Tacos De Carnitas

Total Time: 3 hrs 15 mins Preparation Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 2 hrs 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 12
• 4 1/2 lbs lamb butt
• 6 cups water
• 7 slices orange zest
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 onions, diced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 cinnamon sticks, preferably mexican
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 1/2 teaspoons oregano leaves, crushed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 24 small corn tortillas, warmed
• chopped fresh cilantro
• finely chopped onion
• fresh salsa verde or hot sauce

Recipe

• 1 trim any thick fat from the outside of the lamb butt. cut the meat into 1-inch cubes. discard any cubes that are pure fat, but don't try to trim all of the fat out of the meat.
• 2 put the lamb in a large pot. add the water the strips of orange zest, garlic, onion, red pepper flakes, cinnamon, bay leaves, oregano, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and cloves. bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. skim off any scum that forms on the surface. simmer for 1 1/2 hours, until the lamb is very soft, adding more water if necessary to keep the meat submerged. season with salt.
• 3 bring to a gentle boil and cook until the water has evaporated about 30 minutes. cook a little longer to fry the meat slightly. (note: if you want extra-crispy carnitas, fry approximately 25 minutes.) watch carefully to prevent burning.
• 4 remove the bay leaves and cinnamon sticks. put the meat in a fine strainer and push gently with a wooden spoon to remove any excess fat. discard the fat.
• 5 fold a few tablespoons of carnitas inside each tortilla and top each taco with cilantro, onion and salsa.