Pork Botana Tacos

 Pork Botana Tacos, with pork shoulder
 I served the pork as homemade tacos including lime, Roma tomatoes, lettuce, cheddar cheese and a new way to make your tortillas both soft and crunchy and lower calorie at the same time.
Playing with garam masala spice again. :)/ Also found a new way to have fried shells without the frying.
I am making my usual pork botana, but added garam masala, smells yummy.
Botana is basically a braised pork and then it is baked on high heat for a few to crisp up some of the edges. I'm serving with lettuce, tomato, cheese, sour cream, and lime as pork tacos.

 

Ingredients:

• 4-5 pound pork shoulder (can be made with pork loin, but shoulder holds up to the oven baking at the end better. Besides, you remove the extra fat at the end anyway, so why not get some of the flavor
• 1-lime
• 2 Roma tomatoes
• lettuce
• cheddar cheese-1-2 cups 
• tortillas-a new way to make your tortillas
• 2 Bay leaves
• 4-7 cups of chicken broth-enough to cover roast in liquid (Note: some stock powers contain msg)2 tbsp onion flake
• 1 tbsp coriander
• l tbsp cumin
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tbsp garam marsala
• 1-4 ounce can of diced green peppers

 This is a large spice ball. I use it for bay leaves and other whole spices.  That way you get the flavor and don't have to fish them out of the broth.

    

Add 4 cups of the chicken stock and the herbs and herb ball, all the pork, and enough extra stock to almost cover the pork. Cover and bring to a lower boil, simmer.  Simmer for 3-3 1/2 hours until meat easily pulls apart. 

                            
Using a slotted spoon, remove the meat from the braising liquid         Discard the fat.
onto a baking pan.  Use a fork the pull the meat apart a little, and
remove the fat.

 

  Bake in an oven preheated to 400 degrees, and bake for 25 minutes.
While the meat is cooking, prepare and place the tortillas in the oven to crisp.

   
I found a new way to "fry" my tortillas. For years it's been, what do we want, soft
tacos or crisp? and had to decide. This is cool as it's both.

Brush both sides of your tortilla (flour shown), and place into a taco holder (oven safe holder) and bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes.  They end up soft taco like on the bottom, and crispy along the tops, a super nice compromise, gets you both tastes.

 

   
Cheddar Cheese,    Limes,           Roma Tomatoes,  Sour Cream with Pepper and Dill

 Lettuce or cabbage adds a nice green too.  

Pork Botana                                                                                 Finished Botana tacos.

Taco Bar