Pork roast slowly cooked with spices until tender make an incredible filling for these Tacos de Carnitas! Topped with avocado, fresh cilantro, and a squeeze of lime this is dish is an explosion of flavors. Serve with some black beans and rice and of course an icy cold Cerveza por favor. Try adding some of our pickled onions to add some extra zip to this treat.
Tacos De Carnitas
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
2 hrs
Total Time
2 hrs 15 mins
Tender pieces of spicy pork are served in a corn tortilla with avocado and cilantro.
Course:
Main Course
Cuisine:
Mexican
Servings: 24
Ingredients
- 4 1/2 lbs pork butt
- 6 cups water
- 7 slices orange zest
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 1 1/2 onions diced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 cinnamon sticks preferably Mexican
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 1/2 teaspoons oregano leaves crushed
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 24 small corn tortillas warmed
- chopped fresh cilantro
- finely chopped onion
- Avocado slices
- fresh salsa verde or hot sauce
Method
-
Trim any thick fat from the outside of the pork butt. Cut the meat into 1-inch cubes. Discard any cubes that are pure fat, but don't try to trim all of the fat out of the meat.
-
Put the pork in a large pot. Add the water the strips of orange zest, garlic, onion, red pepper flakes, cinnamon, bay leaves, oregano, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and cloves. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Skim off any scum that forms on the surface. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours, until the pork is very soft, adding more water if necessary to keep the meat submerged. Season with salt.
-
Bring to a gentle boil and cook until the water has evaporated about 30 minutes.
-
After water has evaporated, cook a little longer to brown the meat slightly. (Note: if you want extra-crispy carnitas, fry approximately 25 minutes.) Watch carefully to prevent burning.
-
Remove the bay leaves and cinnamon sticks. Put the meat in a fine strainer and push gently with a wooden spoon to remove any excess fat. Discard the fat.
-
Fold a few tablespoons of carnitas inside each tortilla and top each taco with cilantro, onion and salsa. Avocado if desired
Cooks Notes
Recipe from geniuskitchen.com