Description
Carnitas Tacos are hard to beat. This meat is caramelized and crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Enjoy with your favorite taco fixings!
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 yellow onion, peeled and quartered
- 6 garlic cloves, peeled
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 3 teaspoons salt, divided
- 1.5 cups water
- 4 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into 2 to 3-inch chunks
- 3 tablespoons lard or olive oil*
- 1 orange, zest and juice
- 1 lime, zest and juice
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon honey
- white corn tortillas, warmed
- garnish: I use cilantro, diced white onion, and guacamole
Instructions
- Combine the onion, garlic, cumin, chili, cloves, thyme, 1 teaspoon of salt, and water in a food processor (or blender). Pulse and then blend until smooth.
- Generously salt the pork with the remaining salt (1 to 2 teaspoons should be plenty).
- Heat the lard in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Working in two batches, sear half of the pork until it is well browned on all sides (about 15 minutes total). Transfer the first batch of pork to a plate or bowl using a slotted spoon. Repeat with the second batch.
- Return all seared pork to the pot. Add the onion mixture and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add the juice and zest, bay leaf, and honey. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer for about 2 and a half hours. Make sure to stir and turn the pork every 30 minutes or so. Remove the lid from the pot. The pork should be very tender and easy to shred at this point.
- Use a wooden spoon to break the chunks into smaller pieces. Cook another 30 minutes or so uncovered until most of the liquid has cooked away. Transfer the carnitas to a serving bowl and shred with a fork.
- Serve pork with warm tortillas, guacamole, and chopped cilantro and white onion.
Notes
We usually have pork lard around (rendered from pork fat). Here is a great post all about rendering lard. You can use olive oil too if you don’t have lard.
Keywords: carnita, pork shoulder, mexican