Carnitas

Home made Carnitas Tacos.

The Best Homemade Carnitas

One thing I think we can all agree with, we love tacos and this Carnitas recipe is no exception. If you don’t know what that means, I’m talking about tender yet crispy thin pieces of pork meat that have been cooked to perfection. Some of the busiest cities in Mexico and in the United States have street vendors cranking out these little gems like they’re going out of style. Folks can’t get enough and I’m going to show you how to do it better than any other online recipe.

Raw bone in pork shoulder roast with the skin.

Misconceptions about Carnitas

The very definition of the Latin word, “Carnitas” translates as braised or roasted pork served shredded in small pieces. Some people seem to think that means that the meat should be cut into small portions before cooking it. Nonsense. It’s the final product that needs to be chopped up. Some of the most famous cookeries in Mexico braise all of the meat in large portions. The only reason to cut the pork into small pieces would be to fit in your pot, if your home pot isn’t big enough. Also, you won’t be needing any additional lard to cook this recipe because this pork shoulder is marinated first, then baked and roasted in it’s own rendered fat.

Carnitas marinade.

Carnitas Marinade

As I already mentioned, Carnitas is braised or Roasted pork. In Mexico and most online recipes, the pork is cooked in large amounts of lard first, then all of the other ingredients are added half way through or more towards the end of the cooking. Marinating the meat first, then baking with the slow and low method, accomplishes several things; it flavors, tenderizes and allows you to free up your time instead of baby sitting the stove for several ours. If I want tacos for lunch, I get this started the night before and it cooks itself until I get up the next day. Not to mention, this process cooks the meat perfectly and I prove that in the video tutorial down below.

Fully Cooked Carnitas for tacos and burritos.

Carnitas Final Steps

This Carnitas recipe will roast for 12 hours in the oven but it’s not finished yet. Although you can achieve the tenderness from the slow and low method, you’re still going to want to add some more flavor and a bit of crispiness to the meat. This can be done by adding the final ingredients, orange juice, coca-cola, bay leaves and cranking the oven up several notch’s. After you add those ingredients you want to bake the pork with the lid off for another hour. Set the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, cut spin and rotate the meat before and every half hour to reach its full potential. You’ll understand better, once you watch my tutorial.

If you’re interested in other taco recipes look into my Chipotle Chicken, Barbacoa, Street Tacos(Cabesa), Fish Tacos and my Taco Salad recipes. I’ve got two recipes for the Greek Tacos too; Pork Gyros and my American Greek Gyro recipe.

Carnitas Ingredients

10 lbs Pork Shoulder

1/4 cup Garlic Infused Oil
2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper
1 tbsp Oregano
1 tbsp Cumin
2 tbsp Chipotle Pepper in Adobo Sauce
2 tbsp Sweetened condensed milk
1/2 tsp Ground Cloves

1/2 cup Orange Juice
1/2 cup Coca Cola
2 Bay Leaves
1 Onion

Bake at 200 degrees Fahrenheit for 12 hours. Cut pork into Pieces. Add Orange Juice, Cola and Bay Leaves to the rendered fat and cut pieces of meat. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, with the lid off for 30 minutes. Stir the mixture and bake for 30 more minutes, then remove from oven and shred.

Barbacoa – How to make Chipotle style Barbacoa

barbacoa-taco-main-pic

I Love Barbacoa

In my opinion, Barbacoa is especially delicious and this recipe is no exception.  I’ve studied and sampled various recipes over the years and I believe what I’m offering you today is, as always, geared towards the best of the best.  It’s meaty with a medium to a hot kick you can control, with plenty of seasoning and spice.  And this particular dish will turn your entire home into what smells like an authentic professional restaurant.

barbacoa-main-pic

How to make Barbacoa the Best

You’re going to find that the bulk of this Barbacoa recipe is cooked with a 4 lbs Beef Chuck, just to keep it simple.  But you can take this a step further by adding Oxtails, Cheek Meat or pork spare and baby back ribs to up the gaminess; which I highly recommend but it’s not required.  You’ll still turn out some amazing Barbacoa following this easy recipe.  You’re also going to need my Homemade Enchilada Sauce to complete this recipe but I’ve added the ingredients to the list below as well as the link to the originally post if you need it.

For more fun recipe ideas and authentic Mexican food check out these recipes:
Chipotle Chicken for Tacos and Burritos, Street Tacos, Mexican Corn on the Cob.

Barbacoa Ingredients:

4 lbs Beef Chuck, Salt and Peppered
You can also add Oxtails, Cheek Meat or Spareribs meat for a more Gamy taste.

Combine in Blender
1 small onion
6 Garlic Cloves, peeled
2 Chipotle Chili’s in Adobo Sauce
2 tbsp Adobo Sauce
1 1/2 tbsp Cumin
1 tbsp Turmeric
1/2 tsp Ground Cloves
1 tbsp Oregano, dried
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 cup Red Enchilada Sauce, PMGK Recipe Only

1 Lime, squeezed
Kosher Salt and Pepper to taste
Chop Fresh Cilantro and Onion for topping

Red Enchilada Sauce Ingredients(Click Here for original Post with Video Recipe)
12 Large Dehydrated Chili’s, seeded
1 qt Chicken Broth, approximately
1/2 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp Onion Powder
1/4 tsp Salt, adjust to taste
2 garlic Cloves

Bake Barbacoa for 4 hours at 275 degrees Fahrenheit and serve in Tacos, Burritos, Tortas or on a plate with rice.

Mexican Style Grilled Corn on the Cob

Mexican Style Corn on the Cob Main pic

The Best Corn on the Cob

This Mexican Style Corn on the Cob recipe, otherwise known as Elotas, is the absolute best way to grill your corn.  It’s the street style Corn on the Cob you get from the push carts in L.A. so I’m tellin’ ya, you’ve got a winner here with this recipe.  It’s absolutely, hands down, the best Corn on the Cob I have ever had!

Grilled Corn on the Cob

I find that the best Corn on the Cob always tastes better when it’s been grilled.  In the video tutorial, I just use an electric grill for filming but it’s not even close to the same thing.  So if you’ve got an outside grill with propane or some charcoal, that’s definitely the way to go.  The smoke and the flame will take the Elotas to a whole new level.  Also, be sure to use regular Mayonnaise, not light.  You’ll cheat the flavor.  The Cheese I used here is a Mexican Cheese called Catija but you can use Queso Fresca or even just Parmesan if that’s all you’ve got.  It really won’t make that big of a difference.  Just don’t replace any other ingredients unless you want to stick to plain chili powder instead of the taco seasoning.

Other grilling and picnic style recipes, including my Hawaiian Mac Salad and Coleslaw, are listing in these links here below.

CLICK HERE for Hawaiian Mac Salad
CLICK HERE for Coleslaw

Mexican Style Corn on the Cob Ingredients:

5 Corn Cobs
1 Lime, juiced
1/4 cup Fresh Cilantro, chopped
1 pkg Taco Seasoning
1/2 cup Catija Cheese, grated
1 cube Unsalted Butter
1/2 cup mayonnaise

Be sure to watch the video tutorial and Grill your Corn on the Cob for 8 to 10 Minutes, constantly turning, over Medium High Heat and top with all of the above ingredients.