Pomegranate And Chile Glazed Pork Carnitas Recipes

POMEGRANATE GLAZED PORK

Steps:

• Remove the pork roast from the refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the rack on the lower middle section of the oven.
• Place the carrot halves on the bottom of a small roasting pan and set aside.
• Trim off any thick areas of fat from the roast. Make shallow slits about 1 inch apart in a crosshatch on the meat of the roast. Mix together the cinnamon, cloves and 1 tablespoon salt in a small bowl. Sprinkle the seasoning mixture evenly over the roast and rub to coat. Place the roast on the carrots and add 1/2 cup water to the pan. Roast for 1 hour, adding another 1/2 cup water if the pan gets dry.
• Meanwhile, combine the pomegranate juice and thyme in a small saucepan. Place over medium heat and reduce by half, about 15 minutes. Stir in the maple syrup and mustard and continue to reduce until slightly thickened, another 3 to 4 minutes. Season with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and remove and discard the thyme.
• Baste the meat with the pomegranate mixture and roast until the internal temperature reaches 120 degrees F, another 30 minutes. Remove the roast from the oven and turn the oven up to 450 degrees F.
• Baste the roast again with the pomegranate mixture. Return the roast to the hot oven for an additional 20 minutes, basting with the pomegranate sauce every 5 to 10 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 135 degrees F and the roast is evenly glazed. Remove the roast to a platter to rest for 10 minutes. Add any juices from the pan to the sauce and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Stir to combine. Slice the roast and serve with the sauce on the side.

PORK TENDERLOIN WITH POMEGRANATE GLAZE

Steps:

• Stir together cinnamon, salt, coriander, cumin and pepper in a shallow bowl. Pat tenderloins dry and dredge in spice mixture until evenly coated.
• Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Reduce heat to medium and cook pork, turning occasionally, until meat is browned on all sides and an instant-read thermometer inserted diagonally into center of each tenderloin registers 145 degrees F, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer pork with tongs to a cutting board and let stand 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, pour off and discard any fat from skillet, then add pomegranate juice and boil over medium-high heat until reduced to about 2/3 cup, about 3 minutes (if side of skillet begins to scorch, reduce heat to medium). Stir together cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water and whisk into juice, then boil sauce until thickened slightly, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Remove from heat and add vinegar to taste. Swirl in butter until incorporated. Pour sauce through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and skim off any fat. Season with salt. Slice pork and serve with sauce.

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

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large Dutch oven, combine pork, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper and the oregano, and toss to evenly coat the meat in the spices. Squeeze orange juice all over the pork and add the juiced orange quarters to the pot. Add onion, garlic, cinnamon stick and bay leaf, and toss until well incorporated, nestling everything in an even layer. Drizzle oil evenly over the meat. Cover and braise in oven until pork is tender, about 2 1/2 hours, stirring once halfway through the cooking.
• Heat broiler to high, setting a rack 6 inches from the heat source. Transfer pork to a rimmed baking sheet and shred the meat. Strain juices from the pot through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl, pressing on the solids; discard solids. Skim fat from top and reserve the juices.
• Broil pork until golden and crisp in spots, about 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer carnitas to serving plates and drizzle with some of the reserved juices. Serve warm with tortillas and toppings of choice.

PORK CARNITAS

Steps:

• Heat the vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat. Season the pork shoulder with salt, then arrange the pork in the Dutch oven. Cook until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Add the onion, garlic, lime juice, chili powder, oregano, and cumin. Pour in the chicken broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and continue to simmer until pork is very tender, about 2 1/2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Transfer the pork shoulder to a large baking sheet, reserving the cooking liquid. Drizzle with a small amount of the reserved cooking liquid and lightly season with salt.
• Bake the pork in the preheated oven until browned, about 30 minutes. Drizzle more of the cooking liquid on the meat every 10 minutes, and use two forks to shred the meat as it browns.