Carnitas Grilled Cheese with Jalapeño Bacon Jam

I was recently informed that cheese has an effect on the mind and body similar to heroin. If this is true, ladies and gentleman, I have a full-blown problem. Alas, I won’t be running to the nearest Cheese Anonymous meeting. Instead, I’ll be celebrating my love of all things Gruyere, Gouda and Bleu.

This is one of my favorite things to do with cheese:
Grill It.

The Carnitas need to be braised low and slow. I recommend making them a day in advance, then reheating before making the sandwiches.

For the Carnitas:
1 3lb Bone-In Pork Shoulder, skinned
A fuck ton of Kosher Salt
Almost a fuck-ton of Coarsely Ground Black Pepper
1/2 cup Olive Oil
4 TBSP Dried Oregano
2 TBSP Cumin
4 Yellow Onions, diced
1/2 cup of Minced Garlic
5 Jalapeños, seeded, ribbed and Minced
4 Oranges

For the Jalapeño Bacon Jam:
1 lb of Bacon, chopped
1 lb of Jalapeños, finely minced
2 TBSP Of Apricot Jam

For the rest of the sandwich:
Thickly sliced Brioche
Shredded Sharp White Cheddar (about 1/2 cup per sandwich)

First, prep the Carnitas. Prehear your oven to 300 degrees F.

Take the pork shoulder, and place is in a large, deep baking pan. Take the Kosher Salt and Black Pepper, and literally crust the entire Shoulder (make sure to coat both sides well).

Next, mix the Olive Oil, Oregano and Cumin together to form a paste. Rub the paste all over the pork shoulder.

Pour the diced onions all around and on top of the pork shoulder so that it’s sureounded/covered by the onions. Top the shoulder and onions with the Minced Garlic and Jalapeños. Cut each Orange in half, and squeeze the juices all over the Pork Shoulder, then place the squeezed orange halves on top of the pork shoulder.

Tightly wrap with foil, then place in the oven for 4-5 hours, or until the shoulder reaches 212 degrees F, and shreds easily. Discard the bones and orange peels, then shred the pork to your liking.

Next, make the Jalapeño Bacon Jam.

In a small saucepot, crisp the chopped bacon over medium-high until very crispy. DO NOT throw away the grease! Remove the bacon from the grease, then throw the minced jalapeños into the hot grease. Sauté until soft.

Place the crispy bacon, sautéed jalapenos AND bacon grease, and the apricot jam into a food processor or blender, and blend until completely combined.

Lastly, make the sandwich!

Spread 1/2tsp of butter on one side of each slice of bread. Heat up a skillet over medium-high, then place two slices of the bread, butter-side down. Put 1/4 cup of the sharp white cheddar on each side, then cover the skillet until the cheese is starting to melt.

To once slice of the bread, add a dollop of the Jam, and as much Carnitas as you’d like (I recommend straining the juice out to prevent the bread from getting soggy). Cover the pan for about 1 1/2 more minutes to finish melting the cheese, then put the slice of bread with just melted cheese on top of the slice with Carnitas and Jam. Smash together, and marvel at your handiwork. Continue toasting, if necessary.

Enjoy!