Flautas Carnitas

Flautas Carnitas Recipe

Yield: about 20 flautas

Ingredients

For the carnitas:

• 4 lbs Boston butt pork shoulder, diced into 2” chunks
• 2 tbsp Cattleman’s Grill 8 Second Ride Carne Asada Seasoning
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 large onion, sliced thin
• 6 cloves garlic, sliced
• juice of 2 oranges
• juice of 1 lime
• 4 cups vegetable stock

For the flautas:

• 20 small flour tortillas
• 20 oz pepper jack cheese, grated
• vegetable oil

For the crema:

• 12 oz sour cream
• 1/2 cup Holmes Made Marty's Chile Verde Salsa
• salt, to taste

Instructions

Make the carnitas (this can be done a day ahead): Preheat your Yoder Smokers YS640 to 450°F. Combine all carnitas ingredients, except the vegetable stock, in a Lodge Logic 7 Quart Cast Iron Dutch Oven. Mix ingredients by hand. Add just enough vegetable stock to cover all ingredients. Place the dutch oven in the cooker, uncovered. Cook until the pork is tender enough to shred, about 2.5 hours. Check on it occasionally.

If the liquid level gets low add more vegetable stock, one cup at a time. You don’t want the liquid to cook out completely, or the bottom will scorch. However, allowing the pork to be exposed on top will nicely brown the meat. Shred the meat while it’s still warm, incorporating it with the cooking liquids.

Assemble the flautas: Preheat your Yoder Smokers YS640 to 425°F. Line a sheet pan with foil and oil the bottom of the pan. Lay out one tortilla at a time. Place about 1/4 cup of carnitas on the tortilla. Top with 2-3 tablespoons grated cheese. Roll the tortilla around the filling and place seam-side down in the pan. After filling the pan, brush the tops of the flautas with vegetable oil.

Bake the flautas on the second shelf of your cooker until crispy and lightly browned on top, about 30 minutes. While the flautas bake, combine the crema ingredients and mix well. Serve the flautas warm, topped with the crema.

This recipe was prepared on a Yoder Smokers YS640 Pellet Grill.