Carnitas de Puerco
An easy to prepare method for tender, delicious shredded pork. Use it in tacos, burritos, nachos or in sandwiches.
Equipment
- Dutch oven
Ingredients
For Carnitas:
- 5 lb pork shoulder roast
- water as needed
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 tsp dry oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 2-4 cloves garlic, smashed
For Taco Shells:
- 10-12 corn tortillas
- ½ cup vegetable oil, for frying tortillas
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Toppings:
- lettuce or cabbage, thinly shredded
- 1 tomato, chopped
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup diced onion
- ¼ cup cilantro, roughly chopped
- ¼ cup salsa
- 1 ripe Avocado, diced
- 2 limes, quartered
Instructions
Prepare pork:
- Place pork shoulder in a large stock pot or dutch oven.
- Add diced onions, garlic, oregano, basil, cumin, salt, pepper and bay leaf to the pot.
- Pour in enough water to cover pork roast.
- Cover and bring water to a boil.
- Reduce heat to low and maintain a good simmer. Simmer, covered for 3-3½ hours.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- After cooking pork on the stove, carefully remove the meat and place it on a foil lined cookie sheet.
- Remove bone and shred the pork meat leaving the fat in the pan. The fat will add moisture and flavor to the meat.
- Spread the shredded meat out into an even layer and bake in the oven for 30-45 minutes or until meat is well browned.
- Remove from the oven and remove any excess fat if desired.
Fry tortillas:
- Heat ¼ inch of oil in a skillet.
- When oil is hot, place a tortilla in the pan and cook for 30 seconds.
- Flip tortill over and fold in half. Fry until lightly toasted about 1½ minutes per side.
- Remove tortillas to a paper towel lined platter and sprinkle generously with grated Parmesan cheese.
Assemble tacos:
- To serve, place a generous amount of pork in a tortilla shell and top with your favorite toppings and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.