Tacos de Carnitas
- Total Time
- 2½ hours
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 3pounds pork shoulder, either butt or picnic
- 7strips orange zest
- 5garlic cloves, minced
- 1large onion, chopped, plus finely chopped onion for garnish
- 1¼teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
- 1cinnamon stick, preferably Mexican canela
- 2bay leaves
- 1½teaspoons crushed dried oregano leaves, preferably Mexican
- 1½teaspoons kosher salt, more to taste
- ¼teaspoon ground cloves
- 24small corn tortillas, warmed, for serving
- Chopped cilantro for garnish
- Salsa for garnish
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
574 calories; 33 grams fat; 11 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 14 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 36 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 34 grams protein; 499 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Trim any thick fat from surface of pork. Cut meat into 1-inch cubes, discarding any that are pure fat. Put pork in a large pot. Add enough water to cover by 2 inches, orange zest, garlic, chopped onion, red pepper flakes, cinnamon, bay leaves, oregano, 1½ teaspoons salt and the cloves.
- Step 2
Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Skim off any scum that forms on surface. Simmer uncovered for 1½ hours, until pork is very soft; add water if necessary to keep meat submerged. Season with salt, then continue to cook until water has evaporated, about 30 minutes. Cook a little longer to fry meat slightly; cook even longer if you prefer crisper meat. Stir often and add a bit of water if meat sticks or seems about to burn.
- Step 3
Remove bay leaves and cinnamon stick. Spoon a few tablespoons of carnitas onto each tortilla. Top each taco with cilantro, finely chopped onion and salsa. Serve.
Private Notes
Comments
I highly recommend that you bring the pork to a boil, reduce to a simmer and skim the scum BEFORE adding the other ingredients. Otherwise all of the ingredients that float will mix with the scum and be scimmed out along with the scum and the dish will be largely under seasoned.
We love this recipe.
Two things:
1. for those averse to the fat of pork shoulder, it CAN be done with pork loin, but need to add a little oil. (Its not as good like this, but perhaps healthier).
2. the recipe needs lacks cumin. It needs at at least a teaspoon.
I have done it in a slow cooker and, after taking it out, put on a baking pan and either broil (while watching closely until the meat begins to "fry"); or alternately, place in 350 oven until the same thing happens - about 25 minutes, but check often.
Could you substitute beef for pork in this recipe?
I learned this from the El Charro cookbook from Tucson: use pickling spice you can buy in most spice sections. It has all the spices in this recipe and some extra. It works amazingly well with beef (barbacoa) or carnitas. It’s easy to pick out the larger pieces or use cheesecloth if preferred. Faster/cheaper than all these spices added individually.
Great recipe; the whole family loved it. I used a crock pot and then broiled mounts of pork to crisp a bit. Perfect!