Carnitas

[andiesenji]

I spent over an hour boning out the leg of boar and just finished seasoning, wrapping and sealing it in foil and it is now in the oven.

It differs from domestic pig by having more massive bone and much bigger veins and tendons. I can understand why the geneticists are tucking human genes into hogs to grow transplants for humans. Those veins were the toughest I have ever seen. I can see one replacing an aorta and lasting a lifetime.

The meat is very dense and much darker than domestic pork. I had some frozen pork belly fat from the local abattoir and inserted strands of this into the meat using a larding needle.

I am cooking it at 250 F for 6 hours to start. I suspect it will take longer.

[ExtraMSG]

I'd be tempted to actually go with a lower temp if you can. I'd be worried about cooking rather than melting all those gristly bits.

[andiesenji]

I trimmed out most of the inedible bits, ligaments, silverskin, veins, etc., seasoned it, rolled and tied it. Final weight 14 pounds.

The aroma is just beginning to escape from the oven - acutally it is stronger outside as the oven vents outdoors and the doors seal quite well (it has optional steam). It just passed the 4-hour mark so has 2 to go, however I expect it is going to take longer.

I hope it turns out well enough to serve to friends. My neighbors and I are getting together tomorrow and I plant to serve it. She is making chiles rellenos, for which she has a gift, the best I ever tasted. I am baking bread and her eldest daughter is making tortillas. Mr. Obregon is making the Pico de Gallo (salsa) and I am making a soup from a recipe sent by GiftedGourmet.

The son-in-law is making ceviche but I don't eat seafood so won't be able to comment on that.

I have plenty of ripe tomatoes and peppers ready to pick and had my gardener pull up a bunch of onions yesterday during his weekly visit. I will wait until tomorrow to cut the cilantro.

[andiesenji]

After 7 hours cooking in foil I took the meat out, cut it into chunks and moved to a sheet pan. Roasted uncovered for 1 1/2 hours, turning twice so all sides nicely browned. Meat very moist and tender, shreds readily. It is delicious, rich and full of flavor.

Close up of piece that I pulled apart with two forks.

[andiesenji]

I forgot to note that I started out with 14 pounds and after cooking have slightly less than 10 pounds. It lost considerably less weight than I would have expected with regular pork.

[fifi]

Wowser. That looks wonderful. How does the taste compare to domestic pork?

Last year, my nephew got a feral hog at his deer lease. I don't know what exactly he did with it on the smoker but it really just tasted like pork to me. Which is an ok thing because the ranch owner will practically pay the hunters to shoot the damn things. They are very destructive and breed like fleas. A supply of "free" pork sounds good to me. We have bunches of them tearing up neighborhoods here in the Clear Lake City suburbs in Houston. I think they are going to get the bow hunters after them.

[andiesenji]

The flavor is pretty much the same as domestic pork. It has more color, the flesh is reddish pink, it looks more like the pork I knew as a child on the farm.

That was of course before pork became "the other white meat" and lost a lot of its flavor.

I used about a pound of pork belly fat in the meat otherwise I think it would have been pretty dry. You can see a strip of it in the close up picture.

I have never noticed any "gamy" flavor to wild boar. I think it is the way they feed. I have a note that this one was taken in Mendocino county.

It is probably the same way that elk is more like beef and also has no gamy flavor because they graze like cattle. Deer, on the other hand, eat a lot of tree leaves, bark and such and develop a stronger flavor. They are also a lot more active whereas elk tend to stand around or anble slowly around their range while deer do a lot of running.

Most of the venison I get is from mule deer because most of the hunters go up to Utah to hunt. Occasionally one will show up with a whitetail but that is pretty rare out here.

[andiesenji]

Last year, my nephew got a feral hog at his deer lease. I don't know what exactly he did with it on the smoker but it really just tasted like pork to me. Which is an ok thing because the ranch owner will practically pay the hunters to shoot the damn things. They are very destructive and breed like fleas. A supply of "free" pork sounds good to me. We have bunches of them tearing up neighborhoods here in the Clear Lake City suburbs in Houston. I think they are going to get the bow hunters after them.

I have eaten javelina (peccary) many times. My neighbor brings them back from his ranch near Durango, Mexico. They are a pest because they tear up their crops and also compete with their goats for food on the open range. They are also dangerous to people. They aren't very big but are very aggressive.

They do make good eating.

[ExtraMSG]

Looks great. How big/old was the boar, do you know?

[andiesenji]

Looks great. How big/old was the boar, do you know?

I don't know. He was a fairly big one. I think the dressed weight was 200 pounds. Before I deboned it the leg weighed almost 40 pounds. I sawed the lower 2/3 into pieces which will probably go into a stew of some kind. the thigh portion had a massive femur bone, at least 3 times the size of a regular ham bone and the "H" bone, part of the pelvis was also much thicker and heavier than a comparable bone in a domestic pig. I prepared the "saddle" for a big party the hunter held for a large party of friends last Christmas, and each loin and the attached rib portion weighed over 35 pounds. I had to roast them separate then assemble after roasting on a huge platter.

I just thank God he didn't ask me to prepare the head. He decided to have it mounted. Ugly sucker....

[andiesenji]

The boar carnitas was well received. Seconds and thirds were requested.

I sliced and chopped it prior to heating in microwave then mixed in pico de gallo and chopped cilantro. Homemade corn tortillas were the perfect wrap. The flavor was excellent and the meat was very tender. Even the "crunchy bits" were tender, almost dissolving in the mouth.

Before rolling and tying the meat I seasoned it with a mixture of

1 rounded tablespoon Cumin, toasted and freshly ground

2 tablespoons kosher Salt

1 teaspoon black Pepper

1 tablespoon minced Garlic

1 tablespoon minced Anaheim chile

3 tablespoons Lime juice

3 tablespoon Tequila

worked into a paste then rubbed all over the meat.

Here are a couple of photos. I sliced some which will go into sandwiches.

also a close up showing the color of the interior of the meat. Definitely not the other white meat.

[Mabelline]

I know what a peeping tom feels like, between Chad's Butt and this beautiful leg. (There goes that weird-sounding commentary again). I was just going to post that I am going to make some of Diana Kennedy's pineapple vinegar, then I was gonna do fifi's coconut milk, jaymes' tequila,and the vinegar to do carnitas. I wonder what spices I ought to use? I'll have the 14 or so days while the vinegar is making, so I figured I'd drive myself crazy in the meantime thinking about. But I cannot resist praising this masterful rendering of a great meat. Way to go, andie!!

[andiesenji]

I wonder what spices I ought to use? I'll have the 14 or so days while the vinegar is making, so I figured I'd drive myself crazy in the meantime thinking about. But I cannot resist praising this masterful rendering of a great meat. Way to go, andie!!

Cumin is the one that is absolutely necessary. Use cumin seed, toast it in a dry skillet till the seeds start to pop, shake it constantly, let it cool a bit then grind it just before using. The flavor is much more effective. Ground cumin loses its strength rapidly.

You also don't have to use fresh chile pepper. Grind some hot red pepper flakes instead, a teaspoon would be enough.

I had considered using some brown sugar in the rub but forgot about it. The meat is so naturally sweet that it wasn't needed, however some pork would benefit from that little extra sweetness.

[Mabelline]

Totally agreed about the cumin. I don't even have any preground, because it smells like cardboard boxes that have been rained on to me--go figure!

[fifi]

I was just going to post that I am going to make some of Diana Kennedy's pineapple vinegar, then I was gonna do fifi's coconut milk, jaymes' tequila,and the vinegar to do carnitas.

Oh... My... God... I never thought of that! I wonder if the coconut milk will glaze the carnitas like it does the chicken?

That is inspired!

In fact, now I am wondering about a "fusion" technique. Add some kaffir lime leaves and lemon grass to the simmering liquid, sort of like bay leaves. I would also just use the cream at the top of the can of coconut milk. I have to think about this some more. Thai carnitas. Who knew?

[nessa]

Oh SURE. Find ways to make it more fattening. THANKS.

I just made another 10 pounds tonight. Well the original shoulder was 10 pounds, I dont know how much meat that left, after the bone was removed etc. I did render well over a cup of fat that was left over. Not sure what to do with it, but its pork fat! and infused with all kinds of yummy flavors now.

Thank goodness I start at the gym tomorrow.

[fifi]

Oh... Do hash browns in that fat. Saute just about anything in that fat. Fry eggs in that fat. Fresh pork fat is a wonderful thing.

[mags]

You know, the thought of Thai carnitas makes me go all warm and runny inside. But I looked up the recipe for Diana Kennedy's pineapple vinegar, and while I'm sure it would add immeasurably to the general deliciousness, I have serious difficulty with any recipe that tells me to skim once the maggots are visible. I don't know that I've contributed to the Stuff I Would Never Eat thread, but, yeah, visible maggots are kinda at the top of the list.

[bbq4meanytime]

Count me in as a new carnitas recruit. I picked up a small shoulder (5.5lbs) cut it into large chuncks, an not having any tequila or OJ around, poached it in 2 cans of beer, 1 can of chicken broth and some aromatics. I was really surpised at the wonderful aromas that permeated the kitchen. Afterwards, a full fry in hot oil Fresh tortillas and roasted tomatillo salsa finished it off.

Thanks all for the inspiration!

[cjsadler]

Gave the carnitas a go this weekend, but as usual when I try cooking something the first time, I ended up screwing it up (even though this sounded so easy). Used a 5.5lb pork shoulder, cut it into 1" cubes (with fat cap), added half a can of pepsi, chopped onions, jalepenos and salt and then covered with water. I obviously put way too much water in, as a couple hours later, the pork was close to done, but the pot was still full of water (it had been partially covered). Took the lid off and turned up the heat some, which may have been my second mistake-- when the liquid finally evaporated, there was no fat in the pan. The dry meat was just scorching on the bottom, so I stopped at that point (it had basically disintegrated into pulled pork at this point). Maybe the fat emulsified in the water (since the heat was too high) and evaporated along with it? I'd included most of the fat cap, so I was really mystified-- all that fat had to have gone somewhere. So there was no frying of the carnitas (I expected there to be a pool of fat they were frying in), but the 'pulled pork' that resulted wasn't bad.

[Busboy]

Mrs. Busboy did the carnitas thing this weekend and we, too found that the time allocated for boiling the water down was significantly underestimated in the original recipe. Fortunately, everything else seemed to work and we had a great dinner with carnitas, red beans and rice (Salvadoran style, not Cajun-style), garniching the whole mess with lime wedges and crema centroamerican. If only we hadn't put all the tequila into the stew, it would have been perfect.

[Mabelline]

Oh, should've added that this is a slightly more polite pineapple vinegar, but it is based on DK's; she got the credit for it. Not to fear, no maggots in this heathen's vinegar. I'm getting hungry enough to use some palm vinegar, anyway, and make the vinegar for next time...the ongoing carnitas!

[nessa]

I wonder if the vessel of cooking has anything to do with it?

I do mine in lasagne pans in the oven, so they have lots of surface area from which the liquid can escape. Mine took about 5- 6 from start to finish. I guess for the first three or so I had them covered in foil, then I uncovered them and all the liquid evaporated. I actually had more fat this time than last, I had over a cup left over that I had to drain. (And save, mind you) Last time there was no residual fat after they fried themselves.

They were done cooking at the three hour stage and just got more tender as time went on. Sinfully good.

[fifi]

OK... I will share some of my mistakes. I did some last weekend. It came out good and I am having some rolled in a tortilla with avocado and lime juice/red onion "pickle" as we type. But... certainly not the luscious things I have seen here.

I went with the lime juice and tequila and just barely covered with chicken broth. The local HEB had cryovaced packages of "pork butt for carnitas". The chunks were about 4x6 inches. I cut them up into about one inch cubes. They seemed to have enough fat. (I had asked the butcher if he had additional pork fat and he didn't.) The same thing happened to me. When they were cooked to the point that I thought they should be ready to fry, I still had a LOT of liquid. I suspect that the additional liquid load came out of the pork. I finally got there and finished in the oven. That worked ok but the ratio of shreds to chunks was too high and the chunks were too small to have a big luscious portion. I am beginning to appreciate the stew-then-fry-in-deep-fat on the top of the stove technique. But, being the stubborn soul that I am, I am determined to make the Jaymes method work. I think I have to use a bigger pot to keep the surface area to volume ratio high and cut the cubes bigger. Besides, in order to produce those coconut glazed Thai carnitas, I will have to use the Jaymes method.

Here is the chicken technique we are talking about. I see two challenges in adapting the chicken technique to carnitas. Typical Thai seasonings might suffer from the flavor cooking away if stewed too long. We are talking about the lime leaves, lemon grass and basil. Maybe add that toward the end of the stewing phase? Yes, put some coconut milk in the liquid. But I will bet you have to baste with some coconut cream during the frying to get the glaze. Coconut milk cooked all the way down gives you coconut oil. I am just thinking aloud here. Anybody got any other ideas?

edit to add: nessa, I was writing this reply when you posted about using the lasagna pans. I take it that you do the whole thing in the oven. That makes a lot of sense to me. What was your oven temperature? (You may have said but I am too lazy to look. )

Edited May 24, 2004 by fifi (log)

[ExtraMSG]

When I did water method, it took about 2 hours for the water to simmer off. I had it at a true simmer in a standard sized 3 qt saucepan with just enough water to cover enough meat to just barely have space in the bottom. I partially covered it. (And I was using just water, I would think something like alcohol would evaporate quicker.) I talked with someone offline who had done it and it took him 1 hour, but he had it at a low boil, not a simmer, it sounded like. He didn't see any detrimental effects from the higher temp, but he hadn't done a simmer versus a boil head to head.