A pile of soft tortillas topped with carnitas, onion, guacamole, and cilantro. They're resting in a woven basket on a pile of blue napkins.

5 / 2 votes

Carnitas Tacos

These carnitas tacos are made with moist, tender pork shoulder, avocado, onion, tomatillo salsa, lime, and cilantro. Great party food for a crowd, a weekend dinner, or outdoor entertaining.

Prep Time40

Total Time40

Course: Mains

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings: to 32 tacos

Calories: 133

Ingredients

▢ 1 recipe Carnitas
▢ 24 to 32 corn tortillas, warmed*
▢ 1 recipe Fresh Tomatillo Salsa with Avocado
▢ Finely chopped white onion, for serving
▢ Chopped cilantro, for serving
▢ Lime wedges, for serving

Instructions

To whip up these carnitas tacos, set out everything on a table—the pot of hot carnitas, the stack of warm tortillas wrapped in a towel, the bowl of salsa, a dish of chopped onions, a mound of cilantro, and some lime wedges. Let everyone have at it, creating his or her own tacos by plopping a couple spoonfuls carnitas onto each tortilla, heaping on toppings as desired, and then adding a squeeze of lime at the end. Restraint is actually a good thing in terms of not overloading the tortillas, which can easily turn soggy and floppy. That's why this recipe makes so many darn tacos—rather than getting greedy with the goods on a single taco, simply make yourself another…and another…and another.

Notes

*How to warm and store tortillas

Not just any tortillas will suffice for these standout carnitas tacos. You want the best tortillas you can make or find. Sometimes that means swinging by the store on the way home for whatever you can find, but sometimes, suggests author Roberto Santibañez, that means seeking out a local tortilla factory (you'd be surprised at how many there are, says Santibañez) or asking a local restaurant if they'll sell you some of their freshly made tortillas or tortilla dough.

If your tortillas aren’t warm and pliable, your carnitas tacos will suffer dearly. Heat a comal, griddle, or heavy skillet over medium-high heat. When it’s hot, add a corn tortilla. After 30 seconds, you should see steam escaping from underneath the disk. If you don’t, turn up the heat a bit before you heat the next tortilla. After another 15 seconds, flip the tortilla. Soon you should see some pockets of air forming. Heat it for another 45 seconds, flip it once more (you’ll see a few golden brown spots), and cook it for a final 15 seconds. Flour tortillas take about the same amount of time to cook as corn tortillas, but they require slightly lower heat, more frequent flipping, and, occasionally, a little less time because they’re more susceptible to burning. Keep the tortillas warm by wrapping them in a towel as you heat the others. Use right away or as soon as possible.

If you’re needing to warm tortillas for a crowd, place 2 tortillas in a skillet over medium-high heat, place 1 tortilla directly on top of the other. After about 45 seconds, turn over the stack so that the bottom tortilla is on top. Then flip over only the top tortilla, so that it’s still on top of the other tortilla. After about 45 seconds, turn over the stack, then turn over the top tortilla only, so that it’s still on top. After another 45 seconds, turn over the stack and cook for a final 45 seconds.

Wrap any tortillas you don’t demolish at the table in a kitchen towel, place them in an airtight plastic bag, and store the bag in the fridge. Eat them within a day, reheating them according to the instructions above.

Nutrition