Raiding the Freezer

I blame the friends who brought carnitas to New Year's Eve. Tender and juicy and then I remembered I had a pork loin in the freezer. I had also made huevos rancheros this week so I had tacos to use up.

So I went poking around the internet, like one does, and found a recipe that intrigued me.  I scaled everything down because my pork loin was much smaller, but kept the proportions the same:

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 3 lb. pork loin
• 1 cup chicken stock (I had low-sodium in the pantry, so I went with that)
• 1 orange, juiced
• 1 lime, juiced
• 7 oz. can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste 

There are very few recipes where I feel the need to change something. Ask anyone I've ever lived with and they'll tell you I put salt on my salt. I thought I'd be adding some garlic salt to this after it came out of the oven, but nope, nothing needed.

The instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or skillet over a burner turned to medium-high heat.
• Sear the pork loin on each side, about 4 minutes per side, until a crust has formed. (I don't really care for my meat crunchy on the outside, so I seared for 3 minutes a aside to get it a brown shade. As you wish) 
• Turn the burner off and add the stock, orange juice, lime juice, and the can of chipotles to the Dutch oven, or transfer the seared loin to a casserole dish and top with the ingredients listed above. (I went for the casserole dish because I didn't have so much pork that I thought it warranted such a huge vessel #StudioLiving)
• Place the lid on the Dutch oven, or cover the casserole dish with foil, and place in the preheated oven for 2-3 hours. When you can pull apart the pork with a fork, it is done. (I went for the full three hours and flipped it halfway through, although keeping it covered kept it plenty moist)
• Taste and add salt and pepper if desired, but I often find that the canned chipotles add enough seasoning. None needed! How delightful!
• If a crispy carnita is desired, spread the pork out on to a sheet pan and turn the oven to high broil.
• Broil for 2-3 minutes, until a crust has formed on the meat. Watch carefully so the pork doesn’t burn.
• Serve in tacos, burritos, quesadillas, or on taco salad.

My carnitas went in a couple of tacos topped with black beans, a bit of salsa verde, sharp cheddar, green onions, and sour cream. I didn't have enough room for the avocados, so those got eaten at the end with everything that dripped out of the tacos. I call that a win. 

Prefolding pic because nobody was handy to hold a folded taco while I took the shot.

This is definitely being made again.

If you try these, let me know. It's rare I have so little commentary on a recipe. This just works!