The Most Delicious Carnitas Tacos
When warm charred tortillas meet juicy tender pork carnitas, tangy pickled onions, and a spicy chile de arbol salsa, you get the ultimate taco experience.
When warm charred tortillas meet juicy tender pork carnitas, tangy pickled onions, and a spicy chile de arbol salsa, you get the ultimate taco experience.
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Stir 1 halved and thinly sliced large red onion, 1 seeded and thinly sliced habanero pepper, 1/4 cup lime juice, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano together in a medium bowl. Cover and let sit at room temperature, stirring occasionally, for at least 1 hour or up to 4 hours.
Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and add 1/2 ounce dried arbol chiles and 2 peeled garlic cloves. Cook, stirring often, until the chiles are toasted, fragrant, and develop brown, blistered spots, about 2 minutes. Immediately remove from the heat and let cool. Trim the stems from the chiles.
Transfer the chiles and garlic to a blender. Add 2 coarsely chopped medium roma tomatoes, 1/4 cup water, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Blend on medium speed until smooth.
Fit a fine-mesh strainer over a medium bowl. Pour the salsa into the strainer and push as much of it as you can through the strainer with a spoon; discard the contents of the strainer. Stir 1 pinch dried oregano into the salsa if desired.
Fill each warm corn tortilla with pork carnitas. Top with the pickled red onions, thinly sliced radishes, small-diced onion, and chopped fresh cilantro. Serve with the red arbol chile salsa, salsa verde if desired, and lime wedges.
Extra-spicy salsa: If you’d like to make the chile de arbol extra spicy, increase the amount of arbol chiles to 1 ounce (about 60, and decrease the tomatoes to 1 medium roma tomato.Make ahead: The onions can be pickled up to 24 hours ahead and refrigerated in the pickling liquid. The salsa can be made up to 1 day ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container.Storage: Refrigerate leftover taco toppings in separate airtight containers for up to 1 day. Refrigerate leftover carnitas and salsa(s) in separate airtight containers for up to 3 days.
