Carnitas Simple But Amazing Food

CARNITAS MICHOACANAS

Steps:

• Cut the meat into large chunks, or leave it on the bone if the hunks will fit in the pot you are using. Salt them well.
• Fill your pot with the lard and heat it to about 200°F or thereabouts. You might need more than 3 quarts. Remember, you will be able to reuse this lard later, and almost all of it will stay in the pot, so fear not.
• When the lard hits temperature, add the pork. Now, there is an order to things. Different pieces cook at different rates. Longest cooking bits, in order, are: hocks, feet, tongue, heart, jowls, shoulder, ribs, hind leg, skin, belly, loins. Depending on what you are using, add the longest cooking bits in first. In general, wait 30 minutes before you put in the next item. Even loin will ultimately need 1 hour, though, so keep this in mind. Carnitas is a process.
• Once you put in the first pork item, add all the remaining ingredients and let things cook at about 195°F, more or less, until all the various piggy bits are soft and tender. Normally this takes about 4 hours, but could be more with wild hogs.
• When the meat is starting to fall off the bone, remove it from the lard and let it cool a bit. Carefully debone it. If you are using feet, this will be fiddly. Now, you have two choices. If you don't care about reusing the oil, heat it to 350°F and fry the pork until the exterior is crispy. If you do want to reuse the lard, remove all but about 1 cup and then sear the pork bits in that lard until crispy.
• Chop and shred the meat as you like and serve. It will keep a week in the fridge and freezes well.

SIMPLE CARNITAS

Steps:

• Place the pork shoulder, oranges, onion, garlic, kosher salt, cumin, black peppercorns, and bay leaves into a large Dutch oven. Add water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 10 minutes. Skim off any foam that rises to the top. Cover loosely, and simmer until the meat is tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Allow the pork to cool, covered, in the broth for 1 hour. Shred the meat with two forks.

CARNITAS, SIMPLE BUT AMAZING!

Steps:

• Cut the Pork crosswise into at least thirds. Combine and mix Pork, water, Orange Juice, Garlic, Salt and Orange Zest in a Deep very large skillet or a Dutch Oven. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and Simmer for at least 1 hr and 45 minutes or until the pork is so tender that it is falling apart. Stir and add more water as necessary to keep the pork partially submerged, although I've never had to do this.
• Transfer to a skillet if you used a Dutch Oven. You may need to drain off some of the liquid at this point. You will want to break up the Pork into small pieces and boil off the remaining liquid until the pork starts to brown and get crispy edges.
• Serve with Tomatillo Salsa (Recipe #97531 is fantastic!), Corn Tortillas and whatever other fixings you like.

CARNITAS

Steps:

• Toss the pork with 2 teaspoons of salt. Transfer to a 6- to 7-quart Dutch oven or pot along with the oil, oregano, red pepper, cloves, garlic, bay leaves, lime juice, orange peel and onion. Cover with 4 to 5 cups of water. Bring to a high simmer, then reduce the heat to low, partially cover the pot and simmer gently, checking occasionally to give it a stir, until the pork is tender and just beginning to fall apart, about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Fish out the bay leaves and orange peel. (The pork will not look super-attractive at this point but don't panic!)
• Remove the lid and increase the heat to medium-high. Simmer vigorously, stirring frequently, until all of the water has evaporated, leaving only the oil, and the pork has browned and begun to fry slightly at the bottom of the pot; continue to cook, scraping up the bottom of the pot frequently to release the fried bits, 30 to 40 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the pork from any remaining oil in the pot.
• Serve with tortillas and suggested toppings to make tacos.