Crispy Carnitas Recipes

PORK CARNITAS (MEXICAN SLOW COOKER PULLED PORK)

Steps:

• Rinse and pat dry pork with a paper towel.
• In the bowl of a 6-quart slow cooker, add pork, salt, pepper, oregano, cumin, onion, garlic, lime juice, orange juice, coke, and bay leaves.
• Cover and cook on low heat setting for 8-10 hours, or high heat for 5-6 hours (until the meat falls apart).
• Remove pork and shred with two forks (DO NOT DISCARD THE LIQUID!)

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.

CRISPY PORK CARNITAS

Steps:

• Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat to 300 degrees.
• Combine all ingredients in a large dutch oven, including the spent orange halves and juice.
• Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, uncovered. Once it simmers, cover pot and transfer it to the oven.
• Cook until the meat falls apart when prodded with a fork, about 2 hours.
• Remove the pot from the oven and use a slotted spoon to remove the meat from the pan and place it on a large foil-lined jelly roll pan.
• Remove and discard everything from the pot except the cooking liquid.
• Place pot over medium-high hear on the stove and boil until thick and syrupy, about 20-25 minutes. You should have about 1 cup of liquid remaining when it is finished.
• While the liquid is reducing, break each cube of pork into three pieces. Once the liquid has become syrup, gently fold the pieces of pork into the pot, trying not to break up the pork any further.
• Spread the pork back onto the foil-lined pan and evenly spread so there is a single layer. Place the pan of meat on an upper middle rack of the oven and broil on high until the top of the meat is well browned and the edges are slightly crisp, about 7-8 minutes. Using a wide spatula, flip the pieces of meat the broil the other side the same way.
• Serve in a tortilla will your favorite toppings.