Carnitas De Michoacan 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!

CARNITAS DE MICHOACAN

Steps:

• Start with removing any excess pieces of fat from the pork.
• In a large,heavy saucepan, place the pork along with the orange zest, orange juice, cumin, bay leaves, onion, garlic and bouillon.
• Fill with water just so it barely covers the pork.
• Cover and bring to a boil over medium heat.
• Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for about 2 hours.
• Turn off the heat and allow the meat to cool and any excess fat to raise to the top.
• Remove the excess fat, and place the cooled pork in a large bowl.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• In a separate fry pan, heat the lard and fry the pork pieces for about 6 minutes, just so they turn golden; allow them to cool.
• Using your hands, pull the meat apart.
• In a comal over medium heat, heat the tortillas.
• Once you heated all of the tortillas, make tacos with the shredded meat and add your own favorite Mexican salsa.

CARNITAS MICHOACAN

Steps:

• If the roast has skin or bone, leave them on. Rinse the roast and place in a large pot. Add enough water to barely cover.
• Chop the onion into large pieces (about 8) and add to the pot. Add the salt.
• Bring the water to a boil, then cover and simmer until the roast is tender, but not quite falling apart, about 2 hours.
• Remove the roast and drain, discarding the onion. Remove any skin or bones. Cut or separate into large cubes of about 4 inches.
• Put the lard in a heavy pot, melt and raise to a medium-high temperature. Test the temperature by dropping in a slice of bacon. It should boil immediately and take about 2 minutes to cook.
• Cook all of the bacon in the lard, remove it and set it aside for another use. (This step is to flavor the lard). If using bacon fat, add it at this time and skip cooking any bacon.
• Add the pork cubes a few at a time to the lard. Cook until they are starting to get crispy on the outside. I prefer to remove them when they are roughly halfway between totally crispy and not crispy at all, but that's a matter of personal preference.
• Drain the pork, and salt if desired.
• Use the carnitas for tacos, burritos or by itself with sides of rice and beans.
• The lard can be cooled and reused. Store it in the refrigerator and smell before reusing. If stored too long, even in the refrigerator, it will go rancid.