Best Roasted Carnitas Recipes

TACOS OF CARNITAS ROASTED WITH ORANGE, MILK, AND PEPPER

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• 2. Cut the pork into 6 or 8 pieces. Melt the lard in a heavy Dutch oven just large enough to hold the meat in one layer. Brown the meat on all sides and season with salt.
• 3. Squeeze the orange over the meat and toss the rind into the pan. Pour the milk over the meat and add enough water to almost cover the meat. Sprinkle with pepper. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for about 2 hours, until the meat is fork-tender.
• 4. To finish, uncover the meat and break into into largish pieces. Remove the orange rind and discard. Roast, uncovered, until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 20 minutes, or until the meat is brown and crisp on the edges.
• 5. To assemble the tacos, fill a warm tortilla with shredded pork. Top with avocado and salsa, a little of the chicharrón, and finish with generous amounts of onion and cilantro.

CARNITAS (SLOW ROASTED PORK) TACOS - TACOS DE CARNITAS

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
• 2. Blend the garlic, onion, oregano, thyme, salt and 1/2 cup of water in a blender until fairly smooth.
• 3. Combine the pork and buy leaves in a 6-quart dutch oven or deep baking dish that can hold the porkin no more than 2 layers. Pour the blended mixture and the Coca-Cola over the pork and stir & toss well.
• 4. Cover the pot and cook in the oven until the pork is very tender, about 2 hours. The sides of the pot might look dark. Thats just fine.
• 5. Uncover the pot and return to the oven. Continue cooking, tossing well and scraping the bottom and sides of pot every 10 minutes., until the pork is slightly crispy on the outside and deep golden brown, about 30 minutes. Coarsely shred the pork.
• 6. Make Ahead: You can make carnitas up to three days before you plan to serve.
• 7. Serve alongside 24 warm CORN TORTILLAS and LIME WEDGES and top with CHOPPED WHITE ONION, CHOPPED CILANTRO, and FRESH GREEN SALSA, JALAPENO AND PINAPPLE SALSA, OR PICO DE GALLO WITH LEMON ZEST.

SUNDAY PLASTIC WRAP ROASTED PORK FOR PULLED PORK OR CARNITAS

Steps:

• Rinse/dry roast. I clean and rinse a kitchen sink well with a bleach product (Comet) and use that for my "rub bowl". Stab the roast with a sharp knife all over all sides, so the spices get into the meat.
• Combine all spices and herbs in a bowl. Please feel free to add brown sugar (if you want more BBQ pulled pork flavor) or more "mex"spice (for carnitas flavor).
• Rub the roast well.
• Lay out a sheet of plastic wrap large enough to cover the roast. Place and cover the roast. Repeat 4 or 5 times, pivoting and turning the roast over so it will be sealed from all angles and ends.
• Lay out and form sheets of aluminum foil to completely envelope and seal your package. Place in large baking dish and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
• Before bedtime, set oven to 225F degrees. Place the dish in the oven and walk away/sleep for a minimum of 8 hours.
• Remove dish from oven after a good night's sleep. Let rest for 45 minutes while you drink your coffee and have a nice breakfast.
• I drain the fat that accumulates in the dish (notice, because of the low heat, there is no scorching on that dish) then replace the roast. cut away the foil/plastic wrap, letting the juices fall back into the dish. Now you can cut or shred the meat as you wish.
• Enjoy!

ROASTED GARLIC AND CARNITAS QUESADILLAS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• Drizzle 1 teaspoon of the olive oil over each head of garlic and then wrap in aluminum foil. Place on a cookie sheet and bake 1 hour 15 minutes, or until soft throughout. Set aside to cool.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees.
• When the garlic is cool enough to handle, slice each head in half across the width and squeeze the roasted garlic paste into a bowl, discarding the skins.
• Lay the tortillas out on a counter and, with a spatula, spread a thin, even layer of garlic paste over the entire surface of each one. Divide the carnitas in thirds and spread over the bottom half of each tortilla. Sprinkle with the cheese. Fold over the top half to enclose the filling. Brush the top sides with the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil.
• Heat a griddle or dry cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Place a stuffed tortilla, oiled side down, in the pan and toast about a minute on each side, just to heat through. Keep warm on a tray in the oven while finishing the rest. Cut into wedges and serve immediately with the Green Chile Paste.

MY PARTY PORK ROASTED CARNITAS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Sprinkle roast with rice vinegar all over. Then rub with the dry rub mixture all over so it completely covers the meat. (Depending on how big a roast you make, you might have to adjust the dry rub mixture, making a little more.)
• Put roast in a deep baking pan and cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 2-1/2-3 hours depending on how big the roast is.
• Uncover roast. Remove most of the fat dripping don't remove it all. Reserve about 1-cup of drippings (very important!).
• Shred roast with two forks and spread out in baking pan.
• Return to oven and bake about 30 to 45 min until meat is crispy and tender. (If your roast gets too dry while roasting, add the 1 cup dripping you reserved for later and bake for another 5 min. so everything can incorporate.) Remove from oven and your meat is ready.
• While your meat is cooking, you can chop, slice, and shred all your fixing. You can warm your tortillas right before you serve them and keep them warm in a tortilla warmer.
• I set everything buffet style so everyone can fix their tacos to their liking. I also put a big dish of rice and beans to go along with the tacos. A margarita or big tall glass of beer goes great with these tacos. Enjoy!

ROASTED CARNITAS

Steps:

• Trim the excess fat from the roast. Put the meat in a large casserole or Dutch oven with salsa verde, onion, stock, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, jalapenos, orange chunks, and oregano. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat, cover, and simmer until meat is very tender when pierced, about 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 400°F
• Remove meat from liquid in pot and put the meat into a roasting pan. Remove the orange chunks and discard. Roast meat for 15 to 20 minutes until parts are brown and crispy.
• While the meat is roasting, skim and discard fat from liquid in the casserole pan. Boil juices, stirring, until reduced to 2 1/2 cups, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Return the meat to the Dutch oven. Stir in chopped cilantro. Season with salt.