Carnitas Recipe

Carnitas is a Latin American pork dish. Ideally, for me, it has a crisp crust on the outside with a flavorful, tender and juicy interior. I pull/shred the pork to use it in different dishes later (i.e. Tacos, Burritos, Chili). If served as a main dish, I’d carve it like a pot roast, making a flavorful gravy out of the pan juices.

Making this dish using my Dutch Oven allows me to sear, sauté, braise, roast, reduce and serve in one pot.

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Equipment
5 Qt Cast Iron Dutch Oven
Tongs
Wooden Spoon
Platter
Peanut Oil

Braising Ingredients
3-4 lb Pork Shoulder/Butt
1 carrot diced
1 onion diced
1 jalapeño seeded & minced
3 garlic cloves minced
1 can cola (yes, cola)
½ cup red wine, brandy, cognac or strong stock

Seasoning
½ tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp smoked chili powder
½ tsp cayenne pepper

These seasonings turned out great for me, but feel free to adjust them based on your taste and what you have on hand.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees and heat Dutch Oven over Medium-High Heat.Lightly rub pork with oil and season with on sides with salt. When the DO is hot, sear the pork on all sides until deeply golden. This should take about 2-4 minutes per side.

Remove the meat to a platter to rest and turn the heat down to Medium. There should still be oil in the pot from the searing but add more if necessary. Add cumin seed to the oil and sauté. When they begin begin to pop, add the carrots and onions and sauté until soft. Add minced garlic and jalapeño and cook for another minute.

Stir in remain spices, followed by the cola and red wine stirring and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.

Return Pork to the pot, cover and transfer the whole thing to the oven and braise for 4 hours or until meat is falling apart.

Remove meat to platter to rest and increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees. Strain out and reserve the liquid from pot, wipe it down with a paper towel and return the pork. Place the uncovered Dutch Oven back into the heated oven and create the final crust by roasting it for approx 20 minutes, turning over half way.

Remove meat to a platter and return the reserved liquid to pot, bringing it to a boil on the stove top. Boil until th liquid reduces to about 1 cup. While the liquid is reducing , use two forks to pull/shred the pork.

After liquid has reduced, turn off the heat and stir the meat back in, coating it with the concentrated juices. You just want to coat the meat, not “soak” it.

Serve in soup, chili, tacos, burritos, etc

Suggestions:
Turn the temperature down to 200 degrees and braise for 8 hrs overnight.

I use cilantro in my burritos and tacos so I toss the minced stems into the braising liquid rather than throw them out.