Carnitas – slow-cooked crisp pork tacos
Pork shoulder and ribs cooked slowly in lard with orange, garlic and bay until the liquid has gone and the meat fries golden and crisp in its own fat. Eaten in tacos with onion, coriander, green salsa and lime.
- 2 h 25Time
- 45 minHands-on
- 4Portions
- 57 gprotein per portion
- 820kcal per portion
Ingredients for 4 portions
- 800 gPork shoulder
- 400 gPork ribs
- to tasteSalt
- 4 tbspLard
- ≈ 250 mlWater
- 1Orange
- 4 clovesGarlic, peeled
- 2Bay leaves
On the side
- 400 gTomatillo, husked
- 2Serrano chiles
- 1 cloveGarlic, for the salsa
- 1Yellow onion
- 30 gCoriander
- 3Limes
- 12Corn tortillas
Method
- Cut the pork shoulder into large chunks, about 6 cm, and cut the ribs between the bones. Season well with salt.
- Put the meat in a heavy pot with the lard, the water, the juice of the orange and its squeezed-out peel, the garlic and the bay leaves. Bring to the boil.
- Cover and simmer over a low heat for 1½ hours, stirring now and then, until the meat is very tender.
- Meanwhile, make the salsa: blend the raw tomatillos with the chillies, garlic, a quarter of the onion, half the coriander and some salt until coarse.
- Finely chop the rest of the onion and coriander and cut the limes into wedges.
- Uncover, turn the heat up to medium and let the liquid boil away, about 20 minutes, stirring now and then.
- Once only the fat is left, fry the meat in it for about 15 minutes, turning gently, until golden and crisp on the outside. Lift out, drain and chop or pull it into pieces.
- Warm the tortillas in a dry frying pan and wrap them in a tea towel.
- Serve the carnitas in the tortillas with onion, coriander, salsa and a squeeze of lime.
