I love to cook carnitas for any sized crowd. It requires little preparation time, which is a big plus and actually, I’d have to say, it’s my favorite birthday party fare. The pork is tangy, crispy but not greasy (the way I do it) and makes a terrific fiesta dish. As a buffet, serve a platter of steaming carnitas with corn and flour tortillas, and have your guests make their own burritos filled with the succulent pork and the condiments listed below. On the side, serve a fruit or vegetable salad. This recipe for carnitas serves eight to ten. And it's to die for!

1 4-5 pound lean boneless pork loin roast, with excess fat removed

1 cup salsa verde

1 large onion, minced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp seasoned salt

2 tsp pepper

On the side, buffet style:

2 dozen warm corn and/or flour tortillas

1 cup frijoles negros

1 cup thick sour cream sauce

1 can sliced olives (optional)

2 cups Chihuahua or Jack cheese, grated

1 bunch green onions, chopped

2 avocados, sliced and sprinkled with lime juice

1 bunch cilantro, stems removed and diced

2 bunches of whole radishes, stems removed

1 cup salsa fresca

1 cup salsa verde

Place pork roast in 9 x 14 pan. Rub garlic into the roast. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover with salsa verde and onions. Loosely cover the pan with aluminum foil. Bake at 300 degrees for four and a half hours, or until fork tender.

Remove roast from oven. Cool until you can touch the meat comfortably. Remove from pan and place on cutting board. Skim fat off pan juices. Using two forks, shred the pork. Remove fat from meat. When all meat is shredded, return it to the pan and mix the pan juices thoroughly into the pork.

Return to oven. Cook, uncovered for 30 minutes or until pork is crispy on top. Remove from oven. Turn pork. Return to oven and cook another 20 minutes, until pork is crispy on top and there is almost no liquid left in the pan. Serve as suggested above.

Cooking with Baja Magic Dos - Mexican Recipes by Author Ann Hazard

This recipe is featured in Ann Hazard’ book, Cooking With Baja Magic Dos. The cookbook has over 60 new recipes with corresponding stories and all new art. Whether or not you have Ann’s original cookbook, you will want a copy of Baja Magic Dos!