The perfect finger food

No doubt you, like me, are out and about at functions, parties, dinners and other occasions at this time of year, and with all that finger food, you may have come across the latest food trend: the mini taco.

This is 2012's gift to the stand-up party, much like sushi a few years ago. Thankfully, fashion dictates that we change the theme every few years, which is a good thing, otherwise we'd still be working out exactly what an angel on horseback is, and avoiding it accordingly.

Mexican food suits the finger food genre to a tee, based as it is on a huge range of street foods stuffed inside a tortilla, which rivals only the spring roll wrapper as being a perfect delivery device for a couple of spoonfuls of tasty meat and vegies.

But much of what we think of as Mexican food really isn't the food you would find south of the US border, and doesn't resemble it in any way other than the wrap. If it's cloaked in something yellow or gold that may or may not be cheese, you are having Tex Mex. Chilli con carne is more Texan than Mexican, as are nachos - on account of being covered with cheese.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of Tex Mex, too, having just come off a weekend of chilli con carne using Heston Blumenthal's tasty method, but Mexican it is not.

So, clearly, the chilli experience has got my cooking radar going, and on the cusp of heading out for another finger-food function where I know with certainty they'll be serving little tacos, we might as well have a crack at a classic Mexican street meal called carnitas.

This dish really shows why Mexican food is so good. You have the tortillas, which you can make yourself if you have the time but, like pasta, if you buy a good brand you can save a lot of time. To make corn tortillas, you need masa harina and water. Masa harina is made from a paste of ground corn and food grade lime (calcium hydroxide) and while I'm all for making things from scratch, this falls in the way-too-hard category, so take my word for it and just buy some good corn or flour tortillas.

What makes Mexican food so special is the condiments, served on the side and, obviously, a pitcher of margarita and/or a row of Coronas with lime hats.

Carnitas is definitely a meat dish. My Spanish isn't exactly perfect, but it sounds like meat. Generally, it's made from pork shoulder marinated in lime juice and cooked in pork fat, which sounds so good this is how we'll attack it, too.

On the side, we'll have guacamole, tomato salsa and tomatillo salsa.

The other ingredient - chicharron - isn't that easy to get here, but you can make it if you have time. This is the third ingredient in the trinity of pork bits, and is a bit like prawn crackers in texture, but is made from pork skin.

>> Bryan Martin is a winemaker at Ravensworth and Clonakilla, bryanmartin.com.au

Carnitas

1kg boneless pork shoulder

3 tbsp salt

3 tbsp sugar

½ cup fresh lime juice

1lt pork fat

tortillas

jalapenos, chopped

red onion, sliced, to garnish

coriander, to garnish

Cut the pork into thick, even-sized chunks about 100 grams each. Rub with the salt and sugar and leave to marinate overnight. The next day, rinse off and soak in the lime juice for one or two hours, drain and pat dry.

Heat the pork fat in a wide pan and add the shoulder. The fat needs to cover the pork. Bring to a low simmer, about 70C, and cook for two hours, gently stirring every now and then. Raise the temperature to a sizzle, about 130C, and crisp up the outside, which will take another half hour. Scoop out the pieces as they turn a deep brown and drain well.

Heat the tortillas on a flat grill and serve with the guacamole, salsas and chicharron (leave this out if you can't the face the work), which you crumble over the top just before you wrap. Garnish with chopped jalapenos, red onion, and coriander.

Guacamole

2 large, ripe avocados

1 ripe tomato, diced

1 small red onion, diced and soaked in water for an hour or so, drained

1-2 serrano chilles, seeded and finely diced

juice and zest of 2-3 limes

1 bunch coriander, leaves chopped

salt and pepper

¼ cup pomegranate seeds

2 tbsp light ricotta

Mash the avocado with everything except the pomegranate and ricotta, which you use to garnish.

Spicy tomato salsa

2-3 very ripe, large tomatoes, diced

1 small cucumber, seeded, diced

1 small red onion, soaked, diced

1-2 serrano chilles, seeded, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

2-3 tbsp lime juice

1 bunch coriander, leaves chopped

salt and pepper

Mix it all together.

Tomatillo salsa

4-6 tomatillos (from delis in cans), drained

1-2 serrano chillies, seeded and chopped

2 tbsp lime juice

1 bunch coriander, leaves chopped

salt and pepper

Blitz it all in a blender.

Chicharron

a piece of pig skin, fat removed

salt

pork fat

Cover the skin in salt and leave for a few days. Rinse off and place in a pot of cold water, bring to a simmer and cook for an hour. Carefully remove the skin and drain. Leave uncovered in fridge for a day or two.

Next, clean up any fat on the skin and arrange on a tray. Set in a cool oven and dehydrate for 24 hours at 50C or until very dry and dark. Break into bite-sized pieces.

To cook, bring the pork fat to super-hot, 180C at least. Cook the chicharron in small batches, they will puff up like prawn crackers, toss in salt and serve. Yes, a lot of work.

Margarita

500ml good tequila

200ml Cointreau or orange liqueur

120ml lime juice

2-3 tbsp sugar dissolved into 120ml water, cooled

ice

more lime, quartered

salt

Blend into a large pitcher and serve with lime wedges and salt-crusted glasses.

Beer

1 case Corona

3 limes, cut into eight wedges each

You can probably work this yourself.