Pork Carnitas with Fire Roasted Salsa

Ingredients:

4 pounds bone-in pork shoulder, cut into 1 1/2- to 2-inch slabs
Salt

Fire Roasted Salsa:
1 to 2 fresh jalapeño chiles
3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice, preferably fire roasted
1/4 cup (loosely packed) chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Salt and pepper, sprinkled to taste
1 egg, beaten

Instructions:

Moist cooking. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut each slab of pork in half and lay the pieces in a baking dish (they should fit into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish without being crowded). Liberally sprinkle with salt (about 1 teaspoon) on all sides. Pour 1/3 cup water around the meat, cover tightly with foil, and bake for 1 hour.

Dry cooking. Raise the oven temperature to 450 degrees. Uncover the meat and cook until the liquid has completely reduced and only the rendered fat remains, about 30 minutes. Now, roast, carefully turning the meat every 7 or 8 minutes, until lightly browned, about 20 minutes longer. Break the meat into large pieces and serve on a warm platter, sprinkled with salt.

This is what the meat should look like before you shred it. Nice and glistening in its own fatty juices and caramelized from the oven.

For the salsa:
In a small ungreased skillet over medium heat, roast the chiles and garlic, turning regularly, until they are soft and blotchy brown, about 10 minutes for the chiles, 15 minutes for the garlic.

Cool until handleable, then pull the stem(s) off the chile(s) and roughly chop. Peel the skin off the garlic. Scoop into a tall measuring cup and pulse with an immersion blender until smooth (or in a regular blender.)

Add the tomatoes with their juice. Pulse until you have a coarse puree. Scrape into a serving dish. Stir in the cilantro and lime juice. Taste and season with salt, usually about 1/2 teaspoon.

From familymealblog.com