Carnitas from Mexico.

Carnitas is my new go-to at my favorite Mexican restaurant.

In the spirit of "How Hard Could It Be?", I went in search of a recipe to tackle.

Yeahhhhh, so the reason they are so good authentically is because they are cooked - for 90 minutes - in pork lard.

Rick Bayless said to go to your butcher and ask for it. . . .

Yeah - not going to happen.

A couple other reliable sources used a crock pot to get them tender then to the broiler to crisp up.

I went Insta Pot, 'cause why wouldn't I?

And next time, I suppose I could deep fry them at the end or even sauté in oil, but I was out of oil after the popcorn shrimp and Alligator Pear last week. (More on the Alligator Pear later.)

This recipe did just fine for a Sunday afternoon, and they are now on the docket for the Spring Break guests.

Disclaimer: There were shoulder ribs on sale Friday, so I had been brining them since Friday till I decided what to do:

Pork Brine:

1/4 cup Kosher salt

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 qt. water

Carnitas Rub:

2 tsp. Kosher salt

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

Pork Whatever - Could be a Boston Butt, Country Style boneless ribs, I used shoulder blade ribs. . . .

1/2 cup broth* (Whatever you have or want. I wished I had some orange juice to add.)

1 jalapeño

Whatever Fajita/Taco/Salad stuff you want. You know what you like. . .

~ I did brine the shoulder ribs overnight. With the rub, I don't think this is necessary.

~ I patted the shoulders dry first.

~ Then mixed the spices above and rubbed generously over every part of the meat.

~ Let sit for 6 hours to overnight.

~ InstaPot magic: Left the ribs WHOLE, Seared on Sautè, Added 1/2 cup of broth* (more on that later), Dropped in jalapeño, then 35 minutes on High.

~ Quick released once finished.

~ Pulled apart meat with a fork it was so tender. Left them in three inch chunks.

~ Then to the oven under the broiler for about five minutes on each side.

* - I had spicy Oxtail broth which had a touch of Korean chili flake - probably what gave these a kick.

Wish I had an avocado, but. . . Alligator Pear. . .