A few weeks ago, I posted a recipe where I mentioned carnitas and we got a bunch of requests for the recipe. And I totally get it because I’ve done a fair amount of hunting for the perfect carnitas recipes throughout the years. I’m not sure what’s so hard about getting a great recipe for carnitas, but everything I tried came out mushy or flavorless or one-note or too spicy or too fatty and I was frustrated.
In a last-ditch attempt, I checked my cooking bible, Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook, to see if they had a carnitas recipe. And they did, but honestly, after all my unfortunate carnitas experiences, I was nervous. See, the ingredients they used really weren’t all that different than the other recipes I’d tried.
As I picked a piece of flavorful, crispy meat off the pan, I felt all sorts of guilt for my crisis of faith–they had not failed me.
As I’ve made it again and again, I’ve tweaked a few things here and there (I added a little red wine vinegar to brighten it up a little and a few cloves of garlic because I’m Kate and that’s what I do) and it’s become one of our family’s favorite meals.
You’ll need 3 1/2-4 pounds of boneless pork butt roast (sometimes called boneless pork shoulder or boneless picnic roast)… 1 white or yellow onion, peeled and halved, 4-6 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled, lime juice, red wine vinegar, dry oregano, ground cumin, 2 bay leaves, salt and pepper, and an orange.Place the oven rack in the lower middle position and preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Now, pork shoulder can be pretty fatty, and that fat’s going to come into play later. But I still like to trim the pork of excess fat (mostly the big globs on the outside) before I cut it into 2″ chunks. Place the pork in a heavy lidded pot like a Dutch oven. Add enough water to cover the pork and then add onion, garlic, lime juice, red wine vinegar, oregano, cumin, bay leaves, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, and the juice from the orange. After squeezing the juice from the orange, toss the rinds into the pork mixture and stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cover the pot and transfer to the oven. Cook for about 2 hours or until the pork falls apart when poked with a fork. When the pork is fork-tender, remove the pot from the oven. Remove the orange rinds, onion, and bay leaves. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pork from the liquid to the foil-lined baking sheet. It’s pretty much not appetizing at ALL. Have no fear. Return the pot to the stovetop and bring the liquid to a boil over high heat. Boil for 8-15 minutes (longer or shorter if necessary) until the liquid is thickened and glaze-y and, when stirred, the spoon leaves a trail in the liquid (you should have about 1 cup of liquid).
Use your fingers to pull apart the pork pieces, discarding any particularly fatty pieces (or removing the fat from them). Drizzle with the cooking liquid. Turn your oven broiler on high and place the pork in the oven for 5-8 minutes or until the pork starts to brown and the edges become crispy. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and use a spatula to flip the pork. Return to the oven for another 5-8 minutes, broiling until the pork is browned and crispy (but not charred, unless that’s your thing). Mine got a little blacker than I planned on, but it was still delicious. Serve in warmed tortillas with desired toppings. Makes about 12 servings. Â
Carnitas (Mexican Pulled Pork)
Recipe adapted by Our Best Bites from Cooks Illustrated Cookbook
Ingredients:
3 1/2-4 pounds boneless pork butt roast (sometimes called boneless pork shoulder or boneless picnic roast)
2+ cups water (enough to cover the pork in the pot)
1 white or yellow onion, peeled and halved
4-6 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
2 tablespoons lime juice (about 1 lime)
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dry oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 bay leaves salt and pepper
1 orange
For serving: Small corn or flour tortillas, grated cheese (I like cotija cheese), pico de gallo, mango pico de gallo, mint-pineapple pico de gallo, guacamole, sliced avocado, sliced white onion, sprigs of cilantro, fresh lime wedges, etc.
Instructions: Place the oven rack in the lower middle position and preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
Trim the pork of excess fat and cut into 2″ chunks. Place the pork in a heavy lidded pot like a Dutch oven. Add enough water to cover the pork and then add onion, garlic, lime juice, red wine vinegar, oregano, cumin, bay leaves, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, and the juice from the orange. After squeezing the juice from the orange, toss the rinds into the pork mixture and stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
Cover the pot and transfer to the oven. Cook for about 2 hours or until the pork falls apart when poked with a fork. When the pork is fork-tender, remove the pot from the oven.
Remove the orange rinds, onion, and bay leaves. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pork from the liquid to the foil-lined baking sheet. Set aside.
Return the pot to the stovetop and bring the liquid to a boil over high heat. Boil for 8-15 minutes (longer or shorter if necessary) until the liquid is thickened and glaze-y and, when stirred, the spoon leaves a trail in the liquid (you should have about 1 cup of liquid).
Use your fingers to pull apart the pork pieces, discarding any particularly fatty pieces (or removing the fat from them). Drizzle with the cooking liquid. Turn your oven broiler on high and place the pork in the oven for 5-8 minutes or until the pork starts to brown and the edges become crispy. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and use a spatula to flip the pork. Return to the oven for another 5-8 minutes, broiling until the pork is browned and crispy (but not charred, unless that’s your thing). Serve in warmed tortillas with desired toppings. Makes about 12 servings.
i havent really tried this recipe, and i think this is tasty. oh, i’ll make one!
Thank you, Kate I have been using your recipe for carnitas. My six year old daughter and I have made this about once a month since dec. 13. Kathleen has been making dishes on her own (with help cutting and the stove) using her own recipes. Some good some not so good, but she’s off and running. Thank you again, ACD
THANK YOU!
By not ruining it topping it with cheese.
THANK YOU
I tried this recipe tonight and followed it exact and my pork came out very dry. Almost inedible. I have tried other carnitas recipes and haven’t had a this problem. I love the orange in this, and would like I try it again. Any suggestions?
Thank you
A.
Are you sure you used pork shoulder? It’s so fatty that it’s almost impossible for it to come out dry. That’s my first thought–I’ll keep pondering. 🙂
Oh my goodness, this was SO stinkin’ good! I’ve never had carnitas, but I don’t care. This was one of the best things I’ve eaten in a long time. I went big and made pico, guac, black beans, cilantro-lime vinagrette (all from your cookbook), and spanish rice. Oh man, I was dying of deliciousness! I had our neighbor come over and try it–he is a major food snob, particularly a Mexican food snob, and he couldn’t get enough! My husband loved it, too! The only disappointment was that I had to kind of rush to eat it because I was trying to get out the door for a play. I thought I had planned better, but it took a bit to boil the liquid down. I knew better than to rush that step, though. So I didn’t have time to broil the meat as long as I should have, but it was still so completely awesome! Thanks for sharing! My mind has been on this all day and after eating it I can’t wait for leftovers tomorrow!
We looove this pork! The crispy outside is just the BEST. We have frozen leftovers and reheated them in the oven and it’s great the second time around, too. Thanks for the recipe!
So i made these tonight and everyone loved them! thanks so much! 🙂 http://www.handmadeintheheartland.com/
This recipe for carnitas is fabulous! I’m from Southern California and currently live in Minnesota and crave authentic Mexican food. I’ve tried a number of recipes for carnitas (authentic ones) and this is, hands down, the best. I was worried that the meat was initially “boiled” but was drawn by the the crisping in the oven vs. starting by frying in lard (tasty but fattening). Wow!! These delivered. I used a 6 lb. bone-in Boston pork butt but used the same quantity of everything according to directions otherwise. The “sauce” did not cook down all the way (too much water for the larger cut of meat?) so I added a small amount of Wondra and also added three chiles in adobo sauce that I had in the fridge, just to try to thicken. These crisped up wonderfully in the oven! Soooo good! For condiments, I used queso fresco, red onion, cilantro, and Chuck and Don’s salsa from Sam’s Club with a squeeze of lime on corn tortillas that were warmed/slightly crisped in a cast iron skillet after half was dunked in water. I’m in heaven. Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
These were awesome. Squeezed some fresh lime juice over the finished pork, on the warm soft shell, with cilantro sprigs, white onion, avocado and a bit of sour creme. My partner had 4! So good, and will make them again for sure.
Ever since I tried Carnitas at my local mexican restaurant, I have been hooked. I crave them. Often! I never wanted to make them myself because I imagined it would have to be a complicated, several day long process to get such wonderful flavor and texture from pork. I finally decided to try it this weekend and began searching the internet for recipes…why did I not come here first?? I know better, just a momentary lapse I am sure. Your recipe was about the 4th hit down on Google and when I saw it, I smacked my own forehead! I’m not usually recipe adventurous on the first attempt, but I needed something that I could set and forget this weekend so I combined this recipe with one of my favorites of yours (kalua pork) and did it in the crockpot and then broiled the meat after it was done. I used half the liquid since it was in the crockpot and I added in the liquid smoke from the Kalua Pork recipe (couldn’t help myself bc that recipe ROCKS!). I still had to boil the crockpot liquid for about 15min, but it turned out AMAZING!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!! This is going to make it into the regular rotation along side many of your other yummy recipes!
Great way to Pork Up your weekly menu…Try using beer for the liquid….makes them ohhh so tender!!!
Oh, I’ve tried Carnitas in México and obviously this is not the traditional way to do it, right? I understood that they were fried into the lard.. My mom used to do it by first boiling the pork with some lemon and sal, then she fried this pork and theen she add the sauce that is made with Serrano (A type of chilli), the kind of carnitas that sell into the little tends are moreless the same, but I found this recipe delicious but they’re not carnitas.
Just the opinnion from a Mexican girl
I made this yesterday and the reviews were “delicious!” – so much better than the way I made it previously. My pork shoulder was a bit bigger so I had to use more water to cover, and then it took longer to cook it down into the glazing sauce, so I got tripped up by not waiting long enough and started to use it too watery. But figured out to just wait and let it cook off longer and it was so worth it – so my advice on cooking down the glaze part is to be patient and it will pay off!
Thanks so much for your detailed directions!
Kate, you’re a hero in my family thanks to this recipe. I am a Mexican food snob and carnitas is my favorite meal of all. This recipe produces such an authentic and outrageously good result – you would be hard pressed to find its equal in a fancy Mexican restaurant in New York or San Francisco, even Tucson. Thank you!
I do a lot of pulled pork/bbq and carnitas is my favorite Mexican meal. Followed this recipe with 6 lbs of bone-in country ribs instead of boneless butt chunks except threw more sliced onion and jalapeno in the liquid I boiled down. I had tried a couple recipes where pork was “boiled” in lard and swore off trying again till I ran across this. Best recipe I have tried in a LONG time. Thank you very much.
Oh, I’m so glad you enjoyed them! Thanks so much for getting back to us! 🙂
well i must say,i cooked my pull pork on my new Big Boss infrared fryer,..my pork came out soooo good,.. i cooked it and fryed it at the same time,..Big Boss cooker is out of this world,try it people you’ll like it,…
i just made this and found it to have an extremely bitter and unpleasant aftertaste due to the orange rind. anyone else have this problem?
What if your oven doesn’t have a broiler? Can you just bake it on high heat?
Can this be made the day before and transferred into a crockpot to keep warm? How would you go about this?
Yep, definitely! Pull it out of the fridge and transfer it to a crockpot (or place it in the crockpot after shredding/broiling and then refrigerate it) and cook on low for a few hours until reheated. Not totally sure how long it would take to get up to serving temperature, but my guess would be in the 3-4 hour range on low.
Kate – This doesn’t really relate to your yummy carnitas, but I have your yummy cookbook and I want to take the Mexican-Style Sweet Shredded Pork to Lake Powell for a family dinner. I have a question for you.
Would you cook it at home and freeze it then thaw it in a slow cooker down there or sear the meat at home and add all the other ingredients and freeze and THEN thaw and cook down there in a crock pot?
Does that make sense?
If it will be traveling out of the freezer at all, I would make it completely, and then just thaw it there. Enjoy!
I love taco truck carnitas and have not quite been able to get the taste right in the meat. When I saw this recipe I was very hopeful but very disappointed. I don’t know what the weird taste was (I suspect the orange) but the meat was sweet…yuk! Try this instead…fix the pork by browning it with garlic salt and pepper, add the water, garlic cloves, 2 Serrano peppers and onion and put in the oven for 2-3 hours until fork tender, taking the lid off in the last 20 min in oven. Drain remaining juice, shred and pan fry in a hot skillet with oil until some pieces are brown. Serve with onion, cilantro, & lime. Much better!
How would you adjust this recipe for the crockpot???
I cooked mine in a crockpot for 6-8 hours on high, using the ingredients listed above. Then I transferred the liquid to a pot and cooked it down on the stove. It turned out great!
I just made this, and it was so amazingly awesome. My husband said, “well you can’t make steak anymore.” Because now he will only want pork with his tacos! And for the first time ever, my kids (8 and 10) finally ate the meat INSIDE the tortillas as opposed to eating each component of the meal separately. And they loved it. They kept saying, this is the best ever, and can I have another one? Thank you!!
Our family just ate this for our Cinco de Mayo dinner. It was the best Mexican food we’ve ever made ourselves at home. Thank you!
I love carnitas. I make them in the crock pot. I put the whole pork butt in with a jar of whatever kind of salsa and chicken broth plus salt, pepper, oregano, chili powder and cumin. Cook till tender then shred and put in the oven like your recipe.
That is so delicious!We had it and it was raved about!
Oh my! This was the best carnitas I have ever made! I have tried many different recipes, but this one is definitely a keeper. Instead of using water, I used gluten free beer and chicken broth. I will have to say reducing the cooking liquid and drizzling that over the meat before browning was the ticket. So much flavor – so delicious! Keeping this one for sure! Thank you so much!
SO good! SO easy! SO happy I found/tried this recipe! Pairs perfectly with the Cafe Rio copycat Cilantro-Lime ranch dressing over a salad! Thank you 🙂
If I used a pork loin, would this come out too dry?
I would definitely avoid pork loin, just like you said, it has a tendency to be dry.
Just bought half a pig from a neighbor… was looking for a carnitas recipe because when I’ve tried it before it was just too greasy. And really, what else do you do with a shoulder roast? Perfect timing!!!! Thanks!!!!!
About how long in the Crockpot?