Carnitas

[cheessus]

Quite possibly a top 3 pork dish in the history of food.

I just bought some pork shoulder and am going to try to make some carnitas. No pressure cooker, no crock pot.

What are some good recipes and cooking techniques for carnitas? I've heard about boiling the meat first, using tequila, etc...

 

[edmorel]

Never boil your meat.


Slow cooking pork shoulder is a must (at least 4 hours). Be it oven, smoker, grill etc. In terms of recipes, pork is wonderful in that it pretty much takes quite well to anything. My preference would be something citrusy and garlicky or something along the lines of a jerk.

 

[Johnny_5]

Braise them. Braising is probably one of the greatest cooking techniques in the history of cooking. I wish I had some osso bucco right now...

 

[andyw]

The Hispanic Caribbean cuisines - Puerto Rican, Dominican Republic, Cuban call the dish
pernil. I go for the crusty skin and the meat right next to it...some beans and rice, a cerveza.......heaven!

Here's a representative recipe -
http://www.ricanrecipes.com/recipes/detail.php?id=68

 

[donbonus]

cook the pork in it's own fat....buy a bunch of rendered pork fat or duck fat, bring to a simmer, put in a 200* oven for 5 hours...easy and tasty!

 

[Rand B]

I just had Trader Joe's packaged carnitas last night. I heated it up with some good lard and added extra garlic, onions, cilantro and lime juice. Simple and good.

R.B.