Carnitas

Name: Carnitas
Total time: 195 min
Yield: 2
Ingredients: 2 lb pork shoulder (cut in 2-inch chunks); 1 ½ cup lard; 1 ½ tsp salt; 1 unit orange (halved, juiced, peel reserved); 1 unit onion (quartered); 4 clove garlic (smashed); 2 unit bay leaf; 1 tsp oregano (dried, Mexican); ½ tsp cumin (ground); 1 cup water

Meat & Game · Latin American & Caribbean

10 ingredients · 195 minutes · 2 servings

Cook Now

1047kcal94.3g protein66.4g fat13g carbs~$3.56/ serving*

sometimes contains gluten — check the label · only in an optional ingredient: dairy

Restrictions

Sometimes contains — check the labelgluten (tortillas)Some brands have it, some do not. The recipe cannot tell, so this is the one you check yourself.

Only if you add itdairy (milk evaporated)Leave that ingredient out and the dish does not have it.

Diets

No alcohol

Worked out from the ingredient list. It knows nothing about brands, shared equipment or cross contamination, and it is not a certification — if you have an allergy, you still have to read the label.

Ingredients

Servings:

2 lb	pork shoulder (cut in 2-inch chunks)
1 ½ cup	lard
1 ½ tsp	salt
1 unit	orange (halved, juiced, peel reserved)
1 unit	onion (quartered)
4 clove	garlic (smashed)
2 unit	bay leaf
1 tsp	oregano (dried, Mexican)
½ tsp	cumin (ground)
1 cup	water

Optional

Not counted above. The dish works without them.

1 unit	cinnamon (stick)
¼ cup	evaporated milk
8 unit	corn tortillas (warmed)
1 unit	onion (finely diced)
¼ cup	cilantro (chopped)
1 unit	lime (wedges)
½ cup	salsa

Steps

Season30 min
room temperature, uncovered
pork chunks + salt, tossed and left to sit — the salt needs time to move past the cut surface, because nothing you add to the fat later will season the inside of a 2-inch cube
Simmer10 min
medium, fat melting
lard + water + onion + garlic + bay leaf + oregano + cumin + spent orange peel, brought to a lazy bubble; the water is deliberate — it holds the pot near 100°C so the pork cannot brown before its collagen has melted
Simmer150 min
bare simmer, 90–95°C, uncovered, no stirring
+ pork, submerged in the fat, barely moving. A hard boil tears the chunks apart and drives the meat dry; the target is fork-tender but still holding its shape. Leave it alone — every stir breaks fibers you want intact for shredding
Fry15 min
medium-high, water gone
- evaporated milk
raise the heat once the bubbling turns quiet and fine: that sound is the water having boiled off, which is the moment the pot stops braising and starts frying. + orange juice (and evaporated milk, if using) poured over — its sugars caramelize on the hot fat and give the edges their color
Rest5 min
lifted out, fat reserved
pork drained on a rack, aromatics and peel discarded; keep a few spoonfuls of the rendered lard, which is now pork stock in fat form and the best thing to finish with
Mash5 min
two forks, coarse
pull the chunks into thick shreds, not threads — shred too fine and there is no interior left to stay juicy against the crisped surface
Broil5 min
single layer, high heat, hot pan or broiler
shreds spread thin + a spoon of the reserved lard, until the tips go dark and brittle. Crowding traps steam and the meat greys instead of crisping; work in batches = carnitas, contrast of crackling edge and wet interior