Pork Carnitas
Pork shoulder braised with orange, garlic and cumin until meltingly tender, then crisped in its own fat for tacos and burritos.
- Servings
- 8
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 3 hr
- Total
- 3 hr 20 min
- Oven
- 325°F165°C
Ingredients
Equipment
- Dutch oven
- Rimmed baking sheet
Instructions
Heat the oven to 325°F. Toss the pork with the salt, cumin and oregano and put it in the Dutch oven.Heat the oven to 165°C. Toss the pork with the salt, cumin and oregano and put it in the Dutch oven.
Add the onion, garlic, orange juice and the squeezed orange halves, lime juice, bay leaves and water. The liquid won’t cover the pork; that’s right.
Cover and braise until the pork is fork-tender, 150–180 minutes.
Remove the orange halves, onion and bay leaves. Lift out the pork and shred it into large pieces. Skim the fat from the juices and save it.
Heat the broiler. Spread the pork on the baking sheet, drizzle with a few spoonfuls of the fat and some of the juices, and broil until the edges are browned and crisp, 5–8 minutes, turning once. Serve in tortillas.
Notes
- Crisping in batches in a hot skillet works too and gives even crunchier edges.
- Freeze shredded pork with some of its juices; crisp it after reheating.
My notes
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Nutrition estimate
- Calories
- 560
- Protein
- 39 g
- Carbs
- 5 g
- Fat
- 41 g
Per serving, estimated from USDA FoodData Central values for the listed amounts. Optional ingredients and to-taste seasoning are not included, and actual values vary by brand. How we estimate
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