Deb for reminding me to make it again tomorrow. All of these have turned out wonderful. Now its a keeper. Im 25 and a novice cook. There is very little fat on pork leg and I knew that. They were so good!!!! We serve the carnitas with guacamole and a roasted tomatillo salsa on flour tortillas. I simmered the pork in vegtable broth instead of water. We are definitely adding this to our regular rotation. I was just contemplating making carnitas this weekend for Guy Fawkes night; looks like Ill be following your recipe! I brought the pot to a boil and then turned it down to a simmer, keeping it about 175 degrees. So many great recipes. Win win Get the easy copycat recipe with tomatillo, green tomato, avocado, jalapeno, garlic, and sour cream. This looks amazing. Cant give a final verdict yet, but the crockpot seems to be working out well. We miss you Smitten, please come back soon :)), tahreem, Simone I miss you too! Wish me luck! The key to this recipe is that the meat has fat, so dont trim it! We topped ours with sour cream, guacamole and pico de gallo. I make carnitas at home by adapting the flavors from the pork stew recipe in Supper at Lucques with a pork shoulder and with a pork shoulder. Watch how to make this recipe. :). I might warm it through covered (so it doesnt dry out but you can always add a little water if it seems like it could) and then blast it under the broiler for a minute for extra crispy bits. The storytelling, the meal, the photos. The liquid will begin to simmer. Just wanted to say that this is the BEST!! I cant wait to introduce a touch of Mexico into my very northerly kitchen. It was still the best carnitas tacos I have ever made and the doubled recipe I made was more than halfway demolished by 2 adults and 3 jabbering teen girls, each of whom had 5 tacos. I read the recipe incorrectly; cooked with the lid for two hours, and then without until the water was gone; and it was amazing. Thanks so much for this recipe! I am Texan, live in the neighborhood where Friday Night Lights was filmed, and yet reading the Homesick Texan somehow manages to make ME feel homesick for Texas. Ive made a surprisingly easy (and good!) My pork shoulder was a little more than three pounds, but should the chunks be one layer at the bottom of the pan before putting in the liquid? :). Otherwise its just too dry and tasteless. But, this is all just guess work as Ive only made pork in this manner. Took a few tries to crisp and heres what ultimately worked: poured off most liquid, except a little to cover the bottom. Also delightful to have a little leftover for lunch today.yum! Cook jalapeos and onions until they start to blister and . Couldve trimmed some of the fat off pre-simmer as there were a few pieces with unappetizing chunks of fat left at the end, but overall, it was freaking fantastic! Warm the oil in the Instant Pot, using the pot's saut function. i cant tell you how long ive had this bookmarkedand why did i not make it until last night? I love to read your blog truthfully, the only one I ever do read. Cant wait to try! Cannot wait to dive right in :). Looks amazing! But I really want to give the cooking technique a try! I soaked it in baking soda, vinegar and scalding hot water overnight. I also added 1 thinnly sliced red onion, a couple of handfulls of dark brown sugar and some soy sauce. Thanks again for such a wonderful recipe!! YOU MUST MAKE IT! I find that sometimes, store-bought corn tortillas are too dry. Fabulous! Then I added the meat back in to keep it warm while I got everything else ready.