Here are my pictures of how I typically make my carnitas. These are not the slow cooker carnitas you see a lot online, these are cooked in lard and other stuff and then seared off to finish. It’s a bit of work but it’s totally worth it. I didn’t make the tortillas this time around, but do fairly often so I can post that recipe too if anyone is interested.
A note about the lard—use a deep pot, but don’t worry about adding the other elements (orange, condensed milk, coke, water) to the lard as it will foam but not cause a grease fire. DO NOT USE OIL, only use lard, or you will set your kitchen on fire. Another note is you might see there is sweet stuff added here but don’t worry, the dish does not come out tasting sweet. It’s really well balanced.
Around 5 pounds of pork shoulder, cut into large steaks, trimmed as much of excess fat as possible.
2 pounds of lard (yes, I said 2 pounds)
1 large white onion
1 large orange
4 bay leaves
8 cloves garlic
8 ounces Coke (real sugar Coke, and if you can’t find that, use real sugar root beer, I’ve used both and they’re both great)
6 ounces sweetened condensed milk, or about half a standard can
a splash of cider vinegar
salt
pepper
oregano
1 tsp cayenne pepper
about 6 cups of water (although it doesn’t have to be very precise)
I will also take the coriander/cilantro stems and throw them in because I find they add flavor.
Heat the lard in a large pot to 375F (the temp of the lard will drop when you add the pork). Fry your pork until it starts to turn golden (this will take maybe 12-15 minutes). Add the herbs and seasoning and turn the heat to low. Squeeze your two orange halves and drop them in the pot. Add the condensed milk. Add the Coke. All of this will foam up as you can see in my photos so you will want to use a deep pot, emphasis on deep. I’ve done it in a stock pot and a Dutch oven, both work but you have to take volume into account. Bring it all back to a simmer, then add the water. Bring it back to a very low simmer, keep the heat on that level, and let it cook for about 2.5 hours. At this point I turn the heat off and just let it sit in the pot for about 45 minutes. It’s then ready to either be chopped and seared off in a pan, or you can store it overnight in some of the fat and sear it the next day, which is what I did in this case. When heating it, I use a cast iron skillet or griddle heated on medium-high, and cook it just until it develops some nice color/crust on it. You will want to taste it and adjust salt prior to serving to your taste.
The tacos were made with corn tortillas, cilantro, pickled red onion, and some of them had a chipotle salsa but not all because it was pretty spicy and not to everyone’s tastes. The salsa is basically just a blend of some chipotles in adobo, some fresh tomato, lime, salt, and a little crema.
Ignis_Vespa
They look great, and you even added a copy to them
Another thing I found curious is that you had to double specify the amount of lard as if that wasn’t the regular amount. It still baffles me that people think they can make oven pulled pork, call it carnitas and get away with it
rileydogdad1
I made Carnitas this weekend. I cook them on the stove in a water, juice, spice sauce. I have always wanted to try the lard, but am afraid they will be incredibly greasy.
3 Comments
Here are my pictures of how I typically make my carnitas. These are not the slow cooker carnitas you see a lot online, these are cooked in lard and other stuff and then seared off to finish. It’s a bit of work but it’s totally worth it. I didn’t make the tortillas this time around, but do fairly often so I can post that recipe too if anyone is interested.
https://imgur.com/a/FxJI9yl
**For the carnitas**
A note about the lard—use a deep pot, but don’t worry about adding the other elements (orange, condensed milk, coke, water) to the lard as it will foam but not cause a grease fire. DO NOT USE OIL, only use lard, or you will set your kitchen on fire. Another note is you might see there is sweet stuff added here but don’t worry, the dish does not come out tasting sweet. It’s really well balanced.
Around 5 pounds of pork shoulder, cut into large steaks, trimmed as much of excess fat as possible.
2 pounds of lard (yes, I said 2 pounds)
1 large white onion
1 large orange
4 bay leaves
8 cloves garlic
8 ounces Coke (real sugar Coke, and if you can’t find that, use real sugar root beer, I’ve used both and they’re both great)
6 ounces sweetened condensed milk, or about half a standard can
a splash of cider vinegar
salt
pepper
oregano
1 tsp cayenne pepper
about 6 cups of water (although it doesn’t have to be very precise)
I will also take the coriander/cilantro stems and throw them in because I find they add flavor.
Heat the lard in a large pot to 375F (the temp of the lard will drop when you add the pork). Fry your pork until it starts to turn golden (this will take maybe 12-15 minutes). Add the herbs and seasoning and turn the heat to low. Squeeze your two orange halves and drop them in the pot. Add the condensed milk. Add the Coke. All of this will foam up as you can see in my photos so you will want to use a deep pot, emphasis on deep. I’ve done it in a stock pot and a Dutch oven, both work but you have to take volume into account. Bring it all back to a simmer, then add the water. Bring it back to a very low simmer, keep the heat on that level, and let it cook for about 2.5 hours. At this point I turn the heat off and just let it sit in the pot for about 45 minutes. It’s then ready to either be chopped and seared off in a pan, or you can store it overnight in some of the fat and sear it the next day, which is what I did in this case. When heating it, I use a cast iron skillet or griddle heated on medium-high, and cook it just until it develops some nice color/crust on it. You will want to taste it and adjust salt prior to serving to your taste.
The tacos were made with corn tortillas, cilantro, pickled red onion, and some of them had a chipotle salsa but not all because it was pretty spicy and not to everyone’s tastes. The salsa is basically just a blend of some chipotles in adobo, some fresh tomato, lime, salt, and a little crema.
They look great, and you even added a copy to them
Another thing I found curious is that you had to double specify the amount of lard as if that wasn’t the regular amount. It still baffles me that people think they can make oven pulled pork, call it carnitas and get away with it
I made Carnitas this weekend. I cook them on the stove in a water, juice, spice sauce. I have always wanted to try the lard, but am afraid they will be incredibly greasy.
Are they greasy?