One of my favorites for tacos, enchiladas and such is a citrus simmered pork, not quite carnitas. It is pretty easy, though it does take some time.
Roughly cube about 2 pounds of pork shoulder, usually some nice slabs off a boston butt or some boneless country style 'ribs' Don't worry about uniformity of size or chunks of fat, these are going to cook a while. The chunks will break down and the fat will help with the final crisping.
Put the pork pieces into a skillet or pan, one that has a reasonably tight fitting lid. Peel and halve 3 - 4 cloves of garlic, toss onto the pork. Sprinkle with a few healthy pinches of kosher salt. Pour in enough orange juice to barely cover the pork. Put the lid on, bring to a simmer, and let it go for a couple of hours. Stir it every now and then.
When most of the orange juice is gone and the pork is getting tender and falling apart, remove the lid, increase the heat to medium. Stir frequently, breaking up the chunks of meat as you go. The orange juice will cook off, the residual fat from the pork will start to crisp up the shreds of meat and you'll end up with a pan full of goodness.
Hmm, I bet a similar technique would work with chicken for those who don't eat pork. And a duck carnita enchilada might be quite interesting!
mjb.  | 
