Simpy's Carnitas

This is a wonderful recipe. I did go by the recipe, but increased the amount of garlic and doubled the cumin spice. I also added about 2-3 tbs of Recaito, 2-3 tsp of Adobe, and 1-2 tsp of sea salt at the end. Great recipe, will be using again for sure!

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I grew up in South Texas near the Mexican border and can say that this is exactly how Carnitas should taste. The flavor is subtle so that it doesn't overpower the other ingredients piled on at the dinner table: salsa verde, lime, guacamole, fresh cilantro, etc. But of course, "home food" never tastes authentic to the next person because each Mom uses what ever she has on hand and makes it taste just right. That is the beauty of traditional foods.

This recipe is so versatile and cost effective because we have Carnitas and/or Carnitas nachos with a creamy green salsa for the first few days, and then I simmer the remaining meat with rich spices, chiles, etc. to make pork tamales. (Allow the floating grease to remain with the pork when the carnitas are finished cooking. Chill. After it has chilled overnight, scrape the soft lard off the top and mix it with the masa harina to make wonderfully-flavored tamales.)

My family requests this recipe every time pork goes on sale. In fact, I buy extra and freeze one for future carnitas.

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I followed other reviewers advice and made a few adjustments: increased the cumin to 2T, added 6 cloves roughly chopped garlic, added 1t oregano, added 1T adobo seasoning. After cooking till soft, I shredded meat into roaster. Removed bay leaves from broth and reduced broth(boiling on high heat) until it was about 1, 1/2 cups, added reduced broth to meat and let it sit for awhile. When I was ready to serve I put it under the broiler for about 10 min. When I tasted the meat as I was shedding it it did taste a little bland, but after soaking it in the concentrated broth it was wonderful, and even better the next day. Served with taco fixens in recipe, but they taste phenomenal with caramelized red onions and just a little cheese

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This is a fantastic place to start, but I confess it is a bit lacking on flavor if made exactly as written. I quarter 2 onions, add 6 cloves of minced garlic (we're a garlic family), 2 cups of cilantro and a bit of cayenne. I boil the meat until it's falling apart, shred it and return it to the broth instead of baking at the end. I realize it might not be authentic the way I do it, but it makes killer tacos and out of this world subs (split a crusty bread, ladle in the meat and juices, top with cheese and melt...mmm). My very picky husband and pickier daughter request this once a week.

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Follow the recipe to the "T" and this had NO FLAVOR. I live in So-Cal, so maybe I'm just used to the authentic stuff?

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This was only okay. I am Mexican, live in SD about 5 minutes away from the border, and grew up eating carnitas, so maybe I am just spoiled and so I am picky!

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Very good recipe for carnitas! The meat was moist and flavorful and the whole family loved it. Plus, it was so easy to prepare. Thanks for a great recipe!

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There's no Chipotle near me, so I wanted to make my own carnitas burrito bowls. We ate this with cilantro lime rice, pinto beans, fresh salsa and guacamole, and sour cream. As good...if not better...than Chipotle! Thanks!

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I have to say I was skeptical, but decided to give this a try due to all the great reviews. Plus, I was short on time and this was the most simple carnitas recipe I could find. As promised, this recipe was delicious! Especially considering that I left out the cilantro (my husband is one of those "cilantro tastes like soap" people) and I forgot to add the bay leaves until the last half hour of simmering. Even more amazing is this - I spent $5.42 on pork shoulder, cooked in chicken broth, cumin, and onion for about 2 1/2 hours, served in tortillas with monterey jack, one chopped tomato and one chopped avocado, and managed to feed three adults, with enough leftovers to throw into eggs the next morning. It doesn't get any better!

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I made this for the first time tonight and......WOW. This was an awesome dish! My g/f was skeptical because there was no oil involved, but she could not stop eating these! We both loved them so much, we ate them until our stomach hurt! We just couldn't put them down. I also prepared some fresh salsa and guacamole and made tacos & quesadillas with the meat. This is definitely a keeper. Thanks for sharing!

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Excellent. Will definitely make again.

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Fabulous! Very good. These carnitas really hit that craving for me. I did need to add quite a bit more fluid to cover the meat, but otherwise it was perfect. I think I cut my pork into smaller chunks because it was done in 2 hours. I used the leftover juice to make rice. Mmmmmm. I am eating the leftovers today on rolls just like pulled pork sandwiches. Will make often! Thanks! :)

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These were wonderful! The flavor of the pork is great. The hardest part of the recipe is trimming the fat off the pork and cubing it. I baked mine for about 12 minutes so it didn't dry out too much. Made the house smell so good. Thank you for posting!

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Fabulous! I'll never go out for carnitas again. The first time I tried it, I used pork country style ribs (boneless) cut into cubes, and it worked just fine. I used the leftover broth to cook some brown rice, and it was delicious too.

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GREAT!! I used the left over stock to season pinto beans.

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Thank you chef!I made this the other night,I love this recipe,now I can make my own carnitas,ha ha :-)

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Awesome. I've made it twice to great applause. My changes: I use twice the cumin, 4-5 whole cloves of garlic, one whole bunch of cilantro and 1 tblsp of Adobo to the simmering liquid. After simmering, I put the whole pot in the fridge until the next day; then I re-warm, drain, shred, and bake as per the recipe. Reserve some of the strained juice to add to the shredded meat in case it's a little dry after the baking and also to add to the leftovers when putting them away. Fantastic with just fresh cilantro, squeezed lime juice over pan-warmed corn tortillas.

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Absolute winner!!! this is the only way eat eat tacos now and it has become a regular at our house!!!!

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Delicioso! We cut it in half and it was perfect for us and for some leftovers. Thanks!

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