The Best Carnitas

The best carnitas I've ever made. This is the way I'll be making them from now on.

Use a pork shoulder or butt. I cut slits all over the roast and stuffed them with slivers of garlic, then topped it with a 4oz can of Hatch brand diced green chiles. Put it in the crockpot with onion, celery, bay leaf, thyme and left for work.

This beauty is what I came home to, _oh_for_yummy. Let's make some carnitas now.

Took the pork out of the crockpot and pulled the pork apart in a roasting pan. Yes, I'm getting myself a proper roasting pan this weekend. I even have a 20% off coupon for Bed Bath & Beyond. The oven in the 5th wheel was small so I couldn't use a nice large roasting pan. I will soon though Yippieeee!!!!

Drizzle the milk over the pulled pork.

Put into a 325* oven scraping pan occasionally until drippings are browning.

While the pork is in the oven strain the juices from the crockpot. If it's too fatty skim some off.

Boil the strained juices over high heat to reduce.

When pork drippings are browned add 1 cup of the reduced juices, scrape pan and return to oven and bake until juices have evaporated, stirring occasionally. Repeat with the remaining juices.

Cook until meat edges are crisp and browned.

Couldn't wait, I just had to have a couple right there and then. Top with cilantro, cabbage, onion and a squeeze of lime. Heaven on a tortilla.

I followed the recipe below pretty close. All I did different was add the green chiles and do the initial cooking in the crockpot

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La Taqueria Carnitas

ethnic, meats

1  boned, tied pork shoulder or butt (4-5 lb.)
2 onions (1 lb. total , peeled and quartered
4 stalks celery (including leaves), rinsed and cut into chunks
4 cloves garlic, peeled
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons thyme
1 teaspoon salt, approx.
1/2 cup milk

Rinse pork and put in a 6- to 8-quart pan.  Add onions, celery, garlic,
bay leaves, thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, and enough water to cover meat - 2
1/2-3 1/2 quarts.  Bring to a boil over high heat; cover, reduce heat,
and simmer until meat is very tender when pierced, 2-2 1/2 hours.  With
slotted spoons, transfer pork to a 9- by 13-inch pan; reserve cooking
juices.  Discard string, and use 2 forks to pull meat into large
chunks.  Pour milk over meat.  Bake pork in a 325F oven until drippings
are browned, about 1 hour, stirring and scraping pan occasionally.
Meanwhile, pour reserved juices through a strainer into a bowl; discard
residue.  Skim and discard fat.  Return juices to pan.  Boil over high
heat until reduced to 2 cups, about 45 minutes.  When pork drippings are
browned, add 1 cup of the reduced juices; scrape drippings free and stir
meat, breaking into smaller pieces.  Bake until juices have evaporated
and drippings are browned, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Repeat step, using remaining juices, and cook until meat edges are crisp
and browned, 15-20 minutes longer.  Season to taste with salt.  (Notes:
At La Taqueria in San Francisco, owner Miguel Jara cooks pork in
cauldrons of bubbling lard until tender, then roasts it to make
crowd-pleasing carnitas.  At home, braise the pork, then roast until
tender-crisp.  For best results, select meat with the most fat marbling;
fat is rendered during roasting, making the carnitas moist and crisp.
If cooking meat up to 3 days ahead, chill airtight; freeze to store
longer.  Makes 8-9 cups.

** Exported from Now You're Cooking! v5.84 **

You gotta try this.

Comments

[shawn martin]

Interesting technique. Gonna have to try it someday.

[koko]

I do hope you try it Shawn, I'm pretty sure you'll like them. Starting it off in the crockpot really helps when you are working.

[Monsieur Vic]

Tried this twice! Thank you! It's an awesome recipe me and my guests loved this!

[koko]

Thank you so much for letting me know, I'm so happy everyone loved it.

Happy Holidays Monsieur Vic

[Benny Barry]

These are the best carnitas i have ever had and i live in New Mexico where you can get carnitas every where Please try this recipe its awesome.