Southern Carnitas with Thin Corncakes

Pork and the South are inseparable! Back in the day, my great-grandparents all had smokehouses and raised their own hogs for sausage, chops, and even pork rinds. Salt pork and bacon were used for flavoring everything from grits to gravy. In this dish, tender, flavorful leftover slow-cooked Collard Greens–Wrapped Pork Loin is pulled and served in easy-to-make Thin Corncakes and then topped with Southern Verde Sauce and a sprinkling of Mexican crumbling cheese called cotija. If you don’t want to make the Thin Corncakes, use corn tortillas instead.

Carnitas

½ Collard Greens–Wrapped Pork Loin (see recipe on page 165)

1 cup Southern Verde Sauce (see recipe on page 285)

1 avocado, seed removed and sliced

Cilantro leaves for garnish

Jalapeño pepper slices for garnish

Cotija cheese for garnish

Thin Corncakes

2 tablespoons canola oil, divided

1 ½ cups fine stone-ground cornmeal

½ cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt

1 large egg

1 cup skim milk

¼ cup low-fat buttermilk

4 tablespoons butter, melted

To make the carnitas, place the pork loin on a cutting board, and with 2 forks pull the meat apart. Transfer the meat to a skillet. Add some of the cooking liquid or chicken broth to the skillet to prevent the meat from drying out. Cook over low heat to keep warm.

To make the corncakes, grease a cast-iron griddle with ½ tablespoon of the canola oil. Heat the griddle over medium to medium-high heat. While the griddle is heating, combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, egg, milk, buttermilk, and butter in a medium bowl. Making 2 corncakes at a time, spoon 1 tablespoon of the cornmeal mixture onto the griddle. Remove the griddle from the heat. Using an offset spatula, spread the cornmeal mixture to about a 4-inch round. Return to the heat and cook the corncakes until lightly browned, about 1 minute per side. Transfer the corncakes to a serving plate. Cover with a tea towel to keep warm. Repeat the process 3 more times with the remaining batter.

Transfer the pork to a serving platter. Serve with warm corncakes or corn tortillas, Southern Verde Sauce, avocado, cilantro, jalapeño, and cotija cheese.

Makes 4 servings.

Note: If you can’t find cotija cheese, you can substitute crumbled feta cheese.