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Carnitas

by Judy

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I’m a huge Mexican food fan and this Carnitas recipe is one of our family favorites!

This carnitas recipe produces tender, flavorful nuggets of meat that melt in your mouth.  This is my go-to carnitas recipe.  The meat is delicious by itself on a plate with rice and beans or as a filler for tacos or quesadillas.  I’ve even served these tender morsels with toothpicks as an appetizer with guacamole to dip the chunks in.  Everyone loves it!  Leftover Carnitas go great in quinoa bowls too!

It’s a simple recipe.  Just cut up the pork into chunks and put in a roasting pan with some spices and liquid.  I used water but my friend told me she uses beer which I think sounds like a fantastic tip.  I’m going to give that a try next time!  Once the meat is cooked, you can keep it in chunks, or if you prefer, go ahead and shred it.  And make sure to drizzle some of the leftover juices on it.  Don’t want to waste all that good flavor!

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Carnitas

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Ingredients

Scale
  • 4–5 lb. pork butt or shoulder
  • 3/4 C. water (or beer)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp. chile powder
  • 1 tsp. chipotle chile powder (or ancho chile powder)
  • 1 tsp. dried oregano
  • 1 tsp. cumin
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. pepper

For tacos:

  • small corn or flour tortillas
  • diced avacado or guacamole
  • chopped cilantro
  • lime wedges
  • crumbled queso fresco
  • Pico de Gallo

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Trim external fat from meat and cut meat into cubes, about an inch in size. Place meat in roasting pan in a single layer. Combine water with remaining spices. Pour over meat and distribute until meat is well coated. Cover tightly with foil and bake 45 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking another 45-60 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated and meat begins to brown. Remove bay leaves prior to serving.
  3. To serve as tacos, warm a tortilla, add some carnita meat and avocado or guacamole, garnish with cilantro and a squeeze of fresh lime juice and some crumbled queso fresco and fresh Pico de Gallo.

Notes

This fish taco recipe has instructions for making homemade Pico de Gallo.

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Related

Filed Under: Main Dishes (not plant based), Appetizers/Snacks, Cook Something, Beef, Lamb, Pork Tagged With: Mexican, carnitas, pork, tacos

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