Crispy Carnitas

Submitted by LucyS-D

"I make no claim to authenticity, but these are very good. My husband is from Colombia, but there are many Latin American or Caribbean dishes that he is unfamiliar with. This is one of them. This gringa likes expanding our horizons. These are great as a snack or in tacos or nachos."

 

• Ready In: 2hrs 15mins
• Ingredients: 10
• Serves: 2-3

ingredients

• 1 lb boneless pork, preferable shoulder
• 1⁄3 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1⁄3 teaspoon chili powder
• 1⁄3 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1⁄3 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1⁄4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 1 tablespoon bacon grease or 1 tablespoon vegetable shortening
• 1⁄4 cup goya bitter orange marinade (Mojo Criollo)
• water

directions

1. Cut pork into 2 inch cubes. and place in a large bowl or large plastic bag.
2. Combine salt, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, oregano and cayenne; rub all over meat and set aside.
3. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
4. Heat grease in a large oven safe saucepan or Dutch oven.
5. Brown meat well on all sides, about 10 minutes.
6. Pour marinade into pan and stir with a wooden spoon to remove any brown bits from the bottom and coat the meat; add water to just about cover meat.
7. Bring pot to a boil, cover and place in oven.
8. Cook until tender, about 2 hours; remove from oven and set to broil.
9. Let cool slightly, then shred, with your hands, into bite size pieces; return to braising liquid.
10. Stir, then remove meat, in a single layer, to a shallow baking sheet.
11. Broil a couple of minutes on each side to crisp lightly and serve.

Reviews

[Hey Jude]

We absolutely loved the texture and taste of these carnitas. Tender on the inside and slightly crispy with a pleasant chewiness on the outside...delicious! I'd never seen a "1/3 tsp." measurement in a recipe before but since I had about a pound and a half of pork shoulder I just upped it to a 1/2 tsp. and used Mexican oregano which I think really contributed to the flavorful sauce. I browned the meat in batches, then removed from the pot and added about 1/3 cup of orange juice (couldn't get Mojo Criollo in my neck of the woods). The juice boiled up beautifully and thickened a bit and I added the meat back to the pot and proceeded with the recipe. Also, after shredding the meat and putting it in a single layer to the sheet pan, I dribbled some of the excellent sauce over it before broiling....just to make sure it didn't dry out and also to keep in some of the excellent flavor in that sauce. We ate this on flour tortillas with fresh salsa, a bit of guacamole and sour cream. Really loved them, they'll be made again in my house. Thanks so much for this recipe IC Kitty :)