Friday, March 18, 2016

Southwest Style Pork Carnitas


While South and North Carolina have pulled pork, in Texas and Mexico we have pork carnitas. So what exactly are pork carnitas? Well it sorta depends on what part of the country you live, but essentially pork carnitas are cooked and shredded pork that is then served with corn or flour tortillas with various condiments such as lettuce, salsa, cheese, hot sauce etc...You get the picture right?

Anyway, the meat of choice for carnitas or at least the one I use is a bone-in pork butt. The size of the pork butt does not really matter as the seasonings and the procees used to cook the carnitas is the same. Just remember that if you are cooking for a large group or you want to place meals in the freezer, that on average, the yield from a pork butt is about 60% of the actual weight of the uncooked meat give or take 10%.


The Recipe

The traditional recipe for pork carnitas is pretty basic, take your pork butt out of the cryovac package season with salt and pepper. Now, I prefer to use my carnitas rub recipe on my pork butt. I simply like my rub better, and I am cooking for me and my family. Having said that, I have included the traditional method as well as my canitas rub so you can choose to go for the more bold flavors of Texas, or the more traditional Mexican carnitas. As always, the choice is yours.

1 bone-in pork butt
1 onion, diced
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon cilantro, dried
salt and pepper or my optional carnitas seasoning (see below)

Add the garlic, onion, lime juice, and cilantro to the cooking device of your choice, then take your bone-in pork butt and season it thoroughly with salt and pepper. Heat 2 – 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saute pan and brown the pork butt on all sides, then place the pork butt in the cooking container of your choice and cook as follows. Below I have listed some basic directions for cooking a pork butt in either the oven, slow cooker or pressure cooker.

Chef's Note: Some people prefer to just season the pork butt and place in their dutch oven or slow cooker without browning. Then after shredding they saute the shredded pork in olive oil until it is, slightly crispy. I will be honest, I just usually season my pork butt with my rub, throw it in my dutch oven and cook it. Then when it is done, shred the pork, sprinkle a little extra rub mix into the shredded pork and toss it will it is still warm, then serve.



Oven Method: Place the lid on the dutch oven or large roasting pan and bake for 225 degrees for 10 to 12 hours or until the internal temperature of the meat is greater than 170 degrees. I prefer to use my enamel coated cast iron dutch oven for cooking bone-in pork butts as it has thick walls and heats evenly helping to regulate the temperature more evenly than thin walled roasting pans, but as always you have to use what you have.

Slow Cooker Method: If you are fortunate to have a slow cooker that is large enough to hold your pork butt, then after you have browned it throw it in your slow cooker and cook it overnight or while you are at work. According to the 'Crock-Pot' website a 6-7lb pork butt takes 9 ½ hours (about 42 minutes per pound) on low and 7 ½ hours (about 55 minutes per pound) on high so you will have to adjust your cook times depending on the size of roast you are using.

Pressure Cooker Method : Recently we purchased an electric pressure cooker as my wife is not a big fan of the jiggler type pressure cookers that I have been using all my life. Having said that she uses it quite a bit and it does a really good job at cooking many items, one of the things that it cooks really well is bone-in pork butts. When using the pressure cooker method, add ¾ cup beef broth to the pressure cooker before adding your pork butt as you do not want to rinse the seasoning off your meat. Set your electric pressure cooker on high (9-11psi) and cook for 15 minutes per pound (i.e. a 3lb pork butt would cook for 45 minutes).



Todd's Preferred Carnitas Seasoning Mix

This is my own version of a pork rub that I use when I make pork carnitas rub. It has a more Texas or Southwestern flavor than a traditional pork carnitas seasoning. It is my “go to” carnitas seasoning rub when preparing carnitas for my friends and family. .

2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons black pepper
½ teaspoon red pepper
½ teaspoon cumin, ground
¼ teaspoon cinnamon, ground

Mix spices together and store in an airtight container until ready to use. Makes about ¼ cup of dry pork canita rub, shake jar well before using




Conclusion

Making your own pork carnitas at home is easy, and delicious. Most of the ingredients here are recommended in our minimalist pantry series and most of you will have them in your pantry or refrigerator. So your outlay to make this recipe should only be the additional cost of the pork butt. Anyway, this is one of the recipes that my family loves that I just do not make enough of, and I hope it will become one of your families favorites as well. As always, if you have enjoyed this article, please share it with your friends and don't forget to send us a friend request on our 'CulinaryYou' Facebook page and follow us on Google+ so that you will not miss out on any of our new articles.


Resources Used In This Article:





BBQ Smoker Cookbook, By Todd Gamel (currently in editing phase)

Weinstein, Bruce, and Scarbrough, Mark 'The Great Big Pressure Cooker Book', Clarkson Potter, New York, 2015.


Other Money Saving Articles On Our Blog:






No comments:

Post a Comment