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Sunday Cookin' _ Pork Carnitas w/ Tomatillo Salsa _ December 6th 2009

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__Carnitas__

To make the carnitas, I used 1- 6 lbs. bone in pork shoulder (boston butt). Cut into strips, gristle and tough fat removed. Most of the tender fat will be rendered in the pot, so keep it on the pork.

Add to large stock or pasta pot, 2 cups orange juice and 6 cups water, 8-10 cloves garlic (1 head) cleaned, cleaned and cut pork, and season with cumin, salt and black pepper. I added 2 stem removed habaneros for flavor, if you are scared of the heat them you can substitute for jalapenos or no peppers. The habaneros have a unique sweet flavor, I love them, but I also love the heat, so be mindful.

(I also added the bone from the boston butt to the stock / pork mixture to add flavor. Using a boneless shoulder would be ideal, much easier to clean but might not have as much flavor. )

Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer for 2-3 hours, uncovered, until tender but not overly tender. The last part of the process is a vigorous browning so you want the meat to have some holding property.

Bring to a med high heat and boil off most of the remaining liquid for ~10 minutes.

The remaining liquid will be most of the broken down and rendered pork fat, this is where you can separate the pork from the fat content if you are looking to keep it healthy-(ish).

To brown the meat as a final step, I transferred the pork to a large saute pan and spooned in 3-4 ladles of the rendered pork fat, cook on high heat until liquid is gone and meat has just started to brown.

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__Tomatillo Salsa__

12 tomatillos husked and chopped (should be about two cups)
5 cloves of garlic, minced
3 serrano chiles, stems removed, diced
1 small/medium yellow onion
1/4 cup of chopped cilantro (substitute for parsley if preference)
Juice of 2 Limes
A small pinch of sugar
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons of Olive Oil

Combine everything in blender until chunky yet smooth and incorporated.


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__ To serve __

I sauteed some of the browned meat with a few spoonfuls of the salsa in a pan to heat through, then put on a tortilla and topped with jack cheese.

Into a 500 degree oven for 1-2 minutes until cheese is melted.

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