This Dutch oven carnitas recipe is requested by friends and family repeatedly. Many find carnitas a little dry or flavorless, but these have a great, distinctive flavor. Serve with warm, fresh tortillas and salsa.
Provided by: SmallRecipe.com
Categories: Mexican Recipes
Total time: 3 hours 45 minutes
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 3 hours 30 minutes
Ingredients:
| ¼ cup vegetable oil |
| 4 pounds pork shoulder, cut into several large pieces |
| 3 tablespoons kosher salt |
| 1 onion, chopped |
| 1 clove garlic, crushed |
| 3 tablespoons lime juice |
| 1 tablespoon chili powder |
| ½ teaspoon dried oregano |
| ½ teaspoon ground cumin |
| 4 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth |
Steps:
- Heat vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat. Season pork shoulder pieces with salt, then arrange in the Dutch oven. Cook until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in onion, garlic, lime juice, chili powder, oregano, and cumin. Pour in chicken broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until pork is very tender, about 2 1/2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
- Transfer pork shoulder to a large baking sheet; reserve cooking liquid. Drizzle a small amount of cooking liquid over pork pieces and lightly season with salt.
- Bake pork in the preheated oven until browned, about 30 minutes. Drizzle more cooking liquid every 10 minutes; use two forks to shred pork as it browns.
Nutrition Facts:
Calories 249.8 calories, Carbohydrate 2.3 g, Cholesterol 62.5 mg, Fat 19.1 g, Fiber 0.4 g, Protein 16.2 g, Saturated Fat 5.9 g, Sodium 2072.3 mg, Sugar 1.1 g