Happy Independence Day!

In honor of the our country's birthday, we're celebrating with a watermelon-feta salad in the form of a flag.

We're also having mini-fruit pizzas, made with refrigerated cookie dough (gasp!) and cream cheese blended with lemon zest and cool whip, topped with strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries.

But all of this red, white and blue food is to make up for the fact that we're skipping the traditional hotdogs or burgers in favor of Mexican pulled pork (pork tinga) and guacamole.  Not exactly something the founding fathers would have eaten in 1776, but certainly honoring out country's rich history of immigration and cultural diversity.

The decision to eat Mexican on the 4th of July came about from a very innocent idea to have pulled pork.  But while looking through our America's Test Kitchen cookbook, I came across a recipe for Pork Tinga Tostadas, which used the same boston butt pork shoulder that I had purchased for the BBQ pulled pork. And this sounded even better.  I'm serving it with the leftover feta from our watermelon salad, and the same yummy greek yogurt guacamole that I posted about a couple weeks ago.  Here's the recipe:

Spicy Mexican Shredded Pork Tostadas (Tinga)

Serves 4 to 6

The trimmed pork should weigh about 1 1/2 pounds. Tinga is traditionally served on tostadas (crisp fried corn tortillas), but you can also use the meat in tacos and burritos or simply served over rice.  We prefer the complex flavor of chipotle powder, but two minced canned chipotle chiles can be used in its place. The pork can be prepared through step 1 and refrigerated in an airtight container for 2 days. The tostadas can be made up to a day in advance and stored in an airtight container.

INGREDIENTS

Tinga

• 2pounds boneless pork butt , trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1-inch pieces (see note)
• 2medium onions , 1 quartered and 1 chopped fine
• 5medium garlic cloves , 3 peeled and smashed and 2 minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
• 4sprigs fresh thyme
•  Table salt
• 2tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2teaspoon dried oregano
• 1(14.5-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1tablespoon ground chipotle powder (see note)
• 2bay leaves

Tostadas

• 3/4cup vegetable oil
• 12(6-inch) corn tortillas(see note)
•  Table salt

Garnishes

•  Queso frescoor feta cheese
•  Fresh cilantro leaves
•  Sour cream
•  Diced avocado
•  Lime wedges

INSTRUCTIONS

• 1. FOR THE TINGA: Bring pork, quartered onion, smashed garlic cloves, thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, and 6 cups water to simmer in large saucepan over medium-high heat, skimming off any foam that rises to surface. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover, and cook until pork is tender, 75 to 90 minutes. Drain pork, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid. Discard onion, garlic, and thyme. Return pork to saucepan and, using potato masher, mash until shredded into rough ½-inch pieces (see Step-by-Step below); set aside.
• 2. Heat olive oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add shredded pork, chopped onion, and oregano; cook, stirring often, until pork is well browned and crisp, 7 to 10 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
• 3. Stir in tomato sauce, chipotle powder, reserved pork cooking liquid, and bay leaves; simmer until almost all liquid has evaporated, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaves and season with salt to taste.
• 4. TO FRY TOSTADAS: Heat vegetable oil in 8-inch heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat to 350 degrees. Using fork, poke center of each tortilla 3 or 4 times (to prevent puffing and allow for even cooking). Fry 1 at a time, holding metal potato masher in upright position on top of tortilla to keep it submerged (see photo below), until crisp and lightly browned, 45 to 60 seconds (no flipping is necessary). Drain on paper towel-lined plate and season with salt to taste. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
• 5. TO SERVE: Spoon small amount of shredded pork onto center of each tostada and serve, passing garnishes separately.
  
  
  WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:True Mexican shredded pork, or tinga, is a far cry from the bland burrito-joint version often found languishing on steam tables. We set out to perfect the methods that give tinga its characteristic crisp texture and smoky tomato flavor. We wanted tender, full-flavored Mexican shredded pork that we could serve atop crisp corn tortillas or spoon into taco shells.
  We trimmed and cubed a Boston butt (chosen for its good marbling and little sinew), then simmered the pieces in water that we flavored with garlic, thyme, and onion. Once the pork was tender, we drained the meat (reserving some of the cooking liquid for the sauce) and returned it to the pot to shred. The meat was so tender, it fell apart with nothing more than the pressure of a potato masher. We then sautéed the meat in a hot frying pan along with the requisite additions of finely chopped onion and oregano. Minutes later, the pork had developed crackling edges crisp enough to survive the final step of simmering in tomato sauce. Unlike American barbecue with its sweet and tangy barbecue sauce, tinga relies on a complex smoke-flavored tomato sauce. For our version, we diluted canned tomato sauce with the reserved flavorful cooking liquid from the pork and added bay leaves for herbal complexity. And for tinga’s all-important smokiness, we turned to ground chipotle powder, which is a little harder to find than the other option of canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, but is has a deeper, more complex flavor.