Carnitas: Because there is nothing as good as pork fat!

[summilux]

Central American Carnitas

Easy to make and if you love meat, this is the thing. It's like pulled pork without the smoke.

-Start with a 7-8 lb pork butt/shoulder with skin on. Remove the skin with the underlying fat still attached. Bone the butt and cut the meat into 5 inch chunks. Cut the skin into 4-5 inch squares.
-Brown the meat chunks and place into a roasting pan. T
-o the pan add 4 sliced garlic cloves, 2 bay leaves, 1 teaspoon of cumin, 1 teaspoon of chili powder, and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon powder. Add water to about half way up the pork. Overlay with the pork skin, fat side down.
-Put in 350 degree oven for about 2.5 hours, turning the pork cubes occasionally. When the pork falls apart when pressed with a fork, take it out of the oven and let it cool enough to handle (about half an hour).
-Put the rendered pork skin on a separate baking tray.
-Shred the pork meat by hand and add it back to the roasting pan, mixing it with the rendered fat and any liquid that remains. Add salt to taste.
-Lick fingers.
-Shredded pork and skins go back into the oven for another hour until the pork shreds crispen.

Great with hominy but also works as a tortilla filling. Pork skin can be eaten on its own, dipped in hoisin sauce (Cantonese), dipped in equal parts peanut butter and hoisin (Vietnamese) or added to a vinegar-based coleslaw.

[rydesteel]

At the local Mexican Grocery they start off with pork shoulders, spices, a large pot, and lard. Amazing pork flavor, the Torta Primavera is outa sight. I brought 6lbs and some Salsa's for Christmas dinner at the In-Laws one year. Fresh Pico, avocado, and good bread... I was hoping for a few taco's later but.

[ultratoad]

Definitely gonna try that.... Agree on your Carnitas assessment.... Thanks....

[Britishbane]

Strange, I made carnitas for the first time last week. I started with 2.5lbs and ended up overcooking it a bit in a dutch oven on the stovetop, but it was still yummy. I cannot imagine having the pot for 8lbs of pork - perhaps I'll try your method next time.

[robin3mj]

This is going on the menu next time I have a house-ful of people.

[eippo1]

Thanks for this. I need to cook up some tastiness for next week's lunches and this will be perfect. I have a boatload of rice and beans to go along with it.

[eippo1]

Made this tonite and ate it with rice and pinto beans. So good. Tomorrow's lunch shall be burritos! Thank you for this recipe. Btw, I recommend a fillet knife for skinning the meat. It worked really well.

[summilux]

Glad you liked it. This on my regular family rotation. With me and two teenagers (both competitive athletes), an 8 pound butt doesn't last very long.

[eippo1]

Actually eating it right now again. I made it with a 3.5lb shoulder because I didn't want to waste to much meat in case I effed it up. Next time I'll go for the whole enchilada so to speak. I actually left out the garlic and opted for Mexican seasoning instead and love it. Thanks for posting.

[maunahaole]

I'm making this right now. The smell while cooking is completely off the hook. Equal to, if not better than most food centered holidays.

[maunahaole]

Post mortem: this recipe is really good. However, it does take some time on prep and you will need someone to mind it while it cooks. I was in some fear that I would end up with too much fluid left, but it mostly cooked away. I did take the cover off for a while to let some of it cook off. Once it got to be time to shred the meat, it just fell apart. We now have plenty carnitas for the week. One thing that I may try the next time I make this is that instead of browning the meat in the pan, I'd like to put it on a hot grill and sear it there and get some char on it.

[Giff Holmquist]

Thanks for the recipe. I had carnitas at a mall in Oxnard, CA years ago that spoiled me. Have never found anything near as good as that was, but this sounds at least as good as that! I'll have to pick up some pork and give this a try next week.

[ultratoad]

I take my Mexican food very seriously.... Finally did your recipe today.... Burritos as big as your head (with beans and salsa thrown in for good measure).... TOTALLY FANTASTICAL! Thank you, it's a keeper....

[miksibis]

i made this for a 50th anniversary/family reunion last week for 28 people. amazing! and well received by all which is quite a feat considering the age rande was 71 years and covered 8 states fromall corners of the u.s. thanks for the inspiration. i've eaten it in restaurants but hadn't considered cooking the dish. mike

[BShow]

Apologies for digging up an old, dead carnitas thread. There are some tips in the salon for carnitas that I’ve used before... The recipe was something like, brown the pork stove top in a pot add some fluids, spices, and citrus then slow cook in the oven for hours.
It’s snowing, I have a good sized pork butt, and I’ll be hungry later. For the life of me though, I can’t find the damned thread. Anyone have the gps coordinates for this thread? My searches only pull up this one

[BShow]

Apologies for digging up an old, dead carnitas thread. There are some tips in the salon for carnitas that I’ve used before... The recipe was something like, brown the pork stove top in a pot add some fluids, spices, and citrus then slow cook in the oven for hours.
It’s snowing, I have a good sized pork butt, and I’ll be hungry later. For the life of me though, I can’t find the damned thread. Anyone have the gps coordinates for this thread? My searches only pull up this one

I winged it.
~ 5lb pork shoulder cut into ~4” chunks sprinkled with salt, black pepper, and chili powder then seared in a stock pot and put aside for a few.
A few cloves of garlic a japepeneo and a yellow onion chopped and tossed in the pot with the browned bits and pork fat until fragrant.
Pork back into the pot along with about a beer and a half (Pacifico in this case but any lightish beer will do). Topped off with some water to just about cover the pork with fluid.
Spices into the pot were eyeballed: 1 tablespoon cumin and chili powder. 1tsp black pepper, coriander, Cayenne powder. Couple pinches of salt but don’t go crazy - can add more later to taste but can’t take it out once it’s in there.
Squeezed half a lime and tossed a sliced orange into the pot. Covered and bring to a boil on the stove top.
Once it boils, Transfer to the oven at 250, covered, where it will stay for a few hours (till it falls apart easily). Move the pieces around periodically. Toward the end, take the cover off to start boiling down the fluid. Depending what you’ve got left you may need to put the meat aside to cool while you boil down the fluid.
Pull the meat apart and mix in the strained, reduced fluid. At this point I spread it out in a disposable aluminum baking tray so I can get some crispy bits under the broiler.

Serve with your choice of tortillas, chopped cilantro, guac, pineapple salsa and rice (but nobody eats the rice)
Bon appetit!

[Dave Thompson]

A pic from my favorite carnitas joint, El Michaocanos in a suburb of Cabo San Lucas. You order the carnitas by the kilo and everything else, including freshly made tortillas, comes with.