Authentic Tex-Mex Carnitas
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Can we talk for a minute?
I mean, yes. I’ve said before that Mexican food is my life, but I want to, like, pound that into your head with a hammer or something.
Sad little fact: I live in the middle of the United States, surrounded by corn fields and soy beans. The majority of Mexican food in my part of the country? Not fabulous.
I’ve never been to Mexico or Texas (but I’ll be hitting up Austin and eating my way through the city in June!), but I took one bite of these and I was instantly speaking Spanish and wearing cowboy boots and doing all of those other Tex-Mex-y things that one does when they have an out of body experience eating crispy, flavorful pork.
You guys. I have never been able to pinpoint my one favorite food. I mean, there are so many options. So many different flavors. Who am I to say that my favorite food is a strawberry when there are all of these peanut butter cookies in the world? How can you choose one over the other?
Let me just clarify: These carnitas are my absolute favorite food in the entire world. I’ve made them twice in the past 5 days. I plan on making them again next week. And the week after that too. In fact, I should probably move to a pig farm now, because I never want to be without pork again. In fact, these Carnitas inspired me to add a new category to the blog. “Buns In My Oven Favorites.” I should technically have nothing but these carnitas in that category, but I went ahead and added anything from this blog that I truly love and make again and again in my home.
The flavor is obviously my favorite part of this meal, but you guys. The ease! And the magical-ness of it all! It’s just so much fun to make these!
You basically simmer chunks of meat for a couple of hours without stirring, then you crank the heat a bit, stir to your hearts content (shred the meat or leave it in chunks, your choice! I prefer shredded, so I do a lot of stirring.), and let the liquid boil away. The next part is where the magic happens. All the glorious fat from the pork butt (which doesn’t actually come from the, um, butt of a pig…it’s the shoulder. No worries.) just magically starts frying the meat. I’m not sure why I find this so fascinating, but I do. I mean, the fat just melts and then fries the meat! You don’t need any oil or shortening! It’s so FUN.
One more thing, because I know I’m getting exceedingly wordy (but you guys, these carnitas! I could write a novel about them!) please resist the urge to top your tacos with every single taco topping in the land. I kept it perfectly simple with this southwestern slaw from Perry’s Plate (even my slaw haters ate this up…it’s simple and fresh and the perfect compliment to any sort of Mexican food), a small amount of Monterey Jack cheese, and a spoonful of salsa verde. I served these on warmed corn tortillas. You can do flour, but the corn really works well with the carnitas!
(You’ll probably have leftovers, for which you should be exceedingly happy about. They reheat like a dream. Then again, they make a fabulous Carnitas Pizza. Try it live it, love it.)
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Ingredients:
4-5 pounds boneless pork shoulder or pork butt, cut into 2-inch cubes, fat left intact
3/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lime juice (from about 2 to 3 limes)
4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons Kosher salt, plus more to taste
For serving: corn tortillas, cheese, Southwestern Slaw or shredded lettuce, and salsa verde
Directions:
Place the pork in a large, heavy bottomed pot or dutch oven. Add the orange juice, lime juice, garlic, cumin, and salt. Add just enough water to the pot to cover the pork.
Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer uncovered, without stirring, for 2 hours.
Increase the heat to medium high and stir/turn the meat occasionally. The more you move the meat around the more it will fall apart.
Continue cooking for 45 minutes or until all of the water has evaporated, leaving only the pork fat. Let it fry, turning as needed, until the pieces are somewhat crispy and browned.
Add more salt as needed and serve on tortillas with garnishes.
(Do not fear the bottom of your pan. It will be a black, thick layer of horror, but fill it with water and leave to soak over night. Everything will wipe right out in the morning.)
recipe from Smitten Kitchen, originally from Homesick Texan
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I’ve made something very similar and I would have to agree with all of your “this is the best food ever” descriptions. That said, I have not tried your exact recipe, and I’m pretty sure it’s now on the menu for this weekend. I was planning pulled pork, but what can I say, I’m highly suggestible.
Karly — January 11th, 2013 @ 10:07 am
Doooooo it.
my buns in my oven favorites would include these carnitas and practically every single photo you’ve ever taken for this blog. i am in love with your photography karly!!!! we’re having thai for dinner tonight and now all i want is mexican. sigh. i’m so sad to miss blogher this year. why did my friend have to get married THAT weekend? wah.
Karly — January 11th, 2013 @ 10:08 am
You’re so sweet, Sally!
And, really. You don’t think maybe you and your friend will have a falling out between now and June? I mean, she IS sort of rude for scheduling her wedding during a food blog conference.
Oh.my.word…can I please come for dinner next time you make these? I’ll bring the guac
Seriously, I adore pretty much anything you can shove in a corn tortilla and these look to die for!
Karly — January 11th, 2013 @ 10:08 am
I will answer yes to anything if you follow the request with “I’ll bring the guac.” Haha!
These really do look amazing! Are you SURE you’ve never been to Texas??
I’m a native Texan, and girl, with these carnitas, you will totally fit RIGHT IN! I love all the citrus you used….I have been craving citrus the last few days….is it the winter weather, and I’m ready for spring? Whatever it is, these carnitas will do the trick. And the southwestern slaw on top- just beautiful! 
~Joy from Yesterfood
Karly — January 11th, 2013 @ 10:10 am
I was so surprised how well the citrus worked with the pork. It just brightened it up and cut the richness a tiny bit. Loooooove. And, yes, I’m ready for Spring too!
Glad to have a Texan’s seal of approval on these guys!
Well geez. I guess I need to make these now.
Karly — January 11th, 2013 @ 10:10 am
I guess you do.
I cannot wait to eat my way through Austin. The Salt Lick is up there on my list. And some majorly amazing Mexican food because I bleed mexican food. If I could only make one dinner ever, it would fit into that category. These are amazing, and I cannot wait to try them!
Karly — January 11th, 2013 @ 8:03 pm
I haven’t even started planning where to go yet! I’m sure I’ll have a looooong list. Are you getting in on Wednesday or Thursday? I know Hayley mentioned coming in early and I assume you two are going together?
Oh my goodness… these look amazing! We love mexican food in our house too. Thanks for sharing!
Those look amazing! I pinned them for later- I’m always craving Mexican food- but one can only eat so many fajitas.
Love Mexican food – and you pretty much sold me on the fact that I need to make these. And soon!!
Even living in NYC, Mexican food is pretty seriously scarce. I think you have to go to Arizona or LA or SF to get the really good stuff. Or you can just make it at home. Case in point.
I absolutely LOVE Carnitas! Thanks for the recipe!
This one is definitely going on my “to-do” list Karly. They look amazing…and now hungry again…and I just ate!
So can I just state for the record that REAL Mexican food is one of the primary reasons that I’m SO excited about the prospect of moving to Texas? Well, that and no parkas necessary. And cowboys. *swoon*
Oh, where was I? Your carnitas… SERIOUSLY. SENSATIONAL. SENORITA!
I can see why these would make you speak Spanish, wowzers does that look good! I don’t love ordering Mexican out because I find it’s never as fresh & awesome as it’s “supposed” to me, so of rather make at home. I’ve never made carnitas! My husband would loooove this.
Oh my! I’m not a huge fan of pork but I bet I could eat 3 of those. Beautiful dish!
Karly — January 11th, 2013 @ 8:04 pm
Neither am I! I mean, bacon, obviously, is my life. Otherwise, no. I don’t usually do pork.
Whoa. I keep eyeing large pieces of pork shoulder at Costco each week thinking I need a good carnitas kind of recipe. Pinning this one for my next big gathering. Thanks for sharing!
It’s like you posted this recipe just for me. You did, right?? Because Mexican food is my absolute favorite and I make at least one (sometimes two) Mexican meals a week. Totally making this one tomorrow. Eek–thank you!
Oh, and I’m planning to eat my way through Austin, too.
Karly — January 11th, 2013 @ 10:05 pm
I totally posted this just for you!
Let me know how you like it!
Maybe we can meet up and bond over some carnitas in Austin!
Oh YEEEEAAAH – Tex Mex y’all! I don’t even LIKE carnitas, and I’d give these a try for sure!!
OMG! Thanks for posting this! Every time I go to a Mexican restaurant and have my choice of meat for the meal I always choose carnitas. I never knew how to make it for myself at home, but now I do! Qué Bien!!
ohmygosh. I am SO excited to try these! Seriously, you have no idea. We have NOOOOO decent Mexican food here. In fact, I grew up thinking I didn’t like Mexican, but it turns out– the Mexican food in NC just sucks. Moving out west opened up a whole new world
But now I’m back in the east… and Mexican food-less…..
So I will def be making this!
yum- these look great. Yay for visiting Austin- one of my fav cities!
I made these this past weekend and they were wonderful! Ate them 2 nights in a row and have them for lunch today.
Karly you are a genius. Made this yesterday and it amazed my husband! Incredibly delicious–thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe.
I just made this today and it’s the pork roast I’ve ever made, and I’ve made some good ones lol. I will never do it a different way from this, from now on. Delish!
Karly — February 1st, 2013 @ 3:58 pm
Yay! So glad to hear that! I’m tellin’ ya…this recipe is magic.
I made these last night and you are absolutely correct!!!! It was easy as can be and OMG delicious and just like the street tacos in Ensenada. Thanks so much for the recipe.
Karly — February 2nd, 2013 @ 1:37 pm
Yay! So glad you liked them!
I’m making these tonight & I’m sooooooo excited! I’m also planning to make the pizza with the leftovers. Yummy. I can hardly wait. Thanks for the great ideas. I love trying new recipes.
Karly, I can’t wait to make these this week! I won’t have time till Wednesday. Midweek food never looked soo good!!
I just put this in the crockpot on High, figuring once it is cooked through I can brown it off in a pan. Yes, it’s an extra piece to clean, but I can’t be in the kitchen to monitor the stove… Crossing fingers it works okay!
Karly — February 19th, 2013 @ 12:14 pm
Let me know how it goes! I think it’s going to be more like pulled pork, since it won’t get crispy like it does when the liquid evaporates and it fries in it’s own fat, but I’m sure the flavor will still be great!
Well, I pulled it out of the crockpot (forgot to mention earlier, it was a bone-in shoulder), shredded & let it brown up on the stove. It was crispy & fabulous! I did not have cabbage to make slaw, so we topped the meat with spring mix salad greens, sour cream & home made guacamole… loved it!
I see a pork butt on my shopping list in the very near future to make this! I was hooked by the first picture without even looking at the recipe. And, now, with the prospect of being able to use the crockpot, Oh, yea I’m hooked. Like, Sandy said, it’s another something to wash but if you can’t be home to watch it, this is good! Can’t wait!
Hi! Excelent recipe, May I also recommend you to try salsa roja?, it would not be fair if you don’t try it (that’s the most common salsa), also there is this place in Mexico famous because of their carnitas, its Michoacan, I think they use hojas de laurel (lorbeer blatt?). Good Luck!
I’m getting an error message when trying to pin to Pinterest. The message is Whoops!
Parameter ‘image_url’ (value [IMAGEURL]) is not a valid URL format.
Have you pinned this on your Pinterest page. I would love to put this on my pins!
Karly — April 6th, 2013 @ 9:36 am
That’s strange! It’s letting me pin just fine!
Oh man I want this for breakfast, lunch AND dinner!
I’m with you! Mexican is my favorite food, especially carnitas. I make it often and I use GOYA brand marinade for the authentic flavors. Have you ever used it?
I’m going to try the cabbage as you suggested. I usually use cilantro, lime and a bit of cheese. I use this same topping for fish tacos. Yummy.