From street stalls to bustling taquerias and morning to midnight, tacos are Mexico’s favorite mini-meal—a few blissful bites of something thrillingly savory, wrapped in a soft, fragrant tortilla. And it turns out they’re also a perfect party food. Rick and his daughter, Lanie, plan a backyard taquisa—a taco buffet centered around one of the greatest taco fillings of all, Michoacan-Style Pork Carnitas, chunks of pork, slowly simmered in oil until they’re crisp and golden on the outside and succulent inside. Rick shows us how it’s done in Mexico in giant copper cauldrons, and then brings that idea home with the help of a surprising, cooking device—a turkey fryer. For pre-party nibbles, he shows how to turn salad-bar veggies into Mexican “Crudité” Platter, with the addition of a little store-bought chicharrones (pork cracklings) and chamoy, a sweet-sour apricot hot sauce—flavors that go perfectly with his beer and hot sauce Micheladas.
