MEAT TORNADO INSPIRED BY PARKS & REC

For the Carne Asada

In a medium bowl, add lemon juice, vegetable oil, soy sauce, and chicken stock with cayenne pepper, ground cumin, white sugar, crushed cloves of garlic, a bunch of chopped cilantro, and a tablespoon each of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Whisk together to combine.

Into a large bowl or pan, place in the flank steak, and cover with the marinade making sure every inch is evenly coated. Cover and fridge for 4 hours. Flip once or twice through the process.

After 4 hours of marinating, remove some of the excess herbs and garlic from the steak to prevent burning.

On a well oiled and preheated cast iron (once wisps of smoke appear), place the flank steak onto the cast iron leaving undisturbed for about 5 minutes until the first side has developed a dark brown char. Flip and repeat.

If not ready to serve, place into a low heated oven to keep warm until ready to prepare.

For the Carnitas

Start by deboning, deskinning, and defatting the pork shoulder. Remove as much meat off the bone as possible. Cut the meat into 2-inch pieces.

In a large, wide dutch oven, add in lard along with water over medium-high heat until the lard is completely melted.

Slowly and carefully add in the pork along with the juice and flesh of large navel oranges cut in half. Bring to a bare simmer.

Once simmering, lower the heat to medium-low and maintain a bare simmer for 2 hours.

After the first hour, remove the pieces of orange and replace it with onion roughly chopped, large cloves of crushed garlic, dried bay leaves, sticks of cinnamon, cumin seeds, and Mexican oregano. Mix together before adding in light Mexican beer and evaporated milk. Mix together.

Cook for an additional hour while stirring occasionally.

After 2 hours, remove the carnitas from the pot and place it in the fridge until ready to use. When ready to use, simply reheat the carnitas and serve.

For the Tinga de Pollo

Start by searing two bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts in a large saucepot.

Once the chicken is seared on both sides, remove and add in roughly chopped large onion and cloves of garlic then sauteing those for about 2 minutes.

Deglaze with chicken stock, apple cider vinegar, canned crushed fire-roasted tomatoes, and chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, and ground cumin and Mexican oregano. Mix to combine.

Bring everything to a rolling simmer and drop the chicken breasts back into the pot. Cover and braise for 45 minutes.

After 45 minutes, pull the chicken out and use an immersion blender to blend the vegetables and chiles into a smooth but a little chunky sauce.

Remove the chicken breast bone and skin then place back to the pot seasoning with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper then simmer for 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning.

For the Tortilla

Into the bowl of a food processor, add all-purpose flour, kosher salt, and refrigerated cold lard.

Process together until it resembles coarse crumbs then slowly add in cold water while the machine runs until dough ball forms.

Remove and knead on a well-floured surface until smooth and elastic. Wrap in plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 15 minutes.

Preheat the paella pan and lower to low heat once evenly heated.

On a well-floured surface, thinly roll out half of the dough slightly smaller than the paella pan.

Gently place the tortilla onto the paella pan and try to evenly distribute the heat so the tortilla cooks evenly. Using a pizza peel, flip the tortilla over and cook evenly.

for the Assembly:

Thinly slice the flank steak across the grain into pieces while shredding or chopping the reheated carnitas.

First place the flank steak strips onto the burrito followed by the carnitas, shredded cheddar cheese, tinga de pollo, and topped with refried beans and an optional topping of hot sauce before rolling into a burrito.