Carnitas de Puerco – Pork Carnitas

Carnitas de Puerco (or “pork carnitas”) are little chunks of pork from the fattier parts of a pig, like the shoulder, slowly fried until they’re meltingly tender on the inside and crispy on the outside.

The challenge with making proper carnitas at home is that the traditional cooking method is to slowly fry them at a very low temperature (confit) in a large copper pot full of pork lard over a wood fire. This process can take up to four hours, depending on the size of the pieces of meat.

Once all of the connective tissue and collagen in the pork has broken down, the heat is turned up, and the pork is fried until it’s crispy on the outside.

Cooking over a giant vat of bubbling lard is impractical at home.

We’ve replaced the giant copper pot of lard with a regular-sized cast iron dutch oven and a pound, or more, of lard (if you’re on a diet, this ain’t for you).

Try this recipe with our roasted tomatillo salsa verde or salsa de chile arbol. The high acid content of these two salsas balances out the fattiness of the carnitas.

You’ll brown the meat by initially fast-frying in the lard, then add the remaining ingredients and braise them for a couple hours.

Unlike regular carnitas, you’ll brown these before you braise them. This will allow your carnitas to develop the crispy outside crust before cooking them the rest of the way.

We are cooking in this order because we add Coca-Cola, condensed milk, and oranges which will burn if we attempt to cook them at the end.

When you first add the Coke and condensed milk, it’ll bubble and foam.

Don’t worry, it’ll all work out by the time it’s done cooking. Just keep going.

Nothing will measure up to what you would find on the streets in Mexico, but this is about as close as you can get in your home kitchen.

Carnitas de Puerco – Pork Carnitas

Carnitas de puerco are chunks of pork that are slowly fried until they are meltingly tender on the inside and crispy on the outside.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs 35 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mexican

Servings 5 people

Equipment

• Enameled dutch oven

Ingredients

  

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• 2 1/2 lbs. pork shoulder - Lightly trimmed, then cut into 3 inch cubes
• 1 tbsp. kosher salt
• 1-2 lbs. lard - Enough to go at least halfway up the pork chunks when everything is in the pot.
• 1 large orange - Cut into large chunks. Leave the rind on.
• 1/2 large white onion - Peeled and cut into large chunks.
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup Coca-Cola - Mexican Coke is better, but if you can't find it, regular will suffice.
• 5 large garlic cloves - peeled and smashed
• 4 bay leaves

Instructions

 

• The night before before cooking (or, at least a few hours prior), evenly sprinkle the tablespoon of kosher salt over the pork, place in a bowl, cover, and put in the refrigerator. Remove from refrigerator about an hour before cooking the next day.
• In a large Dutch oven, preheat the lard over medium-high heat until it hits 325-350 degrees. (Don't heat it over 375 degrees, as that's the smoke point of fresh lard.)
• Add the pork chunks, leaving as much space as possible between each piece. Let the pork fry, turning occasionally, until golden brown on all sides. About 10-15 minutes.
• Reduce the heat until the oil is just barely bubbling around the pork. Add the balance of your ingredients, stir, cover, and cook for an additional 2 hours, being careful to not let it come to a full boil (maintain a bare simmer).
• Remove the pork pieces to a paper-towel-lined plate and let cool for about 10 minutes. Break the them apart with a fork immediately before serving so they don't dry out.   

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