Chicago’s Carnitas Culture

Big city of little meats [View this e-mail as a web page]( December 12, 2019 Did you watch [United Tacos of America]( on Tuesday? Episode eight of El Rey Network’s taco travelogue touched down here in the “Big City of Little Meats” to dig into Chicago’s carnitas culture. That’s a pretty good coinage from a show that nonetheless frames its individual segments on the usual tropes about deep dish, hot dogs, and the erstwhile Sears Tower. That’s only a whiny gripe. Apart from that it’s a really good—and rare—30 minutes of national food television that manages to venture south of Randolph Street not just to gawk at the shimmering towers of glistening pigflesh at [Carnitas Uruapan]( but to give the Carbajal family their proper due as keepers of whole-hog craft carnitas tradition with a direct line to Michoacán. And you thought the Saturday line down 18th Street was already long. The show also spends a good bit of time with Cantina Laredo chef Daniel Espinoza, whose backyard cauldron game is chingon, not just for the citrus and bacon he incorporates into his manteca, but the fearless way he prods huge slabs of pork into the just-about-to boil fat with his naked fingers. If you missed it you can find it on iTunes for less than the cost of a quarter pound of buche y cueritos. Sincerely, Mike [Reader distribution locations]( Where to find a copy of this week’s print issue [Soup season is nigh at Souper Bowl 3 Peat]( Kimski Chef Won Kim hosts a superstar lineup of more than soup cooks. By [Mike Sula]( [@MikeSula]( [The city’s first Thai supermarket in 12 years is open]( Talard Thai Asian Market in Edgewater is the one stop for holy basil, fresh durian, and every flavor of Mama-brand instant noodles. By [Mike Sula]( [@MikeSula]( [BUY YOUR TICKETS NOW!]( [Issue of Dec 12-18, 2019 Vol. 49, No. 11]( [Download Issue]( (PDF) [@chicago_reader]( [/chicagoreader]( [@chicago_reader]( [Chicago Reader on LinkedIn]( [/chicagoreader]( [chicagoreader.com]( [Forward this e-mail to a friend](. Want to change how you receive these e-mails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](. Copyright © 2019 Chicago Reader, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: Chicago Reader 2930 S. Michigan Ave., Ste 102Chicago, IL 60616-3228 [Add us to your address book]( [Mailchimp Email Marketing](