Michoacan Carnitas Tacos (Tacos de Carnitas)

Michoacan owns carnitas. Quiroga, near Lake Patzcuaro, sells them by the kilo from deep copper cazos, and Santa Clara del Cobre makes the cazos that give the dish its shape. You can argue about which town does it best. People do. Let them argue while you warm the tortillas.

This is pork cooked in manteca de cerdo until the meat softens, the skin turns crisp at the edges, and the fat carries the flavor through every cut. Shoulder gives meat, belly gives richness, ribs give bone flavor, cuerito gives texture. Do not come to me with lean pork loin. That is not carnitas. La manteca es el sabor.

I learned this version from a woman in Quiroga who sold tacos beside her husband's cazo. He handled the paddle, yes, but she knew the salt, the orange, the milk, the moment when the pork stopped simmering and started browning. She watched the pot the way other people watch a clock. The taco is not complicated: corn tortilla, chopped carnitas, raw white onion, cilantro, lime, salsa de chile de arbol. The discipline is in knowing when to stop cooking. Saber cocinar es saber vivir.