National Taco Day

Recipe: LifeSpice Chefs

Pat skirt steak dry. Rub evenly with oil, lime juice, and street taco seasoning. Rest at room temperature for 20–30 minutes.
Heat a grill or cast-iron skillet to high. Cook steak 2–3 minutes per side until nicely charred and medium-rare to medium. Avoid overcooking.
Rest steak 5 minutes, then slice thinly against the grain for maximum tenderness.
Heat tortillas on a dry skillet or directly over flame until soft and lightly blistered.
Add sliced steak to tortillas. Top with onion and cilantro. Finish with a squeeze of fresh lime.

Using a very sharp chef’s knife or slicing knife, slice pork sirloin as thin as possible.
Pound the meat until less than 1/4-inch thick and transfer to a bowl.
Mix the oil and seasoning until fully combined, and add to the bowl making sure to fully coat each pork slice. Marinate from 2 hours up to overnight in the fridge.
In a disposable aluminum loaf pan, place the pork slices, alternating between shoulder, loin, and belly, until all the meat is used.
Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or up to 36 hours.
In a preheated oven at 275F, place the pan of pork uncovered and roast until internal temp reaches 165F (about 4 hours) (note: this will create a lot of fat and juice so make sure the loaf pan is placed in the oven on a baking sheet).
Allow to cool slightly, cover with aluminum foil, and refrigerate at least 2 hours, up to overnight.

Preheat a skillet on medium-high heat. Peel and cut pineapple to desired size pieces.
Remove cooked meat from aluminum tray. Using a sharp chef’s knife or slicing knife, slice meat as thinly as possible to create fine shavings.
Add pineapple and meat slices to a skillet and saute until golden brown.
Serve with corn tortillas, silantro and pickled red onions.

In a large pot or Dutch oven, combine the pork shoulder chunks, onion, garlic, bay leaf, lime zest, jalapeno peppers and carnitas seasoning.
Pour in the orange juice, lime juice, and chicken broth. The liquid should cover about half of the pork. If needed, add more broth or water.
Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, then reduce the heat to low. Cover the pot and let it cook gently for about 2 hours, or until the pork is tender and easily falls apart.
Once the pork is tender, remove it from the pot and shred it using two forks. Discard the bay leaf. Skim the rendered pork fat from the top of the liquid and reserve.
In a large skillet, heat the reserved pork fat over medium-high heat. Add the shredded pork in batches, allowing it to crisp up on the edges. Stir occasionally to get an even crispiness.
Serve the carnitas in warm tortillas with your favorite toppings like salsa, guacamole, cilantro, pickle onions onions, and a squeeze of lime.