Roasted Carnitas 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!

MEXICAN CARNITAS

Steps:

• Place meat in a medium-size roasting pan. Sprinkle with garlic and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper. Squeeze the juice from one orange and the lemon over the meat. Slice the remaining oranges and place over the meat. , Cover and bake at 350° for about 2 hours or until meat is tender. With a slotted spoon, remove meat and drain well on paper towels. Heat a small amount of oil in a skillet and fry meat in batches until browned and crispy. , Serve warm in tortillas with toppings of your choice. Freeze option: Freeze cooled pork mixture in freezer containers. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Fry meat in batches as directed until crispy and brown. Serve as directed.

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.

CARNITAS

Steps:

• Sprinkle the pork with the seasoned salt.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Put a roasting grate at the bottom of a roasting pan and pour 1 cup of water into the bottom of the pan along with the liquid smoke. Arrange the pork on the grate and top with the onion and garlic. Cover the pan with a lid or aluminum foil.
• Bake for 2 hours, then remove the cover and bake until the pork is fork-tender, about 1 more hour.
• When cooked through, transfer the pork to a large bowl. Shred the meat and stir in the pan juices. Serve with warm tortillas or use when making tacos, tamales, etc.

MAMA'S CARNITAS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the first 9 ingredients. Cut roast in half; rub all sides with spice mixture. Place in a 5-qt. slow cooker coated with cooking spray. Combine the pineapple juice, soy sauce, stock, lime juice and peppers; pour around meat., Cover and cook on low for 9-11 hours or until meat is tender. , Remove meat; skim fat. When cool enough to handle, remove meat from bones; discard bones. Shred meat and return to slow cooker; heat through. , With a slotted spoon, spoon 1/2 cup filling off center on each tortilla. Top with 1 tablespoon creme fraiche and 2 tablespoons cheese. Fold sides and ends over filling and roll up.Freeze option: Place shredded pork in freezer containers; top with juices. Cool and freeze. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Heat through in a covered saucepan, stirring gently. Add a little broth if necessary.,

ROASTED CARNITAS

Steps:

• Trim the excess fat from the roast. Put the meat in a large casserole or Dutch oven with salsa verde, onion, stock, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, jalapenos, orange chunks, and oregano. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat, cover, and simmer until meat is very tender when pierced, about 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 400°F
• Remove meat from liquid in pot and put the meat into a roasting pan. Remove the orange chunks and discard. Roast meat for 15 to 20 minutes until parts are brown and crispy.
• While the meat is roasting, skim and discard fat from liquid in the casserole pan. Boil juices, stirring, until reduced to 2 1/2 cups, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Return the meat to the Dutch oven. Stir in chopped cilantro. Season with salt.