Favour Carnitas Delicioso! Recipes

Carnitas Delicioso!. Somewhat labor intensive, these authentic style Carnitas are SO worth the prep and slow-cook time! I always do the slow-cook of the pork the day before. The pork can be eaten on its own, as a stand-alone protein, but most often is enjoyed in taco form.

How to Make this Instant Pot Authentic Carnitas Recipe. There are a couple of ways you can make this authentic carnitas recipe, my favorite is in the instant pot. Making carnitas are tender and shredded can be the hardest part about making it at home. You can cook Carnitas Delicioso! using 22 ingredients and 10 steps. Here is how you cook it.

Ingredients of Carnitas Delicioso!

1. It's 1 lb. of Lard (no substitute!).
2. Prepare 1 c. of Bacon fat.
3. It's 3-4 lb. of Pork butt, cut into large pieces.
4. It's 1 of lg. Orange, quartered.
5. It's 1 of lg. Lemon, quartered.
6. You need 2 of Limes, quartered.
7. You need 1 of lg. Onion, peeled & quartered.
8. You need 10-12 of garlic cloves, peeled.
9. You need 12 of jalapeño slices (from a jar).
10. Prepare of Salt.
11. It's of Pepper.
12. It's of Cumin.
13. It's of Garlic powder.
14. Prepare of Flour tortillas.
15. It's of Garnish suggestions:.
16. You need of Grated sharp cheddar cheese.
17. Prepare of Sour cream.
18. It's of Salsa.
19. It's of Cilantro.
20. You need of Diced onions.
21. It's of Pineapple tidbits (seriously good!).
22. It's of Refried beans.

Pork carnitas is made of pieces of pork meat slow-cooked in copper cauldrons in an open fire. Traditionally, you would buy a whole piece of pork and use all the parts in different recipes. Some will be cooked until tender and golden outside like these juicy chunks of meat. The sugar in the soda helps to caramelize the meat, and whatever else they put in the cola gives it that slight smokiness.

Carnitas Delicioso! instructions

1. Preheat oven to 250°F. Place lard in large (turkey-size) roasting pan and place in oven to melt. Add bacon fat and set aside..
2. Prep all your ingredients while the lard is melting. The photo shows the cut sizes. A regular large roasting pan, as shown in this photo, is too small for cooking this dish. Use a larger/deeper turkey roasting pan..
3. NOTE!! I don't recommend a disposable aluminum turkey pan because lime juice eats a hole through aluminum foil! (I learned this the hard way!).
4. Place pork pieces (fat side up) in the roasting pan with the lard & bacon fat. Squeeze the citrus pieces over the meat, and place them around the meat pieces, skin side down. (The large piece with fat cap has a wide flat bone running the length of the piece, which is why it's bigger.).
5. Add the garlic cloves, onion quarters and jalapeño slices to the pan. Sprinkle salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cumin over the meat (to taste; I don't measure them)..
6. Lay a sheet of parchment paper over everything to keep the limes from touching the foil. Then tightly cover the pan with aluminum foil, sealing well all around so steam doesn't escape while cooking..
7. Bake in 250°F oven for 6-1/2 hours. Turn off oven and allow pan to cool before removing foil..
8. NOTE: At this point, I usually refrigerate the pork pieces (discard fruit and lard) and finish the recipe the next night when I'm ready to serve it. But you can do it all in one day if you start early..
9. Char the pork pieces under the broiler. Keep an eye on them, flipping the pieces to get an even char. Takes 10-15 minutes..
10. Serve with warm flour tortillas, your favorite condiments, and refried beans..

Or maybe it's the smoked paprika that gives the smokiness. All I know is that this Coca-Cola Carnitas is a keeper. Healthy Pork Carnitas are made with lean pork to reduce the fat and all you have left is a dish that consists of lean protein. The pineapple salsa gives a great blend of spicy and sweet flavor to the tacos. Which forces me to make a batch of these muy delicioso carnitas to play around with and create a PLETHORA of delicious other recipes!!!