Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300-F. Combine all ingredients in Dutch oven (liquid should just barely cover meat). Bring mixture to simmer and over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Cover pot, transfer to oven, and cook until meat is soft and falls apart when prodded with fork, about 1.5-2 hours. flipping pieces of meat once during cooking. Remove pot from oven and turn oven to broil. Using slotted spoon, transfer pork to bowl; discard orange halves, onion, and bay laves (do not skim fat from liquid – the fat will help it during the broil and is used instead of traditional lard). (Alternatively, skim the fat and later when you want to crisp up the shredded pieces, add 3 tablespoons oil to a pan and fry the pork until crispy). Being careful of the hot pot handles, place pot over high heat and simmer braising liquid, stirring often, until thick and syrupy, 8-12 minutes; you should have about 1 cup reduced liquid. Transfer pork to cutting board and pull each piece in half using 2 forks. Return pork to bowl, fold in reduced liquid and season with salt and pepper to taste. Spread pork in even layer on wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet. Broil pork until well browned (but not charred) and edges are slightly crisp on both sides, 10 to 16 minutes, flipping meat halfway through broiling. Serve with warm tortillas, cilantro, and lime wedges. Carnitas
Ingredients
Instructions
Milk Street Recipe
- 5-6POUNDS BONELESS PORK BUTT, NOT TRIMMED, CUT INTO 2-INCH CUBES
- 1LARGE YELLOW ONION, HALVED AND THINLY SLICED
- 10MEDIUM GARLIC CLOVES, SMASHED AND PEELED
- 2TABLESPOONS GROUND CUMIN
- 2TABLESPOONS GROUND CORIANDER
- 2TEASPOONS DRIED OREGANO
- ½TEASPOON DRIED THYME
- 1TEASPOON RED PEPPER FLAKES
- KOSHER SALT AND GROUND BLACK PEPPER
- 1CUP GRAPESEED OR OTHER NEUTRAL OIL
Don’t trim the fat from the pork shoulder. The pork should render its fat in the oven and so the meat cooks slowly in it and the juices. And after cooking, don’t discard the fat you skim off the cooking liquid—you’ll need some of it to crisp the shredded pork in a hot skillet.
Heat the oven to 325°F with a rack in the lower-middle position. In a large (at least 7-quart) Dutch oven, stir together the pork, onion, garlic, cumin, coriander, oregano, thyme, pepper flakes and 2 teaspoons salt. Stir in the oil and 1 cup water. Cover, transfer to the oven and cook for 3 hours.
Remove the pot from the oven. Stir the pork and return the pot, uncovered, to the oven. Cook until a skewer inserted into the meat meets no resistance, another 30 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the meat to a rimmed baking sheet in an even layer to cool.
Tilt the pot to pool the cooking liquid to one side, then use a wide spoon to skim off as much fat as possible; reserve the fat. Bring the defatted cooking liquid to a simmer over medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced to about ⅓ cup, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
When the meat is cool enough to handle, break the chunks into ¾- to 1–inch pieces, discarding any large pieces of fat. Add the pork back to the pot and stir until evenly moistened with the reduced cooking liquid.
In a nonstick 12-inch skillet over medium-high, heat 1 teaspoon of the reserved fat until barely smoking. Add the pork in an even layer and cook without stirring, pressing the meat against the skillet with a spatula, until the bottom begins to brown and the pork is heated through, 3 to 5 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
No Comments