Kristy's Carnitas Recipe

Hey y’all. I don’t think I’ve ever shared this with you, but one of my favorite meals is carnitas. Matt and I eat a lot of Mexican food, and carnitas is by far my favorite way to eat pork.

So I figured it was probably time I made some myself. I’d never made carnitas before, so I wasn’t even sure if this recipe was going to be any good, let alone bloggable, but lucky for us it was awesome.  

I’m not going to drag this out with a whole long story before the recipe, because I know how annoying that is when you’re just trying to make dinner. This is just a really good homemade carnitas recipe with tender pork, crispy edges, and a spice blend I put together from traditional carnitas flavors with my own little spin on it.

It’s simple, full of flavor, and really dang good in tacos, burrito bowls, or however you like to eat it. Make sure you read the entire recipe before making it.

Recipe

Ingredients:

1. Pork butt/shoulder (I used 8.44 pounds)
2. 290ml Orange juice
3. 75ml Lime juice
4. 4 bay leaves (whole, put directly on the roast. To be removed later)
5. 2 tbs oil or lard
6. Corn tortillas
7. Taco fixings
   1. 1 whole chopped white onion
   2. 2 bundles of cilantro
   3. Lime wedges
   4. Salsa (I'll be writing a recipe for salsa at a later day)
8. Spice blend
   1. 1 tbs cummin
   2. 1 tbs Mexican oregano
   3. 1 tbs garlic powder
   4. 1 tbs onion powder
   5. 2 tsp salt
   6. 1 tsp black pepper
   7. 1/2 tsp celery seed
   8. 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
   9. 3 (dried) ancho chilis, seeds removed and copped fine
      
   10. 1 tsp rubbed sage

Directions:

1. Make your spice rub. I measured all ingredients into a bowl and when I finished I poured the rub into a mason jar. I did not use the whole rub. 
2. For an 8.44 pound roast, I cut it into quarters.
3. Shake your mason jar of spices the mix them well and sprinkle about 2/3 of the jar over the top of the pork. Rub them in.
   
4. Put the pork in the crock pot. 
5. Pour the orange juice over the roast, then the lime juice
   
6. Cook in the crock pot on high for 6 hours 45 mins or until tender. 
7. Remove the meat from the pot and shred it, using your preferred method. 
8. heat the oil/lard (I use lard) in a cast iron skillet (or other large skillet) on medium high heat. Add the shredded pork in batches, pressing down lightly and let it cook undisturbed for a few minutes until crispy.
9. Stir, and repeat until you have crispy bits throughout (the crispy bits are my favorite).
10. Heat your tortillas in a separate pan (we have a pan specifically for tortillas. If you don't, you can use another skillet). 
11. Make your tacos with your meat and taco fixings.
12. Enjoy!

If you make this recipe, I’d love to know what you think. Let me know in the comments!