Sunday I made carnitas and they were the best ever.
We get vac packages of trimmed butt pieces “pork for carnitas” at HEB. I get about a kilo usually and make sausage with it. However this time I took half and actually made carnitas!
500g Pork butt pieces sliced into inch strips.
1/4 large red onion sliced
4 garlic cloves chopped rough
Dried marjoram and mexican oregano about 1/2 tsp each
1 bay leaf crunbled
2 chile de arbol crumbled
Salt and fresh cracked pepper about a tsp each
Lay the pork evenly in roasting pan so that they form a single layer but take up most of the space in the pan. Sprinkle other ingredients evenly over the meat with onions and garlic going on last. Then move onto the liquid phase.
The liquid component:
1/2 cup port wine
1/2 cup milk or buttermilk
juice of one lemon
pinch of cinnamon
2 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
Mix this well and gently pour into the roasting pan taking care not to disturb the layer. Should be enough to just co ver the meat. If not use a bit of water. Place lemon halves on top cut side down. Cover pan with foil and braise in 225* oven for 2.25 hrs.
After braising test for tenderness, and set pan aside to cool for 25 minutes or so. Turn oven to 450* Then decant cooking liquid into a fat separator and let the oil rise to the top- about five minutes. Then pour the “juice” out from under the fat into a small sauce-pan. Pour the fat back over the meat in the roasting pan. Place the uncovered pan in hot oven and give a shake every ten minutes while on the stove the sauce pan reduces the braising liquid by 1/2 or a bit less till it is a bit syrupy like thin bbq sauce. This goes over the crispy meat by the second or third shake and should only take at most another 10 minutes to evaporate and coat the tender crispy pork.
This renders a crispy yet slightly gooey tender falling apart mix of caramelized carnitas. Served on fresh corn tortillas.
I tend to do stuff like this in the toaster oven out in the garage to keep the heat and cooking odors to a minimum.
