Last of the carnitas

 Since I've been randomly talking about cooking carnitas of late, I thought I'd take a couple more photos today of the finished product, since that step had not been shown.

The finished product, ready to eat in a taco, burrito, or however you like. This one cooked 3 hours in some orange and lime juice, red onion, garlic and one small orange wedge. It shredded easily with two forks while still in the pan. I mixed it up good with the liquid left from cooking, since it absorbs rapidly back into the meat and keeps it juicy. Then, put it under the broiler for 5 minutes and this is how it came out. I'm still not convinced that the broiling step adds anything to the end taste. It's pretty good right out of the oven.  This batch had a good bit more heat than the past batches had. I don't measure the spices before grinding them up, so I probably had a bit more red chili flakes this time. Not too hot -- I like heat.

When I make tacos I generally cook some sliced jalapenos, and sometimes red bell peppers, to go on top. Today I used red onion, 'cause I had it. Ended up using only half these peppers, since the meat was already hot and spicy and these peppers can sometimes carry heat, too. These didn't as it turns out, but the rest can be included in the leftover meat for tomorrow. Yum. My belly is full and happy.

Now is when I'd really like to go out for a walk -- even a short one -- to help digest some of this food. But alas, air quality is still hazardous outside. Airlines even canceled all flights in/out of Eugene today because of 'worsening' smoke. Looks about the same to me, but then again, I'm not a pilot.

Forecast is for this to be partly gone by tomorrow, though winds are non-existent so I'm not quite sure how that's going to happen. Rain, real rain, is due on Monday, however, so I'm hoping against hope that it'll be enough to clear the air, the pavement, and put a damper on the fires.

In a world we're not living in right now, today would be a big day in Eugene. Our Ducks were scheduled to host Ohio State today, right here at Autzen Stadium, and we've been looking forward to that for many a long month. Both teams' conferences opted not to play because of the virus, and of course, there would be no football played in Eugene today anyway, with the horrible air quality.  

Be well. Take care.  Stay safe.