Carnitasdemichoacan Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.
• Put the poblano and onion slices in the bottom of a heavy pot. Mix the cayenne, cumin and a pinch of salt and pepper together in a bowl, then use the mixture to season the pork shoulder. Put the pork on top of the vegetables. Add the chicken broth, jalapeno slices, lime zest and juice and orange zest and juice. Cover and cook until tender, 4 to 5 hours.
• Turn the heat up to 450 degrees F, remove the lid and cook until the surface crisps slightly, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the pork to a board and let it rest until cool enough to handle, then remove the fat and shred the meat with 2 forks.
• Strain the vegetables from the sauce and set aside. Put the meat in serving dish, add the vegetables and pour over some of the sauce.
• Serve the shredded pork with warm corn tortillas, radishes, pickled jalapenos, pico de gallo, hot sauce, lime wedges and cilantro leaves.

Steps:

• Start with removing any excess pieces of fat from the pork.
• In a large,heavy saucepan, place the pork along with the orange zest, orange juice, cumin, bay leaves, onion, garlic and bouillon.
• Fill with water just so it barely covers the pork.
• Cover and bring to a boil over medium heat.
• Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for about 2 hours.
• Turn off the heat and allow the meat to cool and any excess fat to raise to the top.
• Remove the excess fat, and place the cooled pork in a large bowl.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• In a separate fry pan, heat the lard and fry the pork pieces for about 6 minutes, just so they turn golden; allow them to cool.
• Using your hands, pull the meat apart.
• In a comal over medium heat, heat the tortillas.
• Once you heated all of the tortillas, make tacos with the shredded meat and add your own favorite Mexican salsa.

Steps:

• Sprinkle the pork on all sides with the garlic powder and plenty of salt and pepper.
• Heat the pork fat over medium-high heat in a small, heavy Dutch oven or braiser (see Cook's Note). Add the pork and fry on all sides until well browned, about 20 minutes. Add the Coca-Cola and 1/2 cup water (there should be just enough liquid to cover the sides of the meat). Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Add the tarragon, bay leaves and thyme. Cover and simmer until the pork is tender, about 1 1/2 hours; the Coca-Cola will caramelize and the liquid will evaporate completely.
• Transfer the pork to a cutting board and shred. Serve with warm corn tortillas (charred over a flame) and toppings on the side: salsa verde, diced onions, cilantro, radishes, lime wedges and avocado.

Steps:

• If the roast has skin or bone, leave them on. Rinse the roast and place in a large pot. Add enough water to barely cover.
• Chop the onion into large pieces (about 8) and add to the pot. Add the salt.
• Bring the water to a boil, then cover and simmer until the roast is tender, but not quite falling apart, about 2 hours.
• Remove the roast and drain, discarding the onion. Remove any skin or bones. Cut or separate into large cubes of about 4 inches.
• Put the lard in a heavy pot, melt and raise to a medium-high temperature. Test the temperature by dropping in a slice of bacon. It should boil immediately and take about 2 minutes to cook.
• Cook all of the bacon in the lard, remove it and set it aside for another use. (This step is to flavor the lard). If using bacon fat, add it at this time and skip cooking any bacon.
• Add the pork cubes a few at a time to the lard. Cook until they are starting to get crispy on the outside. I prefer to remove them when they are roughly halfway between totally crispy and not crispy at all, but that's a matter of personal preference.
• Drain the pork, and salt if desired.
• Use the carnitas for tacos, burritos or by itself with sides of rice and beans.
• The lard can be cooled and reused. Store it in the refrigerator and smell before reusing. If stored too long, even in the refrigerator, it will go rancid.

Steps:

• Heat the lard in a deep roasting pan over medium heat. Stir in the pork, bay leaves, salt, pepper, onions, and garlic. Squeeze the orange into the mixture and drop in the orange halves. Add more lard if needed to cover all of the ingredients.
• Cook until the pork is tender enough to pull apart with a fork, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Discard the orange, onion, and garlic; strain the pork cubes from the lard using a slotted spoon.

Steps:

• Place meat in a medium-size roasting pan. Sprinkle with garlic and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper. Squeeze the juice from one orange and the lemon over the meat. Slice the remaining oranges and place over the meat. , Cover and bake at 350° for about 2 hours or until meat is tender. With a slotted spoon, remove meat and drain well on paper towels. Heat a small amount of oil in a skillet and fry meat in batches until browned and crispy. , Serve warm in tortillas with toppings of your choice. Freeze option: Freeze cooled pork mixture in freezer containers. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Fry meat in batches as directed until crispy and brown. Serve as directed.

Steps:

• To a large pot, add the cubed pork shoulder, onions, avocado leaves, pepper, salt, garlic, and bay leaves. Add enough cold water to cover all the meat. Bring to a boil over high heat, then continue to boil for 20 minutes.
• Add the orange juice, milk, and cola, return to a boil, and simmer until the liquid has reduced by half, about 1 hour.
• Add the lard, let it melt, then boil off the rest of the liquid until the meat begins to fry, 1 hour more.
• Once the meat turns dark golden brown and is crispy, scoop it out of the pot and onto a paper bag or paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain.
• Serve with corn tortillas, guacamole, pickled vegetables, cilantro, lime wedges, cilantro rice, and pinto beans.
• Enjoy!