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  • Very inappropriate for Vegans bus since you asked nicely...

    This is my Carnitas recipe...good for a rainy day when you just want to laze around for hours and make the house smell like slow cooked meat.
    Carnitas
    Serves 2

    1 1/4 pounds of pork shoulder - 1 solid piece is better but if it does come cut up then try to get it in large chunks
    1 Tsp of Cayenne Pepper
    1 Tsp smoked paprika
    1 Tbsp Salt and Pepper
    1 Tbsp oregano - I use fresh but use half the amount if dried
    2 Tbsp oil

    Turn on the oven on 250F or 120C
    Coat the pork shoulder in the dry ingredients and set aside
    On a medium-high flame, heat up the 2 Tbsp of oil in a big dutch oven type dish
    Once the oil is hot throw in the pork and brown well on all sides
    Once the meat it browned, cover with a lid and stick it in the oven for 30-45 minutes
    The fat from the pork will render out and help keep the meat tender and not stick to the pan

    Take the pork out of the oven and then add the following liquids to the pan

    1/2 Can of full on Coca-Cola - Not diet, caffeine free water substitute - you need the sugars
    1/2 Can beer
    1/2 cup milk
    Juice of 3 Oranges & 2 limes (freshly squeezed- about 1/2 pint in total)

    Along with

    1-2 cloves chopped garlic
    1 Bay leaf
    4 heaping tsp of Chipotle Pepper paste

    The liquid should just cover the meat, but a little more is not going to hurt anything. Give everything a stir and stick it back in the oven for another 2-3 hours - until the meat is super tender

    Remove the pork from the liquid and lightly shred it using a couple of forks. Try to keep it in big-ish pieces as it prevents it from drying out too quickly in the next part.

    Heat up a sautee pan with about 1-2 Tbsp oil. Once the oil is hot, add in the shredded pork. What you're aiming for is a nice combination of soft pork with some crispness around the edges. Get the balance as you see fit, but the pork will try to dry out quite quickly so not too long.

    Serve on flour tortillas with salsas and/or sour cream and/or guacamole. Highly recommend that you get your hands on some Cholula to sprinkle over the top as well.

    Wash down with beer that has lime wedges jammed into the bottle.

    On a total side note - if you need to know - there's a South African guy that sells proper Mexican chilies and other Tex-Mex ingredients at Borough Market. His habanero sauce is good and deadly.

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