Chilorio and Carnitas

[Gunner]

Perhaps as many ways to make as there are cucinas, but here are fairly
basic recipes:

CHILORIO

2-3 pounds pork (shoulder or butt)
4-5 cups water or vegetable broth
1/2 cup lard oil for frying
3-4 dried ancho chiles (or prefered chiles)
1 onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon Mexican oregano
3 cloves of garlic
salt adn pepper to taste

In a large pot, simmer the pork in the water or broth, covered, for 2 to 2
1/2 hours. During the last 20 minutes of cooking time, ladle out enough
liquid to cover the dried chiles in a bowl. Let the chiles soak in the
liquid until they are soft then remove the stems and seeds.
When the pork is done simmering, drain off the liquid, but reserve 1 cup.
Pull the pork into bite-sized chunks Heat lard in a large pan until melted.
Fry the pork in the lard until browned. Remove the pork and set aside. Then
cook the onions in the lard until translucent. Remove them from the pan and
set aside to cool.
In a blender, add the chiles, onions, spices and reserved liquid. Blend
until smooth. Drain most of the lard from the pan and put the pork into the
pan with the blended chile sauce and simmer for 10 minutes to thicken the
sauce and bring the flavors together.

CARNITAS

2-3 lbs pork (shoulder or butt)
5 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 bay leaf
1 onion, peeled and quartered
3 cups orange juice (optional)
Water or vegetable broth to cover meat
Lard or oil for frying
salt and pepper to taste
In a large saucepan, brown the pork on both sides. Add in the orange juice/
broth to cover meat. Add in garlic, bay leaf and the onion. Bring the liquid
to a boil then turn it down to a simmer for 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
Remove pork from liquid and pull apart into chunks, discard any excess fat
or bones. Lightly salt pork chunks.
Heat lard or oil in a large frying pan and fry the chunks of pork for 2-3
minutes until brown and crispy on the outside.