Easy Pork Carnitas Recipe
User Reviews
5
Easy Pork Carnitas Recipe
Description
This Easy Pork Carnitas Recipe starts with a 5-pound bone-in pork shoulder rubbed generously with kosher salt and fresh black pepper. The pork is browned on all sides in vegetable oil to develop a caramelized crust, then braised with chicken broth, onion quarters, oregano, cumin, and paprika in a covered Dutch oven at 350°F for about four hours until the meat becomes tender enough to pull apart easily. Liquid is spooned over the pork during cooking to keep it moist.
About 30 minutes before the pork finishes, sweet bell peppers are sliced and sautéed with butter and olive oil to provide a colorful, flavorful accompaniment. The resulting carnitas are juicy with balanced savory spices and tender meat texture suited for small warmed tortillas, tortilla chips, or as a component in rice or taco salads.
This recipe is adapted from Braises and Stews by Tori Ritchie and allows flexibility in serving options depending on accompaniments. It is a classic preparation favoring slow, even cooking for maximum tenderness and depth of flavor.
Ingredients
- 5 lb. pork shoulder aka Boston butt, bone-in
- kosher salt
- black pepper freshly ground
- 1 T. vegetable oil
- 3 c. chicken broth low sodium
- 1 white onion peeled & quartered, or yellow onion
- 1 T. dried oregano leaves
- 1 tsp. cumin ground
- 1 tsp. paprika
- 3 to 4 sweet bell peppers I like to use a colorful variety
- 1 T. butter
- 1 T. olive oil
Instructions
for the pork:
- Remove pork from refrigerator one hour before starting to cook. Rinse and pat dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle all over with salt and pepper, fairly generously.
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Heat a 5 to 7 quart Dutch oven over medium to medium-high heat. Add oil. When oil is hot and starts to shimmer, add pork. Cook until nicely browned and then turn, repeating that same process until all sides are browned. Add broth, onion, oregano, cumin, and paprika. Turn heat up a bit to bring liquid to a boil. Then spoon some of the hot liquid over the top of the meat.
- Place the cover on and transfer to preheated oven. Cook until meat is literally falling apart, about 4 hours, spooning liquid over meat once or twice during cooking.
for the sautéed sweet peppers:
- About half an hour before the meat is done, prepare the sweet peppers. Cut into long slices, about 1/4″ wide or so. Heat a wide skillet over medium heat - I like to use a large cast iron skillet.
- Add butter and olive oil. When the butter has melted, add the peppers, stirring to coat. Cook for about 10 minutes, letting them soften up.
- Then turn up the heat to medium-high. Let the peppers start to darken and char, stirring every couple minutes. Transfer peppers to serving dish.
to crisp the pork:
- When the pork has finished cooking, remove pot from the oven and place on stove top. Transfer meat to a platter. With a large spoon, push meat off the bone in chunks; discard bone and any large pieces of fat.
- Transfer pork back to French oven and turn on heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring with a large wooden spoon to break up pork, until liquid in French oven has almost entirely evaporated and meat begins to sizzle and caramelize, 5 to 10 minutes. The meat should pull into shreds very easily.
Notes
- Serve with warmed small tortillas, sautéed peppers, and preferred taco toppings.
- Also excellent over tortilla chips, in rice bowls, or as a taco salad base.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 16servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 459 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Serving | 1 | |
| Calories | 459kcal | 23% |
| Carbohydrates | 5g | 2% |
| Protein | 34g | 68% |
| Fat | 33g | 51% |
| Saturated Fat | 12g | 60% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 18g | 106% |
| Cholesterol | 129mg | 43% |
| Sodium | 153mg | 6% |
| Fiber | 1g | 4% |
| Sugar | 2g | 4% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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