Authentic Homemade Mexican Carnitas

Slowly simmered in lard this recipe for Authentic Homemade Mexican Carnitas yields a tender juicy inside with a crisp outside - the perfect carnitas

The making of - Authentic Homemade Mexican Carnitas

Have you ever made carnitas?

No, I don't mean the ones on the internet that have you put a pork butt or shoulder into a crockpot and cook it for 6 hours.

I call that ... "pulled pork".

I mean real Authentic Homemade Mexican Carnitas.

Like my friends in Los Angeles Abuelitas make?

Authentic.

Cooked in lard.

Yep, lard.

Fat.

The French call it confit; in Mexico, it's carnitas.

The French do it with duck. In Mexico, it's pork.

And it's all delish.

Meat in fat Lindy? Isn't that just a bit crazy and against all that you talk about this whole low-fat cooking?

No, it's not. And I'll tell you why as the story continues.

The Ingredients 

The ingredients for Authentic Homemade Mexican Carnitas are simple - lard, pork, orange, cilantro, and cinnamon stick. Let's go over each one briefly.

Lard

Disgusting you say?

Why? Because it's fat from an animal and not a plant?

Well, calorie wise, fat is fat. And while regular consumption of high saturated fats is not good for you, the cooking method of making carnitas does not add to the fat content of the meat. As a matter of fact, the opposite occurs - fat is actually pulled from the meat. This is why, in most Mexican households that make homemade carnitas, there is a big tub of previously used and stored lard in the refrigerator. Each time it is reused, it only adds more and more flavor.

After you make this recipe if you ever plan to make it again, save the seasoned lard. You know, in that back corner of the refrigerator when all left-overs end up to turn into moldy, "what the heck was this"? Yeah, stick your saved fat there for next time.

In a container of course.

There is no substitute for lard in an authentic recipe for carnitas. Not oil, not broth,

LARD!

Where do I get lard?

I know at my local Carniceria lard is in quick demand. You call and call and it's gone. But that is the best way to get it - buy the fat and render it down slowly.

The first I bought a couple of tubs of pre-rendered lard, which was good but the second time I had some lard, freshly rendered from Berkshire pigs, and it was much better. So if you can, get fresh and render it. If you can't get some already done. Do not buy shortening and think it's the same thing. It's not. Vegetable, animal. You want animal fat.

The Pork

It would be extremely difficult to make carnitas without the pork. The only thing to keep in mind with this ingredient is - buy a fatty piece of pork. One that has a lot of marbled fat in the meat so it can cook out and flavor the meat while adding moisture. A roast without fat will be dry at the end of the cooking process - so fat is key. Pork shoulder, or pork butt. Usually, I use boneless, but sometimes I get bone in. When I do, I put the bone into the mix as well, it only adds flavor. You will not, however, be eating the bone.

Orange

The purpose of the orange is to not only flavor the meat but to keep the meat from cooking too quickly. As the moisture of the orange cooks away, the lard will increase in temperature allowing the meat to cook, crisp on the outside, while keeping the inside tender and moist.

Cilantro and Cinnamon

Flavor, pure and simple.

How cooking in fat, doesn't add fat

It seems counter-intuitive. If you are cooking in fat, should you not be adding fat to the item you are cooking?

Well, that depends. With some foods, cooking in fat at a high temperature keeps the fat from penetrating the food. With carnitas, cooking in fat at a low temperature keeps the fat from penetrating the food.

There are pretty much two things that happen when you cook a fatty, connective tissue-laden cut of meat like a pork shoulder in low-temperature fat - under 250°F:

• Connective tissue breaks down - Beginning at around 176°, the proteins that make up the connective tissue (mostly collagen) will slowly break down and convert to gelatin. Unlike collagen, gelatin will not coagulate at serving temperature allowing them to lubricate muscle fibers, giving food a luscious mouthfeel.
• Muscle proteins contract, expelling moisture - Muscle fibers begin to contract at around 120°, squeezing liquid out of their ends. They contract tighter and tighter as the temperature gets higher until eventually the liquid is almost completely expelled. Unlike collagen, the amount of liquid expelled from muscle is related only to the temperature they are heated to.

This can be easily proved by measuring the amount of fat you start with and then remeasuring once you are done. You will find that you have more fat in the end then you had at the beginning.

So low, and slow.

Now, if possible, save that fat.

To Serve

Once the carnitas is cooked crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, remove them from the pot and allow them to drain briefly.

Then serve.

Using two forks, gently tear the meat and place into a flour or corn tortilla.

Look at that sumptuous tender, juicy meat..

We like to serve carnitas just like our little taqueria in Corona did, with a simple salsa of minced fresh jalapeno, cilantro, and white onion, in a steamed corn tortilla. Chips and guacamole are a nice side, as well as pickled Mexican veggies.

Ole!

On a side-note...I had my second son when I was "older" - and within 3 days of when my first son had his daughter. Being way too young to be called grandma, and also not to confuse my newborn son who had a grandma, who was my husband's mother, we decided on calling me Abuelita, or Lita for short. This is how my grandchildren know me. So while my roots may be Swiss and German - I can make carnitas as good as any Abuelita.