In Memorandum.

Happy Memorial Day, all!

Thank you to all who have served, and all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Your sacrifice should not be forgotten, especially today.  

The weather in Portland is a little...Portland...so a true BBQ wasn't in the works today.

But, I did cook up some mean smoked pulled pork on the parents' Traeger today. 

Made a trip to my very favorite hispanic market in Beaverton [for those in the area, seriously visit Salsa Market on Cedar Hills, next to Falk's] in search of supplies for the perfect taco.

Pork shoulder looked awesome, so did a couple banana leaves, their awesome house-made salsa, avocados, fresh tortillas and cilantro. 

I made a quick dry rub for the pork: a tsp each of salt, garlic powder, ground cumin, cayenne and red pepper flakes. And slapped it on both sides. 

Chicka Chicka Yeah!

Then, I went forward with a banana leaf experiment. It wasn't pretty, but I got it all pretty much wrapped inside the leaves and fastened it with string.

Then, slapped the meat on the Traeger. Preheated it for 250ish--then kept it  at that heat for about 5-6 hours (until internal heat was around 160 F.)

Make sure you let it rest for a while, about 10 - 15 minutes so it stays nice and juicy. 

If you have gloves around, shred it with your hands [otherwise it's way too hot.] No gloves, use two forks.

I like carnitas to have a little bit of a crunch, so heat up a pan, and give it a quick sear. 

And...it was so good I forgot to take any pictures. Oops. My memory failed me.

Hope you got some much deserved rest this weekend, back to the grind tomorrow!

Stay tuned for tutorial Tuesday--making a bomb Facebook Timeline cover photo.