Nightmares and pork tacos

Last night was filled with nightmares. I don't remember any of them now, but when I woke from the first one, groggy, and started to doze back off, it picked up more or less where it had left off. After a couple of times of that, I was afraid to try to sleep again for awhile. Later, a new set of bad dreams took over.

This is not a usual thing for me, though I've noticed lately that it's happening more and more. I guess it's a sign of the times, which are pretty nightmarish in real life.

But let's change the subject. One of my latest obsessions is using various cuts of pork shoulder, roasted until falling-apart-tenderness, shredded and used for tacos.  I started with what are called boneless pork spareribs, only to learn that they are not ribs at all, but a cut from a pork shoulder. Around here, stores market meat for carnitas, which is also a cut from a pork shoulder. Both are fatty and stringy and utterly delicious.

I've even taken to grinding my own spices in my authentic Mexican mocajete. This thing is much larger than it looks -- about 8" diameter -- really, too large for my needs, but it works. Here is coriander seed, cumin seed, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. I don't try to make a powder from it -- just grind it a bit.

A couple of pieces of 'ribs' after dry-marinating for 24 hours in the fridge. Ready to cook.  After 2-3 hours cooking at 300F in my wonderful convection toaster-oven, they are pure, fall-apart goodness. Shredded, then re-hydrated with some of the juices from the pot, it makes a pile of goodness. I've never managed to remember to take a picture at that point. But I gotta tell you, my kitchen smells mouth-wateringly good after the first half hour or so of cooking! I had the leftovers from this batch for lunch today. Yum.

I used the technique from this recipe, though not the entire recipe. I tried using orange/lime juices and rinds the first time and found an underlying bitterness that I didn't care for, so did not do that the second time. Sticking it under the broiler did indeed brown it and crisp it up somewhat, but I was happy without that step, too.

Happy Labor Day, y'all.