CTV Recipes
Search Recipes
Pork carnitas
Authentic Mexican dish features tender and juicy pulled pork on the inside, while deliciously crisp and golden on the edges.
YIELDS
8
TO
12
Ingredients
- 2.25 kg pork shoulder, trimmed and cut into roughly 3-inch cubes
- Kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 2 teaspoons dry oregano, preferably Mexican
- 1 1/2 teaspoons coriander
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 to 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 1 red onion, peeled and quartered
- 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) light flavoured beer, such as lager
- 1 orange, halved
- 1 lime, halved
- 1 to 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- Corn tortillas and/or Crispy Cheesy Shells
- Taco Party Fixings, cotija or feta cheese, sour cream, and cilantro
Directions
- Heat your oven to 325ºF.
- Place the pork in a large bowl, season with the two teaspoons of salt as well as the sugar, cumin, oregano, coriander, paprika, chili powder, and garlic powder, and mix well to combine and evenly coat.
- Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add in one tablespoon of oil. Sear the pork in batches adding more oil between each batch if needed until golden brown on all sides. Set the seared pork aside and add in the garlic and onion. If the pan looks a bit too dark on the bottom at this point, add a splash of water now to release some of that delicious char into the veg. Season with salt and cook for two to three minutes just until the vegetables pick up some colour. Deglaze the pan with beer, scraping the bottom to remove any stuck-on bits, and add the pork back in. Squeeze in the juice from the orange and lime and add the juiced rinds into the pot along with the chipotle peppers, to taste.
- Bring to a boil then cover with a tight-fitting lid and transfer to the oven for three to three and a half hours or until the pork is fork tender.
- Discard the citrus and transfer the pork and onions to a sheet pan to cool slightly, reserving the braising liquid. Shred with two forks, turn your broiler on to high, and broil the carnitas for three to five minutes or until browned and slightly crisp on top. Add a splash or two of the braising liquid and transfer to a serving dish.
- Serve the carnitas with corn tortillas or Crispy Cheesy Taco Shells and your favourite taco toppings (see the recipe for Taco Party Fixings). Enjoy!
TIP: To cook the carnitas in a slow cooker, transfer the seared pork into a slow cooker along with the garlic and onion. Deglaze the searing pan with the beer, pour over the pork, and add in the orange juice, lime juice, the citrus rinds, and the chipotle in adobo. Cook for 8 hours on low or for 4 to 5 hours on high or until fork tender.
