Ingredients
Pork
- 2.5 kgpork shoulder, in large 8 cm chunks
- 500 gpork belly, in chunks
- 1 kglard
- 1 tbspsalt
- 1onion, halved
- 6 clovesgarlic
- 2bay leaves
- 1 tspdried oregano
To finish
- 1orange, halved
- 100 mlwhole milk
- 100 mlcola, or 2 tbsp piloncillo
To serve
- corn tortillas
- chopped onion and coriander
- salsa verde
- lime wedges
Directions
- Cut the pork into much larger chunks than seems sensible. They lose about a third of their volume, and small pieces cook down to dry threads.
- Melt the lard in a wide heavy pot, a copper cazo if you have one, over a medium heat.
- Add the pork with the salt, bay leaves, garlic, onion and oregano. The lard should very nearly cover the meat.
- Bring it to a bare bubble and hold it there. It must never fry hard at this stage: carnitas is a confit, and the surface of the fat should barely move for most of the cooking.
- Cook uncovered for 2 hours to 2 hours 30 minutes, until a fork goes into the meat with no resistance at all.
- Now add the orange halves, the milk and the cola or piloncillo.
- These are not folk quirks. The milk sugars and the orange sugars caramelise onto the surface of the meat at the end, and they are what give carnitas its lacquered brown edges.
- Raise the heat and let the meat properly fry for the last 10 to 15 minutes, turning it, until it is crisp and browned at the corners while still soft inside.
- Lift it out and drain it well, then chop it roughly on a board so that every serving has some crisp, some soft and some fat in it, which is what a good taquero gives you.
- Pile onto warm corn tortillas with chopped onion, coriander, salsa verde and a squeeze of lime.
Technique
- Low for hours, then high for minutes. Getting the second stage wrong is what produces the pale, greasy carnitas served almost everywhere outside Mexico.
- It is a Michoacán speciality, cooked in wide copper cazos hammered in the coppersmith town of Santa Clara del Cobre.
- Strain and keep the lard afterwards. It is now deeply flavoured and will make the next batch better.
Substitutions
- A slow oven at 150°C (300°F) with the meat half submerged in fat, then finished under the grill.
- Any neutral fat with a good proportion of pork fat added, if a kilo of lard is too much to commit to.
Variations
- Maciza, lean meat only, for those who want it plainer.
- With the ear, snout and skin included, which is how it is ordered by name at a Michoacán stand.
- Finished with a splash of condensed milk instead of fresh, which some cooks swear by.
History
Michoacan speciality of pork simmered slowly in lard in wide copper cazos, hammered in the coppersmith town of Santa Clara del Cobre.
Frequently asked questions
What is Carnitas?
Carnitas is a main from Mexico: michoacán pork confit, crisp and tender, for tacos. Michoacan speciality of pork simmered slowly in lard in wide copper cazos, hammered in the coppersmith town of Santa Clara del Cobre.
How long does Carnitas take to make?
Carnitas takes 20 min of preparation and 2 hr 45 min of cooking. The recipe makes 8 servings. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Carnitas?
Yes, within limits. A slow oven at 150°C (300°F) with the meat half submerged in fat, then finished under the grill. Any neutral fat with a good proportion of pork fat added, if a kilo of lard is too much to commit to.
What is the most important thing to get right in Carnitas?
Bring it to a bare bubble and hold it there. It must never fry hard at this stage: carnitas is a confit, and the surface of the fat should barely move for most of the cooking.
