The Best Ever Carnitas Recipes

CARNITAS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.
• Put the poblano and onion slices in the bottom of a heavy pot. Mix the cayenne, cumin and a pinch of salt and pepper together in a bowl, then use the mixture to season the pork shoulder. Put the pork on top of the vegetables. Add the chicken broth, jalapeno slices, lime zest and juice and orange zest and juice. Cover and cook until tender, 4 to 5 hours.
• Turn the heat up to 450 degrees F, remove the lid and cook until the surface crisps slightly, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the pork to a board and let it rest until cool enough to handle, then remove the fat and shred the meat with 2 forks.
• Strain the vegetables from the sauce and set aside. Put the meat in serving dish, add the vegetables and pour over some of the sauce.
• Serve the shredded pork with warm corn tortillas, radishes, pickled jalapenos, pico de gallo, hot sauce, lime wedges and cilantro leaves.

THE BEST EVER SLOW COOKER CARNITAS

Steps:

• Mix cumin, garlic powder, oregano, coriander, kosher salt and ground black pepper together in a small bowl to make a dry rub. Pat the pork shoulder roast or boston butt dry with paper towels, and then cover roast with dry rub.
• Place the pieces of onion and the bay leaf in the bottom of your slower cooker, lay the roast on top. Carefully pour the chicken stock or the water around the roast, taking care not to wash away the dry rub. Cook on low for 6 hours or until the pork easily falls apart.
• Once the pork is easily falling apart, remove from slow cooker to cool. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Remove and discard the excess fat, shred the remaining pork.
• Place the reserved cooking liquid in a large non-stick skillet with shredded pork. Cook over medium high heat until the liquid is absorbed, tossing the pork occasional to coat.
• Once the cooking liquid is absorbed, add the oil and crisp up the carnitas to your desired doneness. We like our extra crispy, usually about 14-18 minutes.
• Serve with your favorite taco fixings, like corn or flour tortillas, cilantro, lime, shredded cabbage, pico de gallo, sour cream and cheese.

BEST PORK CARNITAS EVER

Steps:

• Cut up your pork roast into 1 to 2 inch chunks (Don't trim the fat it will render in final part of cooking) and put it in a large pot. Add the cup of orange juice and your seasonings. Add enough water to just cover the meat (it's ok if it's not completely covered). Bring it to a simmer and let it simmer uncovered for 2 hours. I know you'll be tempted but DO NOT stir or touch the meat during these 2 hours. You should have enough water/juice in the pot that by the end of the 2 hours you will be down to about an inch or less of liquid. When you get to this point turn the heat up to medium high and chop and stir it around until the liquid evaporates and your pork is a mixture of something between chunks and shredded. I like to let it brown up a bit even. That's it, you're done! The best pork ever and the flavor is simple enough that you can do pretty much anything with the meat.

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.