Best 3 Ingredient Carnitas Recipes

PORK CARNITAS

Steps:

• Heat the vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat. Season the pork shoulder with salt, then arrange the pork in the Dutch oven. Cook until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Add the onion, garlic, lime juice, chili powder, oregano, and cumin. Pour in the chicken broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and continue to simmer until pork is very tender, about 2 1/2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Transfer the pork shoulder to a large baking sheet, reserving the cooking liquid. Drizzle with a small amount of the reserved cooking liquid and lightly season with salt.
• Bake the pork in the preheated oven until browned, about 30 minutes. Drizzle more of the cooking liquid on the meat every 10 minutes, and use two forks to shred the meat as it browns.

PORK CARNITAS RECIPE

Steps:

• Cut the meat into strips 2" x 3/4" (make sure you don't remove/discard the fat). Place the meat into a large pot and barely cover with cold water. Add the salt and bring the water to a boil, uncovered.
• Lower the heat to bring the water down to a simmer. Let the meat continue to cook until all of the water has evaporated, about 1 1/2 hours, depending on the size/shape of your pan.* The meat should be cooked through at this point, but not falling apart.
• Lower the flame a little bit more and continue to cook until all of the fat has rendered from the pork, turning the meat occasionally until all sides are browned, about 1 hour and 10 minutes.
• Serve the pork in tacos, enchiladas, burritos, or however you'd like!

3-INGREDIENT CARNITAS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Add pork, water or chicken stock, and 1 tablespoon salt to a large dutch oven with a tight fitting lid. Liquid should just cover meat. Add additional as necessary. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Transfer to oven and cook, about 3 ½-4 hours, until meat is very tender and liquid is reduced to 1 cup. Baste meat every 45 minutes with cooking liquid.
• Increase heat to 400 degrees F. Remove pot from oven and drain all but 3 tablespoons fat from pot. Add cumin, cloves, cayenne, and 2 teaspoons black pepper. Stir to combine, and return to oven. Roast, stirring after 10 minutes, until meat is browned, crisp, and liquid is evaporated, about 20 minutes more.
• If meat is very fatty, you may need to continue to drain fat as pork crisps. Season to taste with salt and and pepper, and serve in tortillas, with cabbage, sour cream, pickled red onions, cilantro, avocado and serranos chiles.

MEXICAN CARNITAS

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.

CARNITAS

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.

TACOS DE CARNITAS

Steps:

• Trim any thick fat from surface of pork. Cut meat into 1-inch cubes, discarding any that are pure fat. Put pork in a large pot. Add enough water to cover by 2 inches, orange zest, garlic, chopped onion, red pepper flakes, cinnamon, bay leaves, oregano, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and the cloves.
• Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Skim off any scum that forms on surface. Simmer uncovered for 1 1/2 hours, until pork is very soft; add water if necessary to keep meat submerged. Season with salt, then continue to cook until water has evaporated, about 30 minutes. Cook a little longer to fry meat slightly; cook even longer if you prefer crisper meat. Stir often and add a bit of water if meat sticks or seems about to burn.
• Remove bay leaves and cinnamon stick. Spoon a few tablespoons of carnitas onto each tortilla. Top each taco with cilantro, finely chopped onion and salsa. Serve.