Carnitas

[snowangel]

Anyone have any great recipes for making pork carnitas?

[Suvir Saran]

I know James does...

Jaymes... Where are you????

[Jaymes]

I know Jaymes does...

Jaymes... Where are you????  

Aqui estoy.

Carnitas

I am far from fluent in Spanish, but I do know that “carne” means meat, and literally, “carnitas” means “little meats.”

Carnitas are a very traditional Mexican dish. And, traditionally, carnitas are pork, but you can make them with any meat...beef, chicken, lamb, etc.

And, although I have heard "carnitas" used in reference to something akin to the “pulled pork” of the U.S. south, most of the time, "carnitas" are small squares of pork that have been first boiled, then braised or fried, until the insides are moist, tender and flavorful, and the outsides are crispy.... Think “pork croutons.”

I use pork shoulder, 1-2 lbs worth. Cut into cubes about 1” square or so. (You can remove large pieces of fat, but remember that you will need some fat to eventually fry your carnitas. Some people even add a little lard if your roast is particularly lean.) Place in Dutch oven. (You can use a large saucepan, but remember that you will eventually be frying them, or putting them under the broiler, or doing something else to crisp them, so you need a large surface area.) Add water just to cover. Simmer, partially covered, till all water is gone and meat starts frying in its own rendered fat. Reduce heat and fry, stirring frequently, till pieces are evenly browned.

That’s the basic method.

But of course to make this really flavorful, you need to be creative along the way. So, what are your options?

First, the liquid in which you boil your carnitas: you can use a little or a lot of beer, wine, tequila, chicken or beef broth, vinegar, lemon, lime, or orange juice. Quite a few recipes call for milk - between ½ to 1 cup. I usually use chicken broth, the juice of one orange, about ½ lime, a dash of vinegar, and either tequila, or gin. I really like the sweetness of gin in cooking and use it often, but it’s obviously not traditional in carnitas. A friend swears by rum. So, there you go.

Next, you’ll probably want to flavor your liquid. The most typical choices for this step are oregano, bay leaves, onions, garlic, epazote, chiles (either chopped or dry or powdered), cumin, cilantro, salt, pepper. One friend puts in some mint; another adds nutmeg and sage. I usually chop up some onions, garlic, chipotles, poblanos, and for seasoning, use a prepared seasoning product called TexJoy that I like with pork and I dust my cubes with that and let them set in the fridge for several hours beforehand.

So now, you’ve boiled your carnitas down, and you’re frying them in the fat, and you think, “Boy, it’d probably be good if those suckers were caramelized.”

I think it would, anyway. Of course, not everyone likes sweetness in their meat, but plenty do. If you’re one of them, add a little sugar to the water when you add your spices. Choices here are syrups, like Caro or Molasses, or Maple, or brown sugar. I add 2 T brown sugar, and 1 T sorghum (not too much for two pounds of meat, but enough to help brown and caramelize it). Mi amiga, on the other hand, caramelizes a cup of brown sugar in another pan, and then pours it over her browned carnitas, stirring and cooking over high heat for another ten-fifteen minutes or so, until the cubes are well caramelized.

Rather than browning your carnitas in the fat on top of the stove, many people finish them in an oven on high heat, or under the broiler.

Okay, so now you’ve got your crispy carnitas. What do you do with them? The answer, of course, is “anything you want.”

You can just squeeze a little extra lemon or lime over them and serve as is, with some salsa or pico de gallo and guacamole and refried beans alongside. Or, you can: arrange on top of arroz; or as a garnish on a bowl of charro beans; or with chopped onion and cilantro in soft tacos or burritos or quesadillas; or whatever you want. Sometimes when I had my kids at home, I’d make a kind of Mexican gravy with milk and onions and chopped green chiles, and pour over and serve as a main dish.

They're wonderful.

[Stone]

I find the "pulled pork" kind to have a better texture than the cubed.

I see a lot of taquerias that put the carnitas back into the water to store them (on the steam table). That always seemed wrong to me. The meat was too watery and no crispiness at all.

[Jaymes]

I find the "pulled pork" kind to have a better texture than the cubed.

If you like them pulled, then when you've simmered your pork pieces down to no liquid left, just take a couple forks and pull them apart.

When I do that, I kind of fry lumps, or patties, of the pulled pork.... sort of like frying hash browns.

[Stone]

I find the "pulled pork" kind to have a better texture than the cubed.

If you like them pulled, then when you've simmered your pork pieces down to no liquid left, just take a couple forks and pull them apart.

When I do that, I kind of fry lumps, or patties, of the pulled pork.... sort of like frying hash browns.

You don't simmer the whole shoulder? I guess that would take much longer.

[Jaymes]

I find the "pulled pork" kind to have a better texture than the cubed.

If you like them pulled, then when you've simmered your pork pieces down to no liquid left, just take a couple forks and pull them apart.

When I do that, I kind of fry lumps, or patties, of the pulled pork.... sort of like frying hash browns.

You don't simmer the whole shoulder? I guess that would take much longer.

Actually, I have done that.... also with beef for carne seca, and chile verde, and carne quisada.

I used to do it pretty often in my (**other thread alert**) CROCK POT. But it does take longer. And it gives you a slightly different final texture than frying your pork squares in their own rendered fat.

[Jinmyo]

Jaymes, very very nice. I love pork shoulder and use it frequently so I'll try this.

One question: I usually brine. How do you think that will work with this method?

[Shiva]

I've found that brining is much more effective on lean meats that are to be cooked using a dry-heat method. I'm not sure how much it could improve a slow braised (or even slow roasted) pork butt. Roasting/smoking/barbecueing under 250F counts as a moist heat method in my book.

Click "Quote" to tell me how wrong I am.

Just for the record, I prefer the soft, stringy, pulled pork type carnitas over the crispy cubes.

[Jaymes]

Jaymes, very very nice. I love pork shoulder and use it frequently so I'll try this.

One question: I usually brine. How do you think that will work with this method?

Don't know, Jin. I suspect that it might make a discernable difference on the "cubes" but not so much on the pulled kind.

Will be interested to hear how it turns out.

[sladeums]

Hey, I'm glad someone (Jaymes) decided to reply to this post, because i didn't have to type out all the directions that I use.

There are definitely two schools of carnitas to visit, one of which is the made at home (as Jaymes recipe so nicely put forth before) and the 'carnitas' you would see on the streets...the carnitas you see on the streets are usually just large portions (whole hog, usually) of pork fried in their own fat and I think that the following Milliken & Feniger recipe gives you a close idea of that approach (of course not quite the same as a whole hog dropped in a vat of boiling lard):

click here for the way Too Hot Tamales recipe por carnitas

When cooking them at home w/o frying everything, I would probably cut the pieces larger than Jaymes (not slighting you) calls for in her recipe since the meat cooks down so much. 2-inch (boneless) cubes are easily workable for the recipe set forth above - country style ribs work especially good for this...and I also follow along w/ Diana Kennedy's suggestion of marjoram, thyme, bay, peppercorns, oranges and salt to taste.

Who knows, I may just be talking out of my ass....but I hope not.

[Jaymes]

I find the "pulled pork" kind to have a better texture than the cubed.

If you like them pulled, then when you've simmered your pork pieces down to no liquid left, just take a couple forks and pull them apart.

When I do that, I kind of fry lumps, or patties, of the pulled pork.... sort of like frying hash browns.

You don't simmer the whole shoulder? I guess that would take much longer.

D -

Don't know how much time you have, or if you're interested in "quickie cooking," but there was a time in my life when I had to do a lot of throwing things together in the morning, then leaving for work, then coming home to a hungry household.

So, I did a "quickie" version of this. Into the crockpot went a pork shoulder, a couple cans whole green chiles (they break up), couple onions, two cloves garlic, and a jar of Herdez Salsa Casera.

By the time I got home.... quickie carnitas.

(By the way, it turned out that my ex-husband and I had completely different notions as to what constituted a "quickie." Many of mine included the crockpot, but none of his ever did.)

[Stone]

I definitely can't let my nieces and nephews see this site.

[Jinmyo]

I've found that brining is much more effective on lean meats that are to be cooked using a dry-heat method.  I'm not sure how much it could improve a slow braised (or even slow roasted) pork butt.  Roasting/smoking/barbecueing under 250F counts as a moist heat method in my book.

Click "Quote" to tell me how wrong I am. 

You're not "wrong".

But it makes a tremendous difference to the flavour. I brine pork shoulder with salt, peppercorns or Szechuan "peppercorns", mustard powder, dried garlic, and chiles.

[snowangel]

Thanks for the suggestions. Our next door neighbors (out of town for a few weeks due to funeral) are fairly recent immigrants from Mexico. The language barrier is pretty significant, but I know they do carnitas in the way Jaymes suggested as well as the method suggested by Sladeums. Juan will periodically bring home a whole pig or two (dead, but whole). He butchers himself. I know they make some type of soup with the head, but once they cut up the rest of it, they will make both deep-fried carnitas and the "braised" ones (as Jaymes described). For the latter, they use tequila and lime, and when we couldn't seem to understand each other on the spices, he simply went into the kitchen, put together a batch of them in a jar and gave them to me. I also got the impression that Crus (Cruz?), his wife, sometimes will freeze the Jaymes-type carnitas before crisping in the oven, then pulls them out, thaws and crisps as needed. When they do the whole pig, they waste nothing, and the kids always get the deep-fried pig liver. They pull out a huge copper kettle, set it on a burner and do it outdoors. My kids really like the fried pork rinds. They serve both styles with fresh corn tortillas (I have easy access to these), a salsa like Jaymes e-mailed me, embellished rice (cooked in chix broth, studded with peas and sweet corn if I give them fresh sweet corn). They also serve two other salsas, both firey hot -- one green, one red, both pureed -- and from what I gather from our limited language exchange, these are fried in oil (make sense?). THey have a ton of people over of all ages, and the band that practices in their garage plays. The adults drink Bud Light (heck, this is the midwest) and shots of tequila. The kids drink orange pop. Dessert is a mess of wacked up melons (all kinds). These are great parties. One of the things we especially like is that one of our children (Heidi) is disabled, and they are far kinder to her than your average Joe. The women go crazy over our youngest -- Peter, who is very blonde with striking blue eyes. The kids run around, the adults get sloshed, and although we can't understand much of what each other says, we all have a wonderful time. The next day, their lawn is littered with paper plates and napkins and beer cans and we help them clean up.

Another fun thing they do for parties on a smaller scale is fajitas. Juan works in a slaughterhouse, and gets skirt steak. At one of these parties, there was someone who was fluent in English, and he, acting as translator, said that what they do is marinate the skirt steak in tequila and lime -- in the freezer for 2 weeks. Grill. Tear with hands, serve again with fresh corn tortillas and the accoutrements described above.

I guess i'd be wise to spend more time at their house when they are doing the preparations.

[Jaymes]

For the latter (carnitas), they use tequila and lime,  

Crus (Cruz?)

....embellished rice (cooked in chix broth, studded with peas and sweet corn if I give them fresh sweet corn).  

They also serve two other salsas, both firey hot -- one green, one red, both pureed -- and from what I gather from our limited language exchange, these are fried in oil (make sense?).  

Another fun thing they do for parties on a smaller scale is fajitas.  Juan works in a slaughterhouse, and gets skirt steak.....what they do is marinate the skirt steak in tequila and lime -- in the freezer for 2 weeks.  Grill.  Tear with hands, serve again with fresh corn tortillas and the accoutrements described above.

Tequila and lime - so traditionally Mexican - so wonderful. As I said in my instructions, I use them in my carnitas as well.

Don't know him so obviously can't be positive, but "Cruz" is a fairly common Mexican name. Sometimes it's short for something with "cruz" in it. But by itself, Cruz means "cross." I'd be surprised if it were "Crus" with an "s."

The fajita recipe you mentioned, marinated in tequila and lime (and usually some chiles as well) is the traditional, original one. I simply cannot tell you how disappointed I ALWAYS am when I order fajitas and get the same old grilled beef or chicken, green peppers, onions. Blah.

Yes, they often fry their salsas in hot oil. Chopped tomatoes, chiles, onions, garlic, squeeze of lime. Or tomatillos, or whatever. You heard right.

And boy does that smell good when they start frying it.

I love that rice that they fix. In my "carnitas" instructions, I wanted to say that they often pile the carnitas on Spanish rice. But of course, what comes to mind is that goopy tomatoey stuff we think of here. And I couldn't figure out how else to describe it, so just said, "rice." But isn't that rice wonderful???

EDIT: Let me add that I think you are so lucky to have such an ebullient Mexican family next door. You are in for many enjoyable hours with them, I'm sure.

[Suzanne F]

Jaymes, I think I love you. You too, Sladeums. ::slobber::

[Jaymes]

When cooking them at home w/o frying everything, I would probably cut the pieces larger than Jaymes (not slighting you) calls for in her recipe since the meat cooks down so much. 2-inch (boneless) cubes are easily workable for the recipe set forth above

Actually, when I think about it, I probably cut my pork into about 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 cubes. They wind up about 1x1.

Gee Suzanne - I've ALWAYS liked you, too.

[mamster]

It's time to bring this thing back to the top. Last night I finally got around to doing a trial run of Jaymes's carnitas method. I used chicken broth, orange, and lime juice as the liquid, and added Mexican oregano and a little Penzey's chili powder. As always when I try something new, I did plenty of things wrong. They didn't have any pork shoulder in a convenient form at the supermarket (only a huge package of country-style ribs and nobody around to split it), so I got pork loin, which is too lean. Then I didn't watch the pot closely enough and it burned out and got black on the bottom, so only one side of the pork cubes got crisped and I had a hell of a pot-washing job.

However, none of my klutziness could spoil this wonderful thing. I brought an unadorned bowl of carnitas and a fork to the table and Laurie and I ate them while we played cards. Incredible. Tangy, crusty, and yes, a little dry from the too-lean pork (I'd added a little peanut oil to the pot), but what a snack. We could not stop dipping into the bowl.

So I vowed to do it right tonight. I have nice and fatty cubed country-style ribs in the fridge right now with a bit of chili powder and some minced onions and poblanos. It's about time to start them simmering; I'll add some beer to the broth this time. We're going to wrap them in tortillas with homemade salsa. Oh baby.

Incidentally, I like my cubes a little smaller than the rest of you have indicated, probably because one of my favorite things in the world is tacos al pastor, which in its American form usually consists of really tiny pork bits.

[Jaymes]

It's time to bring this thing back to the top.  Last night I finally got around to doing a trial run of Jaymes's carnitas method.

I really think my very favorite thing about eGullet is when I find out that someone has tried something I've suggested and enjoyed it.

I'm sure I'm not the only one that feels that way. It's a real kick to know somebody has gotten pleasure from a preparation that you recommend. Everything else pales by comparison.

Although when I fix something that someone here has suggested to me, and it's absolutely delicious, that comes in a close second!

Mamster - Thank you so much for letting me know.

And ¡Buen Provecho!

(Oh - regarding those tortillas for tomorrow night - you probably already know this but just in case, the flour tortillas you buy from the store - if you aren't making your own - are much, much better if you toss them on a hot ungreased grill or skillet for a moment or two before eating - not enough to crisp them or anything - but just enough to get rid of that "raw" taste)

[Jaymes]

They also serve two other salsas, both firey hot -- one green, one red, both pureed -- and from what I gather from our limited language exchange, these are fried in oil (make sense?)...

We don't really think about "frying" a liquid, but that is exactly what they do for several of their preparations. They get the fat (lard or whatever) hot, and then pour the liquid into it, and literally fry it, stirring rapidly. Unique to us, I know, but once you see it done one time, it makes superb sense.

[mamster]

The carnitas were fabulous! I do have a question. Once the all the liquid boils out, there are lots of delicious solids left in the pan: the dregs of the juices and broth, bits of pork that have fallen off, minced veggies, herbs, etc. I had trouble crisping the pork bits before the rest of that stuff burned. So tonight's carnitas were not so crispy, which is the only negative thing you could possibly say about these luscious pork nuggets.

I tried broiling some, and that worked pretty well, but it would be great to save the step. Any hints? Do I just need to fry them on really low heat and be patient? About how long does it take?

Jaymes, do not think we are stalkers, but Laurie is making your caramel corn tonight also.

[Nick]

Mamster, thanks for bringing this back to the top. I'd missed it when it was going on. Now I'm hungry for some of this. I've been trying to do Cuban pork for quite awhile with no real success - nobody (Cuban) wants to part with the recipe. I think this (Carnitas) is something I want to try.

Jaymes, and others, thanks for the ideas. And, Angel, that was a nice picture you drew for me about your neighbors.

[Jaymes]

The carnitas were fabulous!  I do have a question.  Once the all the liquid boils out, there are lots of delicious solids left in the pan:  the dregs of the juices and broth, bits of pork that have fallen off, minced veggies, herbs, etc.  I had trouble crisping the pork bits before the rest of that stuff burned.  So tonight's carnitas were not so crispy, which is the only negative thing you could possibly say about these luscious pork nuggets.

I tried broiling some, and that worked pretty well, but it would be great to save the step.  Any hints?  Do I just need to fry them on really low heat and be patient?  About how long does it take?

Jaymes, do not think we are stalkers, but Laurie is making your caramel corn tonight also.

You know, unless I'm sitting there looking into the cooking pot, it's hard to say exactly what and where you went wrong.

But to me, it's kind of like frying up potatoes or something... you dry it out just enough, but not too much, and with a spatula, you keep scraping up those bits with the chunks of meat as you turn them. They should get nice and crisp and you should wind up with most of that flavorful stuff.

Sometimes, if I've got company, and I'm finishing up other things (like lightly frying the tortillas), I'll scrape the carnitas off onto a cookie sheet and let them finish crisping in the oven. BUT, you have to really watch them or they'll dry out too much.

So, the caramel corn, too, eh? I'm truly flattered! I'll be making some myself tomorrow, along with some pralines, and fudge and date loaf candy to make up my Christmas gifts for the neighborhood!

Edit: Just had a thought - maybe adding a little more fat if it's not crisping/frying up quite right and the brown bits are burning. It seems to me I usually cook the last of it at a pretty good moderate heat, but I think the secret is to keep turning and stirring and scraping up those bits.

I don't know exactly - I've made it for so many years that I just do it more by feel as I go along. So, it's hard to describe exactly what I do. I do know that sometimes if I've gotten a fairly lean cut of meat, I'll add a little fat to the pan to help things along.

Edited December 22, 2002 by Jaymes (log)

[Kerouac1964]

Jaymes -

I love this thread! Great post on making them. I have them in my palm pilot recipe file in my "make soon" list !!

Do you have some good Mexican cookbook suggestions? I love going out on the net each month and purchasing my monthy goodie box. Last month I snagged an original Graham Kerr - Galloping Gourmet cookbook. It is massive, with hundreds of recipes including the ones from his funny show. Plus, pics of him in the service, and on his world travels. With wonderful color photos and a really cool 70s look to the whole shebang!