Juicy Flavorful Carnitas No Lard 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.

JUICY, FLAVORFUL CARNITAS (NO LARD)

Steps:

• Trim large chunks of fat from the pork shoulder, but leave some fat on for flavor.
• Cut pork shoulder into large chunks. I usually cut them to about half the size of my fist.
• In a large pot, add the oil to the bottom of the pan and brown the pork. Add in the ground herbs while browning the pork.
• Once pork is browned, add the first bottle of beer. Using a wooden or silicone spoon, scrape the bottom of the pot to loosen the delicious browned bits.
• Add the remaining ingredients to the pot(reserve half of the cilantro for later), cover and slow cook for 3-4 hours on low heat or until pork is tender and falling apart.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Remove pork from pot and place into a foil-lined, large baking pan. DO NOT discard the liquid stock.
• Turn the pot with the liquid stock to high heat to reduce the amount of liquid.
• Using two forks, shred the pork in the pan completely.
• Add in reserve cilantro.
• Pour enough of the liquid stock into the pan to halfway cover the pork. Return pot to heat. Place pork in oven.
• Check pork every 15 minutes or so, turning gently and adding liquid stock until all the stock has been used.
• Remove pork from oven when there is almost no liquid left in the pan.
• Serve and enjoy!

HOW TO RENDER LARD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 225 degrees F.
• Wash and chill fat.
• Cut into small pieces (1 inch).
• Place 1 cup of fat in roasting pan.
• Place in oven.
• When fat starts to melt, add more pieces until roaster is about half full.
• Render until all is melted and all moisture is cooked off and evaporated.
• Let cool slightly.
• Dip liquid from roaster and strain through triple layer of cheesecloth.
• (Note:After you have dipped out most of the lard and you have bits of crackling left, continue to cook these down on top of stove but watch it closely and don't let it get too hot.) Pour into 5 to 10 pound containers.
• Cover tightly.
• Store immediately in a freezer if possible.
• Quick cooling produces a fine grained lard.
• Store in freezer.
• You can increase storage time for this lard by adding a 3 pound can of vegetable shortening to every 50 pounds of lard.