The only thing that makes this American Carnitas is that I served the carnitas on a bun one day instead of flour tortillas. Just a little easier to navigate, but the recipe for the carnitas is 100% Mexican.
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Ingredients
- 2 tbpn vegetable oil
- 2-3 lb pork shoulder cut into 1 1/2" cubes
- 1 large Spanish onion halved and sliced
- 2 whole pablano peppers seeded and ribs removed, sliced
- 1 tbspn dried oregano
- 2 tspn ground cumin
- 2 tspn chili powder
- 3 cloves garlic grated
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 1 large orange zested and juiced
- Queso - Optional
- 1 lb Monteray jack cheese cut into cubes
- 1 10 oz can hot diced tomatoes and chilis
- Garnish
- peach salsa or pickled pepper slices
- fresh cilantro leaves
- sliced pickled peppers
Servings: people
Units:
Instructions
- Gather all ingredients before starting recipe.
- Pre heat oven to 325°F.
- Peel and slice onion.
- Remove seeds and ribs from Pablano peppers and slice peppers into 1" rings.
- Zest and juice 1 large orange.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat, add cubed pork, season well with kosher salt and black pepper, and sear in batches.
- Remove pork and set aside. Add onion and pepper to skillet and stir to combine. Sauté until softened, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add oregano, cumin, chili powder and garlic and continue to stir until the garlic becomes fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add orange zest, juice and chicken stock then return the pork and any juices from the plate to the pan. Stir to combine. Bring to a fast simmer, then reduce heat to medium low, cover with a lid or cover tightly with aluminum foil.
- Place covered pan in a 325 °F pre heated oven and braise for 1.5 to 2 hours or until the meat can be shredded with a fork.
- Move the meat to a baking sheet, reserving juices, and shred the meat with a fork.
- For Qeuso sauce, cube Monteray Jack cheese and add cheese and canned tomato and chili to a small sauce pan and heat on medium low heat. Stir occasionally to combine cheese with the tomatoes.
- Pre heat the broiler and place the shredded pork under the broiler for a few minutes, make sure that you keep and eye on the meat so that it does not burn.
Serving
- Serve in a flour tortilla, or place a generous amount in a burger bun. Top with Queso sauce, peach salsa and cilantro, or sliced pickled peppers.
