Carnitas is a traditional Mexican dish that consists of slow-cooked pork shoulder or pork butt. The meat is braised in a mixture of spices and liquids until it is fall-apart tender and flavorful. Carnitas can be used in a variety of dishes, such as tacos, burritos, tostadas, and quesadillas. It can also be served as a main course with sides such as rice and beans. There are many different recipes for carnitas, but they all share a few common ingredients and techniques. The best recipe for carnitas is the one that you enjoy the most, so feel free to experiment with different ingredients and cooking methods until you find your perfect combination.
Let's cook with our recipes!
CARNITAS RECIPE
An easy and authentic Carnitas Recipe for making the best Mexican Tacos de Carnitas! Featuring slow-cooked, tender bites of pork broiled to crispy perfection!
Provided by Kelly Anthony
Categories Main Course
Time 2h25m
Number Of Ingredients 15
Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Pat the pork butt dry with a paper towel. Use a large, sharp knife to trim away excess fat. Cut the pork butt into 1" thick slices. Then, cut each slice into 1" cubes.
- Transfer the pork to a 4-5 quart enameled cast iron Dutch oven. Add all of the dry spices, and massage them onto the pork with your hands.
- Add the orange juice, lime juice, and a 1/2 cup water to the Dutch oven and stir to combine. Add the bay leaves, cover, and transfer to the oven.
- Cook for 2 hours. Remove from the oven, and turn on the broiler on high. Have ready a rimmed sheet pan lined with nonstick aluminum foil.
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer the pork to the prepared sheet pan. Using the tines of a fork, gently press down on the pork to ever-so-slightly break it apart.
- Place the pork under the broiler, and watch closely so that it does not burn. As soon as the pork begins to tinge with dark brown hues and crisps up on the edges, remove it from the oven. Depending on your broiler, this could take anywhere from 1- 4 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- Place the Dutch oven on the stovetop over medium-high heat and allow to come to a simmer. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of water. Add the cornstarch slurry to the cooking liquid and allow to simmer until thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat.
- Either add the pork back to the Dutch oven and stir or brush the sauce lightly over the carnitas. Serve with tortillas and your favorite taco toppings and enjoy!
Nutrition Facts : Calories 425 kcal, Carbohydrate 35 g, Protein 37 g, Fat 14 g, SaturatedFat 4 g, Cholesterol 102 mg, Sodium 1413 mg, Fiber 2 g, Sugar 4 g, ServingSize 1 serving
CARNITAS
Provided by Ree Drummond : Food Network
Categories main-dish
Time 6h15m
Yield 6 servings
Number Of Ingredients 11
Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.
- Put the poblano and onion slices in the bottom of a heavy pot. Mix the cayenne, cumin and a pinch of salt and pepper together in a bowl, then use the mixture to season the pork shoulder. Put the pork on top of the vegetables. Add the chicken broth, jalapeno slices, lime zest and juice and orange zest and juice. Cover and cook until tender, 4 to 5 hours.
- Turn the heat up to 450 degrees F, remove the lid and cook until the surface crisps slightly, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the pork to a board and let it rest until cool enough to handle, then remove the fat and shred the meat with 2 forks.
- Strain the vegetables from the sauce and set aside. Put the meat in serving dish, add the vegetables and pour over some of the sauce.
- Serve the shredded pork with warm corn tortillas, radishes, pickled jalapenos, pico de gallo, hot sauce, lime wedges and cilantro leaves.
PORK CARNITAS RECIPE
Pork Carnitas are pieces of pork meat slow-cooked in copper cauldrons on an open fire. Here I will show you two different and easy ways to make your carnitas at home. The result is a juicy and tender pieces of meat with golden and crispy outer skin carnitas. Perfect for carnitas tacos or in a torta.
Provided by Mely Martínez
Categories Pork
Time 55m
Number Of Ingredients 5
Steps:
- In a large Dutch oven or Cast Iron Pot place the pork, lard, water, garlic, and salt. Cook covered on a medium heat to a boil. Reduce to simmer for about 45 minutes until pork is almost tender.
- Uncover and turn the heat to medium high to reduce the liquid.The meat will start frying in its own fat and lard at this point. Carefully brown the meat at medium low heat stirring frequently until pork is evenly browned. About 15 to 20 minutes. At this point do not over cook or you will get very dry meat.
- Serve with hot tortillas and green salsa.
Nutrition Facts : ServingSize 4 oz, Calories 277 kcal, Protein 28 g, Fat 17 g, SaturatedFat 10 g, Cholesterol 90 mg, Sodium 1261 mg
MY CARNITAS
This is one of my Husbands favorite dishes. The ingredients are approximates as I usually do not measure and I usually use a 4-6 lb. roast bone-in or bone-less. It does freeze well, just sprinkle with some water and wrap in foil to reheat.
Provided by Debilyn_Ks
Categories Pork
Time 3h15m
Yield 4-6 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 8
Steps:
- Place meat in 3 qrt sauce pan, add water until meat is just covered.
- Smack garlic with a knife to release flavor add to pot along with onion, salt, oregano and cumin.
- Bring to boil, skim skum, reduce heat, cover simmer 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Drain meat, place in baking dish, sprinkle evenly with season salt and garlic powder.
- You have a few options here.
- You can either bake it whole, break into chunks (Dh prefers this) or shred thickly (I prefer) I usually do some chunks and shreds.
- Bake 30-45 minute You do not want it to get to crispy if you shredded it first. Watch carefully as you do not want it to dry out.
- While still warm shred with 2 forks if left whole.
- Serve with warm tortillas and pico de gallo.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 511.2, Fat 35.6, SaturatedFat 12.3, Cholesterol 149.7, Sodium 720.5, Carbohydrate 1.8, Fiber 0.3, Sugar 0.6, Protein 42.7
MEXICAN CARNITAS
Ever hear of carnitas? They're easy-to-make pork crisps that are very popular in Mexico. The secret to this recipe is the quick frying. Be sure the meat is well drained before it's placed in oil, though, or it will splatter and pop. -Patricia Collins, Imbler, Oregon
Provided by Taste of Home
Categories Dinner
Time 2h40m
Yield 12 servings.
Number Of Ingredients 10
Steps:
- Place meat in a medium-size roasting pan. Sprinkle with garlic and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper. Squeeze the juice from one orange and the lemon over the meat. Slice the remaining oranges and place over the meat. , Cover and bake at 350° for about 2 hours or until meat is tender. With a slotted spoon, remove meat and drain well on paper towels. Heat a small amount of oil in a skillet and fry meat in batches until browned and crispy. , Serve warm in tortillas with toppings of your choice. Freeze option: Freeze cooled pork mixture in freezer containers. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Fry meat in batches as directed until crispy and brown. Serve as directed.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 468 calories, Fat 26g fat (6g saturated fat), Cholesterol 67mg cholesterol, Sodium 501mg sodium, Carbohydrate 34g carbohydrate (4g sugars, Fiber 3g fiber), Protein 24g protein.
CARNITAS (AUTHENTIC)
Carnitas is a very famous Mexican dish. It does involve a lot of cooking time, so I make it when I have time. Serve with fresh homemade corn tortillas, guacamole, cheese and pico de gallo with cilantro.....yum.
Provided by babygirl65
Categories Stew
Time 5h15m
Yield 6-8 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 6
Steps:
- Cut pork meat into chunks and discard the big pieces of fat. (I leave some fat as it adds flavor).
- Add pork chunks, broth, garlic*, comino*, onion* and cilantro* to a dutch oven. If necessary, add water so that the meat is covered.
- Bring to boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 3 -4 hours or until meat is very soft and pulls apart easily. (Be careful not to shred meat, needs to stay in chunks).
- Remove the meat carefully from pot and place in a roasting pan. Discard onion and broth. Break the meat apart into smaller chunks (don't shred, it needs to stay in chunks).
- Bake in the oven at 450°F for about 20 minutes or until the meat is brown and crispy.
- Heat (or make homemade) corn tortillas, serve with desired toppings.
- (You may have to adjust garlic, comino, onion and cilantro to your liking, everyone's taste is different. You can add salt and pepper if you like too, I use Nature's seasonings, personal preference).
PORK CARNITAS
Many find carnitas a little dry or flavorless. These have a great, distinctive flavor and are requested by friends and family over and over. Serve with warm, fresh tortillas and salsa.
Provided by Nette
Categories World Cuisine Recipes Latin American Mexican
Time 3h45m
Yield 12
Number Of Ingredients 10
Steps:
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat. Season the pork shoulder with salt, then arrange the pork in the Dutch oven. Cook until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Add the onion, garlic, lime juice, chili powder, oregano, and cumin. Pour in the chicken broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and continue to simmer until pork is very tender, about 2 1/2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
- Transfer the pork shoulder to a large baking sheet, reserving the cooking liquid. Drizzle with a small amount of the reserved cooking liquid and lightly season with salt.
- Bake the pork in the preheated oven until browned, about 30 minutes. Drizzle more of the cooking liquid on the meat every 10 minutes, and use two forks to shred the meat as it browns.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 249.8 calories, Carbohydrate 2.3 g, Cholesterol 62.5 mg, Fat 19.1 g, Fiber 0.4 g, Protein 16.2 g, SaturatedFat 5.9 g, Sodium 2072.3 mg, Sugar 1.1 g
SIMPLE CARNITAS
This the easiest recipe for tasty carnitas. Once cooked, the meat can also be shredded and mixed with BBQ sauce for incredible pulled pork sandwiches, or pan fried in a little oil until crisp on the outside.
Provided by Ken from CA
Categories World Cuisine Recipes Latin American Mexican
Time 3h
Yield 10
Number Of Ingredients 8
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.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 187.9 calories, Carbohydrate 6.6 g, Cholesterol 62.5 mg, Fat 9.6 g, Fiber 1.3 g, Protein 18.4 g, SaturatedFat 3.4 g, Sodium 2331.5 mg, Sugar 3.8 g
Tips:
- For tender and flavorful carnitas, choose a pork shoulder or pork butt with good marbling.
- To enhance the flavor of the pork, marinate it in a mixture of spices, herbs, and citrus juices for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Slow-cook the pork in a crock pot or Dutch oven over low heat until it is fall-apart tender, about 8-10 hours.
- Once the pork is cooked, shred it with two forks or a meat shredder.
- For crispy carnitas, fry the shredded pork in a pan with a little oil until it is golden brown and crispy.
- Serve carnitas with your favorite toppings, such as salsa, guacamole, sour cream, and shredded cheese.
Conclusion:
Carnitas is a delicious and versatile Mexican dish that can be enjoyed in a variety of ways. Whether you prefer traditional carnitas tacos, carnitas burritos, or carnitas tortas, there is a recipe in this article to suit your taste. With a little planning and preparation, you can easily make carnitas at home and enjoy this flavorful dish with your family and friends.
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