Pork Carnitas are the only dish my daughter in law, Jen, ever orders in a Mexican restaurant, so I decided to teach myself how to make them. As I often do, I searched the web for recipes, selected a few, and then used pieces of them all to develop a recipe that suits my own taste and style. This one’s for you, Jen!

1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup lard (or vegetable shortening), divided
2 pounds boneless pork loin, cut into 4″ chunks
1 large onion, thickly sliced
2 cups broth; pork, chicken, beef, or a combination
1/2 cup orange juice
2 large cloves garlic, smashed
1 tsp dried oregano
1 Tbsp ground cumin

1. In a very small bowl or cup, combine the salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. Set aside.
2. Heat a heavy covered pot over medium high and melt half of the lard.
3. Working in batches so as not to crowd the pan, season the pork with the salt mixture and brown in the hot lard on all sides. As the pork browns remove it to a plate.
4. When all the pork has been browned add the onion to the pot and cook until tender.
5. Deglaze the pot with 1/2 cup of broth, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom. Add all the remaining ingredients, except the rest of the lard, then return the pork chunks to the pot.
6. Bring the pork to a boil, then cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 2 hours or until tender.
7. Remove from the heat and allow the pork to cool completely in the broth.
8. When the pork as cooled, remove it from the broth and cut into 1 inch cubes. The broth may be strained and added to a pot of beans for making Simple Refried Beans. At this point the pork may be refrigerated for later use.
9. In a large, heavy skillet over medium heat, melt the remaining lard.
10. Pan fry the cubed pork until nicely browned on all sides and just heated through. Do not over-cook or the pork carnitas will become tough.
11. I serve pork carnitas with tortillas, Simple Refried Beans, and Salsa Rice. Garnishes of guacamole, sour cream and your favorite salsa will round out the plate.

Servings: 6

Fiber 0.53g 2%
Sugar 3.93g
Protein 32.62g 65%