CARNITAS

CARNITAS

#SIAintheKitchen

If there’s one thing I miss about Mexico City, it’s the carnitas. Slow-cooked pork butt in citrus fruits, shredded and cooked in its own fat. Are you drooling yet?

With COVID happening, I’ve been cooking a LOT lately (the time of writing this is in May!). And with Cinco de Mayo having just passed (on a TACO TUESDAY, mind you!), I had to go all out. My boyfriends likes to proclaim his hate for Mexican food which I find is a real shame. I found out that all he’s ever had is Tex-Mex food which isn’t bad, but most often than not, covered in cheese. I haven’t heard of anyone who dislikes Mexican food so I felt it was my duty to convert him, one taco at a time.

I reminisced on my little weekend trips to Mexico City and the amount of tacos I consumed there. The last time I visited was with my dad and we basically ate our weight in tacos. We had them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Simple and authentic, tacos were just served with your choice of meat, chopped raw white onions, fresh cilantro, and hot peppers. Our favourite place was El Turix, a hole-in-the-wall joint in the sleek neighbourhood of Polanco. I just remember their carnitas there to be on fucking point. We had seconds there and it was amazing.

I decided to make carnitas because I had missed it so much and to be honest, I didn’t even know what was in it. I was really surprised when I saw that the bulk of the flavour and aroma came from citrus and as I was cooking it, it totally made sense!

I threw mine in the slow cooker, shredded it and broiled it in its own fat to get that signature crispiness you find at the taco stands in Mexico. The only thing I would note is that the since I threw the juiced rinds in with the pork, it made the cooking liquid a little bitter because of the pith. Not a huge probably as I only used a bit of the sauce which didn't affect the flavour of the carnitas at all. Cannot wait to make this again.

CARNITAS - makes 2 servings

• 1 large white onion, sliced

• 6 cloves garlic, smashed

• 2 lbs pork butt

• 4 tbsp kosher salt

• 1 tsp dried oregano

• 1 tbsp cumin

• 1 tbsp chili powder

• freshly ground black pepper

• 1 tsp dried red chili flakes

• 1 navel orange, juiced

• 2 limes, juiced

• kosher salt, as needed

1. Place the sliced onions on the bottom of your crock pot. Mix the salt and herbs together and apply liberally to the pork on all sides and place on top of the onions. Juice the orange and the limes over the pork and quarter the remaining pieces around the pork. Set your slow cooker to low and slow cook for 7 hours.

2. Ensure that the pork is tender and can shred easily with two forks. Remove the pork from the slow cooker and shredded on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Season with additional salt if needed. Ladle one out some of the cooking liquid, onions and garlic over the shredded pork and mix together.

3. Set your oven to broil or 450 and bake for 5 - 10 minutes, depending on how hot your oven is til the pork is slightly browned and crispy on the edges. Remove from the oven and serve immediately with tacos.