Pork Carnitas Flautas

I’ve always been a fan of ethnic cuisine, even more so when I began living gluten free. Mexican cuisine is easy to enjoy without gluten since corn is such a staple ingredient. Using corn tortillas, you can fill them with all sorts of fillings and fry them for flautas on the fly. In this instance, I used some leftover pork carnitas along with a few spices from the pantry to make these quick and easy Pork Carnitas Flautas. Seasoned pork carnitas stuffed into a crispy corn tortilla makes for a delicious snack or meal in of itself!…

Let’s be honest. Anything fried is bound to taste good. These flautas are delicious regardless of what you fill the corn tortillas with! I used leftover pork carnitas (in which I linked a recipe to) but you can certainly use leftover chicken, ground beef, or even cheese and bean to make other flauta varieties. The key is to roll the flautas really nice and tight, making sure they are pulled taut before securing with toothpicks. Doing so prevents the flautas from opening up in hot oil… not a good thing. I’ve also found rolling them up tight and freezing helps hold their shape well. If you freeze them, you can also fry them from frozen… making them a great make ahead appetizer/dish to enjoy later or for a party.

1 pound roasted pork carnitas, shredded
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
2 cups vegetable oil
1 package corn tortillas

Combine the shredded pork with cumin, oregano, salt and pepper and set aside.

In a skillet over medium heat, add 2 cups of vegetable oil and heat to 375 degrees.