Braised Pork Carnitas Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Season the pork generously with salt and pepper, to taste, and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Pat the pork dry with a paper towel. Heat a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over high heat with 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, 2 turns of the pan. Put the pork in the pot and evenly brown the meat all over, it will take about 10 to 12 minutes; remove the pork to a plate and reserve.
• Turn heat down to medium-high, and add the extra-virgin olive oil to the pot, a couple of turns of the pan. Add the onions and garlic, salt and pepper, to taste, the oregano, 1 sliced chili pepper and 2 bay leaves and cook for 7 to 8 minutes. Deglaze the pot with the beer, scraping up the bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Stir in the chicken stock and orange juice. Add the reserved pork back to the pot (the liquid should come about 2/3 the way up the meat) and bring to a simmer. Cover and put the pork in the oven, turning the meat halfway through cooking, until the meat is very tender, about 2 1/2-3 hours. Remove the pork from the pot, to a cutting board and tent with foil to keep warm. When cool enough to handle, pull the meat apart with 2 forks.
• Simmer the braising liquid over medium heat until reduced by half. Add the chipotle and adobo sauce and the lime juice. Add about 2/3 of the shredded meat and stir. Cool the remaining shredded pork and chill for another use.
• While the pork is cooking, prepare the pickled red onions: in a small saucepot, bring the white wine vinegar, sugar, teaspoon of salt, remaining chili pepper and bay leaves to a simmer over low heat. Put the sliced red onions in a small sealable container. Carefully pour the hot liquid over the onions, cover and give it a shake. You may need to lift the lid to release some of the pressure. Every now and then, give it a good shake. Refrigerate to cool.
• To serve, put the chipotle pulled pork on a platter and garnish with pickled onions and pickled jalapeno slices. Serve with shredded cabbage, crumbled cheese and tortillas for wrapping.

Steps:

• Put all the ingredients in a wide 6-to 7-quart heavy pot (don't worry if the pork is not completely covered) and bring the water to a boil, skimming the surface as necessary. Lower the heat and simmer vigorously, stirring occasionally, until the pork is fork-tender and the liquid has completely evaporated, 1½ to 2 hours. Discard the orange pieces and bay leaves. If the liquid hasn't evaporated after 2 hours, transfer the pork pieces to a bowl and let the liquid continue to bubble away, stirring often, until it has.
• Preheat the oven to 450°F. Transfer the pork and fat to an ovenproof dish, if necessary, and brown the pork, uncovered, in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes. There's no need to stir.
• Carnitas keeps in the refrigerator for up to three days.

Steps:

• Rub some salt and pepper on the pork shoulder (or beef if you're using that).
• In a dutch oven heat the oil over medium-high heat. Sear the pork shoulder on all sides until it is browned. Remove the pork and set aside for now.
• Add the cumin seeds to the pan and toast in the hot oil until fragrant. Add the chopped onions and saute until lightly browned on the edges. Then add the garlic and chopped chipotle peppers and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the whole can of tomatoes including the liquid, bay leaves, dried oregano, cloves, chicken stock or some water and scrape up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the pork back to the pan and bring the contents up to a boil then lower to a bare simmer. Braise until the pork is fall-apart tender, about 3 - 4 hours (or 6 hours in a slow cooker). You can braise on the stovetop on a low heat setting, in the oven at 325 deg F, or in a slow cooker.
• The meat is done when it is fall-apart tender. Try your best to remove it in one piece and set aside. Remove the cloves, bay leaves, and oregano sprig (if you used the sprigs) from the braising liquid. Then using an immersion blender puree into a sauce. If the sauce is too thin, simmer it on the stovetop until it has reduced a little. Meanwhile, using two forks, shred the pork shoulder. Return the shredded meat to the simmering sauce. Let it heat through and soak up all the flavor and juices.

Steps:

• Season pork with pepper and salt.
• Heat oil in large pot over high heat. Working in batches, cook pork in the hot oil until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Return all cooked pork and accumulated juice to pot.
• Season pork with bay leaves, cumin, dried oregano, and cayenne pepper. Stir in fresh orange juice, orange zest, and milk. Bring mixture to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until meat is fork tender but not falling apart, about 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Remove pork from liquid. Skim some fat from the pot to grease a baking dish. Transfer the pieces of pork to the baking dish. Drizzle about 2 more tablespoons of the floating fat over the meat. Season with more salt, if needed.
• Bake in preheated oven until pork is browned, about 15 minutes. Stir pork.
• Turn on oven's broiler. Cook pork under broiler until crisp, 2 to 3 minutes.

Steps:

• Heat a large, cast iron Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season pork shoulder with garlic, 2 tablespoons kosher salt, and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Place pork shoulder fat-side down into the hot pot and sear until deep golden brown on all sides, 4 to 5 minutes. Add yellow onion to cook with rendered drippings for 1 minute. Slowly pour in pork stock to cover pork shoulder.
• Bring to a light boil; cover and braise until fork-tender, 4 1/2 to 5 hours.
• Transfer to a bowl and shred into carnitas, adding 1 1/2 cups of pork stock for moisture and more salt and pepper to taste.
• Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add green onions and cook until slightly browned, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
• Heat corn tortillas in the hot skillet on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes total for each tortilla. Place braised pork into tortillas and garnish with cabbage, queso fresco, salsa, green onions, and a squeeze of lime.

Steps:

• Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Heat 1/4 cup peanut oil in heavy 8-quart pot over high heat. Working in batches, add pork to pot and sauté until browned on all sides, about 7 minutes per batch. Using slotted spoon, transfer pork to large bowl.
• Pour remaining 10 cups peanut oil into same pot. Attach deep-fry thermometer to side of pot; heat over medium heat until thermometer registers 280°F. Add pork to oil in pot (temperature of oil will drop to between 180°F and 200°F). Cook pork over medium heat until brown and tender, adjusting heat as necessary to maintain temperature of oil between 200°F and 220°F, about 1 1/2 hours. Using slotted spoon, transfer pork to another large pot. Add orange juice and 2 cups cola to pork and bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer until pork is very tender, about 35 minutes. Add remaining 1/2 cup cola and stir over medium heat until meat falls apart and liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes longer. Season generously with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl and serve.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large Dutch oven, combine pork, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper and the oregano, and toss to evenly coat the meat in the spices. Squeeze orange juice all over the pork and add the juiced orange quarters to the pot. Add onion, garlic, cinnamon stick and bay leaf, and toss until well incorporated, nestling everything in an even layer. Drizzle oil evenly over the meat. Cover and braise in oven until pork is tender, about 2 1/2 hours, stirring once halfway through the cooking.
• Heat broiler to high, setting a rack 6 inches from the heat source. Transfer pork to a rimmed baking sheet and shred the meat. Strain juices from the pot through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl, pressing on the solids; discard solids. Skim fat from top and reserve the juices.
• Broil pork until golden and crisp in spots, about 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer carnitas to serving plates and drizzle with some of the reserved juices. Serve warm with tortillas and toppings of choice.