Yummy Carnitas

Carnitas can be made with pork or beef. This recipe was made with pork. It is more just a method or cooking technique. Basically it is a rich and fatty type of meat simmered on low for a good 3 hours or so and then shredded and then broiled.

It may take long but it's pretty simple to put together and the end result is just deilish.

This is what we are going for.




On with the recipe. I adapted this recipe from various other carnita's recipes I found online. I know a lot of Latino households will most likely have their own version of this recipe. I have simplified this recipe to make it easy for anyone to try. But really feel free to add any spices and get creative.

*you could adjust the spices to the ratio of the size of your meat, just take a little away if you are using a smaller cut.*

Time needed: 3 hours and 20 mins or so

You will need.

1 - dutch oven with lid or a heavy bottomed pot with lid suitable for the size of meat and liquids.

1- about a 3lb Boston butt or pork shoulder roast

1- baking pan

1 1/2 tsps. Cumin
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp chili powder
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp oregano

1 cup of orange juice
4 -5 cups of chicken stock

1 medium yellow onion cut up in large pieces
1 medium bell pepper cut up in larger pieces
2-3 cloves of garlic or you could use a tsp of jarred minced garlic.

1 can of tomato sauce or tomato paste which ever you have on hand

Optional to serve: Diced onions, chopped cilantro, Lime juice, tortillas!

Ok. So first wash your meat and pat it dry. If your cut is excessively fatty you can trim a little off. But we do really want to keep most of the fat on because in the end it is what will help caramelize the meat in the final step.

Next place all your ingredients in the pot and stick your meat up top. Make sure that you have enough liquid that it covers your roast 3/4 of the way up. Add more chicken stock if needed or water is fine too.

Now that everything is in your pot just place it on your stove and let it hit a boil. After it is boiling go ahead and cover your pot and reduce heat to a low low simmer.

At this point it is going to take a solid 3 hours to get nice and happy in there. I pretty much just check it every hour to make sure that the liquid isn't evaporating to quickly. This is one of those things that needs patience and time to get where we want it to be.

After 2 hours i check every half hour to make sure we haven't lost the liquid in there too much. I will also turn the meat upside down at this point and leave it be for the rest of the time.

Once it has been about 3 hours the meat should be fork tender. You basically want it so tender that it will fall apart by just looking at it! hehe

Take the meat out and place it on your baking sheet or a cutting board.

Turn your oven on to about 375-400 degrees

Take one of those holey slotted spoons or a mesh strainer and strain the liquid that is in the pot. You want to keep the liquid but you can discard the extra stuff in there.

Go ahead and simmer your liquid down a bit to where it is about half of whatever was left. We are going to ladle this liquid on our meat before popping it in the oven.

Now that your meat is on a baking sheet or a cutting board. Shred with two forks or your hands if you are old skool and can take the heat. I just go ahead and do the shredding on my baking sheet to use up less dishes but if you are worried about scratching things then go ahead and do this part on a cutting board.

Now that the meat is shredded and looking happy on your baking pan. You may season it up a bit more. Lightly sprinkle a bit of kosher salt and pepper. Then we want to spoon on a bit of liquid throughout out the meat. Just enough to give it some moisture but we don't want it soaked either.

Now we are ready to pop it in the oven. We want to broil this for about 15 mins or more. Just keep an eye on this if it's starting to look nice and caramely and yummy then you are good to go. The fat that was on the meat should be helping this process up.

After you lovely meat looks super happy ..Go ahead and warm up some tortillas and sprinkle the meat with a little lime juice if you like that sord of thing.

some diced red onion or any onion and cilantro will also be yummy on top of this.

I serve with rice,beans, and tortillas, I just eat the meat on the side with my rice..but the hubby likes to eat this Taco style in a tortilla with the cilantro and onion.

Either way it is yummy!

Enjoy. =)

D