Master the art of making Pork Carnitas, featuring slow-cooked, tender pork with irresistibly crispy edges. Enjoy this versatile Mexican classic in tacos, burritos, salads, and more for a truly satisfying, crowd-pleasing meal.
13 1/2 – 4 lbs boneless pork butt, fat trimmed to 1/8″, cut into 2 chunks
2cupswatermore or less
1onionpeeled and halved
2tbslime juice
1tspdried oregano
1tspground cumin
2bay leaves
salt and pepper
1orangehalved
Tortillas
Toppings: Minced red onionfresh cilantro, thinly sliced radishes, pico de gallo, sour cream, and lime wedges
Instructions
Adjust the oven rack to the lower middle position and preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
Place the pork in a Dutch oven with the onion, lime juice, oregano, cumin, bay leaves, 1 teas salt and 1/2 teas pepper. Add the water, it should cover just barely cover the meat.
Squeeze the juice from the orange into the Dutch oven and throw the spent orange halves in there as well.
Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cover and transfer to oven.
Cook for 2 hours, until meat is easily shredded with two forks, flipping the meat once halfway though cook time.
Remove the meat from the Dutch oven and discard the onion, bay leaves, and orange.
Place pot over high heat and simmer the liquid stirring occasionally until it leaves a trail when a spatula is run through it and it is thick and syrup like, about 8-12 minutes. It bubbles while cooking so use caution.
Turn the oven to broil.
Shred the pork into bite sized chunks.
Fold in the syrup and spread out mixture in a single layer onto an aluminum foil lined baking sheet.
Broil on lower middle rack for 5 to 8 minutes, until meat is crispy but not charred.
Carefully remove from oven, flip the meat and broil again for 5 to 8 minutes longer.