Carnitas And Noodles Recipes

CARNITAS RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325°F. Pat the pork butt dry with a paper towel. Use a large, sharp knife to trim away excess fat. Cut the pork butt into 1" thick slices. Then, cut each slice into 1" cubes.
• Transfer the pork to a 4-5 quart enameled cast iron Dutch oven. Add all of the dry spices, and massage them onto the pork with your hands.
• Add the orange juice, lime juice, and a 1/2 cup water to the Dutch oven and stir to combine. Add the bay leaves, cover, and transfer to the oven.
• Cook for 2 hours. Remove from the oven, and turn on the broiler on high. Have ready a rimmed sheet pan lined with nonstick aluminum foil.
• Use a slotted spoon to transfer the pork to the prepared sheet pan. Using the tines of a fork, gently press down on the pork to ever-so-slightly break it apart.
• Place the pork under the broiler, and watch closely so that it does not burn. As soon as the pork begins to tinge with dark brown hues and crisps up on the edges, remove it from the oven. Depending on your broiler, this could take anywhere from 1- 4 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
• Place the Dutch oven on the stovetop over medium-high heat and allow to come to a simmer. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of water. Add the cornstarch slurry to the cooking liquid and allow to simmer until thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat.
• Either add the pork back to the Dutch oven and stir or brush the sauce lightly over the carnitas. Serve with tortillas and your favorite taco toppings and enjoy!

CREAMY PORK CARNITAS PASTA

Steps:

• Prepare seasoned carnitas according to package directions. Set aside. Bring water in a large pot to a boil and cook pasta until al dente.
• In a medium-sized skillet over medium-high heat add olive oil. Add peppers and saute until tender. Set aside on a plate.
• Add heavy cream, sour cream, parmesan cheese, chili powder, cumin, and paprika to the skillet. Whisk and let simmer until it starts to thicken. Add pork and peppers to the sauce and toss until coated and heated through.
• Serve with optional toppings.

CARNITAS

Steps:

• Toss the pork with 2 teaspoons of salt. Transfer to a 6- to 7-quart Dutch oven or pot along with the oil, oregano, red pepper, cloves, garlic, bay leaves, lime juice, orange peel and onion. Cover with 4 to 5 cups of water. Bring to a high simmer, then reduce the heat to low, partially cover the pot and simmer gently, checking occasionally to give it a stir, until the pork is tender and just beginning to fall apart, about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Fish out the bay leaves and orange peel. (The pork will not look super-attractive at this point but don't panic!)
• Remove the lid and increase the heat to medium-high. Simmer vigorously, stirring frequently, until all of the water has evaporated, leaving only the oil, and the pork has browned and begun to fry slightly at the bottom of the pot; continue to cook, scraping up the bottom of the pot frequently to release the fried bits, 30 to 40 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the pork from any remaining oil in the pot.
• Serve with tortillas and suggested toppings to make tacos.

CRISPY PORK CARNITAS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C).
• Remove fat from pork; cut pork meat into 2-inch cubes and roughly chop fat.
• Mix pork, garlic, olive oil, orange peel, orange juice, salt, bay leaves, black pepper, cumin, cinnamon, and 5-spice powder together in a bowl until pork is coated completely. Transfer mixture to a 9x13-inch baking dish. Place baking dish on a baking sheet and cover baking dish tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven until pork is fork-tender, about 3 1/2 hours.
• Set oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the oven's broiler.
• Transfer meat to a colander set over a bowl. Remove garlic, bay leaves, and orange peels from baking dish and pour accumulated juices from the baking dish over meat in colander into the bowl. Return meat to the baking dish and drizzle accumulated juices over each piece of meat.
• Cook meat under the preheated broiler for 3 minutes. Drizzle more accumulated juices over meat and continue broiling until crispy, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer pork to a serving plate and drizzle more accumulated juices over the top.

CARNITAS HUEVOS RANCHEROS

Steps:

• Rub roast with oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Place in a 4- or 5-qt. slow cooker. Top with onion, green chiles, salsa, cilantro, broth and tequila. Cook, covered, on low 7-8 hours or until meat is tender., Remove roast; shred with 2 forks. Discard cooking juices, reserving 1 cup. Return cooking juices and meat to slow cooker. Stir in beans; heat through., Meanwhile, coat a large skillet with cooking spray; place over medium-high heat. Working in batches, break eggs, 1 at a time, into pan; reduce heat to low. Cook until whites are set and yolks begin to thicken, turning once if desired. Divide pork mixture among 12 serving bowls. Top with salsa, eggs, avocados and additional cilantro. Serve with tortillas. Freeze option: Freeze cooled meat mixture and juices in freezer containers. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Heat through in a saucepan, stirring occasionally; add a little water if necessary.

CARNITAS AND NOODLES

Steps:

• Heat a large pot of salted water until boiling.
• Add the egg noodles and cook per package instructions, stirring occasionally.
• Meanwhile, heat the gravy and butter in the microwave until very hot. Set aside.
• Heat the carnitas meat in the microwave until very hot, then shred the meat. The Del Real brand that comes in packages at most grocery stores is very good, or use fresh carnitas meat.
• Drain the pasta.
• Stir the gravy and butter mixture into the pasta. Stir in the shredded meat.
• Variation: 1/2 cup of frozen peas can be stirred in at the end.