La Fiesta de Familia! Pork Carnitas, Coconut Shrimp & Mango Salsa Recipes!!!

What to do when you and your family is at home for the umpteenth weekend in a row?! Have a Mexican Fiesta, of course!!!

Pictured: Slow Braised Carnitas Taco w/Fresh Mango Salsa

Like I have mentioned before, we love to spend the weekends as a family, slowing down, cooking together, listening to good music (My boys can get down! They must get that from their dad.. haha) and this weekend was no different. We decided that Pork Carnitas Tacos were on the menu and the rest just unfolded. Homemade Tortillas. Coconut Shrimp. Mango Salsa. Queso with Four Cheeses...Oh My!!!

Pictured: Homemade Corn Tortillas

I decided that one of the things I wanted to learn during my quarantine “down time” was how to make homemade tortillas. I bought this cast iron press and went about experimenting; Both flour & corn tortillas. Here pictures is simple masa flour, hot water & salt tortilla dough. There is something about the sweeter ground corn flavor that pairs so well with the salty, spicy pork. I roughly estimated my measurements and adjusted more flour/water by tablespoon to get the right consistency. This yielded us about 12 tortillas.

Corn Tortillas: yields about 1 dozen

Ingredients:

1 Cup Masa 3/4-1 Cup Hot Water

1/2 tsp. Salt

1. In standing mixer with dough hook attachment, lightly mix flour and salt.

2. With the mixer on medium low, begin to slowly drizzle hot water until dough forms; you are looking for a balance between sticky and dry. If you press your fingers to the dough it will bounce a bit and not be too wet or too crumbly. If your dough needs either more flour or water to achieve this consistency, add a tablespoon at a time until you get that springy dough ball.

3. Let tortilla dough rest for 20-30 minutes. Lay a damp tea towel over the top.

4. Divide into 2” round balls. Using a tortilla press, and two 8” squares of parchment paper, press each ball between the paper pieces until round and flat.

5. In a large skillet on high heat, with a teaspoon of oil, heat tortillas for about 2 minutes per side or until you can tell that they are cooking a bit. You can cook them right away if the rest of your meal is ready or you can pre cook them and seal in a ziplock in the refrigerator until ready to reheat.

Pictured: Beginning of Slow Cooked Braised Pork Carnitas

Braised Pork Carnitas

Ingredients:

3 lbs Boneless Pork Shoulder

1 Orange

1 Large Onion Roughly Chopped

2 Cups Chicken Stock

1-2 Jalapeños split in half lengthwise

6 Cloves Garlic; peeled and roughly chopped

1 Tbsp. Ground Cumin

1 tsp. Cayenne Pepper

2 Dried Bay Leaves

1 Cinnamon Stick

2 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Cracked Black Pepper

Oil for pan (I used olive oil)

1. Add Pork Shoulder and all of your ingredients to the crock pot. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

2. Once the pork is tender and falls apart, shred with a fork. Heat a large skillet with oil.

3. Remove the shredded pork from the juices in the crockpot and add it to the hot oil in the pan. Let the pork crisp up and then turn and crisp some more.

4. Add this crispy pork to tacos, nachos or burritos.. the possibilities are endless!

**Only continue with step 3 with the amount of pork you plan to eat because it stores better still in the braising liquid.

Pictured: The ingredients for the fresh Mango Salsa

Mango Salsa

Ingredients:

1 large Mango; diced

1 Cup Tomatoes (I used grape tomatoes from our garden but any fresh tomato will be great)

1 Jalapeño; finely diced

1 Shallot; minced

1 Garlic Clove; minced

2 Scallions; finely chopped

A Handful of Cilantro (Fresh Parsley works too if you have a major aversion to cilantro like I do!)

1 tsp Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper to Taste

1. Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl and season with salt and pepper to your liking.

2. Chill until ready to use to marry flavors.

** If you don’t like the heat from jalapeños, you can easily omit or substitute with red bell pepper. This salsa lasts about 1-2 days in the refrigerator.

Pictured: Crispy Coconut Fried Shrimp with Mango Salsa and Spicy Yogurt

Coconut Shrimp

Ingredients:

1 lb. Shrimp; peeled and deveined (I used large White Shrimp that yielded about 14 shrimp)

2 eggs

1 Cup Finely Shredded Unsweetened Coconut

Oil for frying; about 1/2 Cup

Salt and Pepper

1 Fresh Lime; cut in half

1. Rinse and pat dry Shrimp.

2. In two separate shallow bowls, mix two eggs to make the egg wash in one bowl and put the coconut in the other bowl.

1. Dredge each shrimp in egg wash then coconut and set aside on plate until oil is ready.

2. In batches, to not overcrowd the pan, fry shrimp until golden brown; about 2-3 minutes per side. Remove shrimp and put on a plate with a paper towel to remove excess oil.

1. Season with salt and pepper as soon as they come out of the pan.

2. Squeeze fresh lime over all of the Shrimp & Serve Immediately.

Pictured: Crispy Coconut Fried Shrimp with Mango Salsa and Spicy Yogurt

These dishes are a great way to cook for a crowd and the pork freezes well in its braising liquid so it can be batched out for a few different meals. When you make any of the above recipes please be sure to share your comments and add pictures with the hashtag #alliesfeast on my social media pages!

-Alexandra