This meat dish is very simple to make. The hardest part is waiting 3 hours for it to cook. The result is melt in your mouth pork that is crispy on the edges. It can be used in tacos or burritos, served on buns or served with your choice of rice, potatoes
4 lb. boneless pork shoulder or butt roast, fat trimmed slightly, meat cut into large 2" cubes
1 onion, ends removed, halved and peeled
juice of 1 medium orange or 4 tiny clementines, reserving the spent halves
2 T. freshly squeezed lime juice
2 c. water
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 t. kosher salt
3/4 t. freshly ground black pepper
1 t. ground cumin
1 t. dried oregano
Adjust an oven rack to the lower middle of the oven. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Combine all ingredients, including the spent orange halves, in an oven-safe Dutch oven or a large pot with an oven-safe lid; bring to a simmer over medium high heat. Once the pot is simmering, move the pot to the oven; cook for about 2 hours, until meat is fork tender and falling apart.
Remove the pot from the oven. Preheat oven to broil.
Use a slotted spoon or a set of tongs to remove the meat from the pot; place on a large foil lined baking sheet. Remove and discard everything else in the pot, leaving only the liquid. Place the pot on the stove over high heat for about 10-20 minutes. Boil until liquid is thick and syrup-like. There should be about 1 cup of liquid left in the pot.
While the liquid is boiling and reducing, use tongs or 2 forks to very gently pull each piece of pork into 3 pieces, avoiding shredding the pork at this point, it will be very tender. Once the liquid has become thick and syrup-like, remove from the heat; place pork back into the pot with the liquid. Gently fold the pieces into the liquid, trying not to break up further.
Transfer the coated pork back onto the baking sheet, spreading it in just 1 layer on the pan. Place the baking sheet back in the oven on the lower middle shelf. Broil 6-8 minutes, until meat is browned and slightly crispy on the edges.
Remove from the oven. Use tongs or a large spatula to flip over each piece. Return the pan to the oven; broil the other side 6-8 minutes, until both sides are well-browned and the edges are crisp.
Serve immediately.
10 servings.