Carnitas Tacos

Name: Carnitas Tacos
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 5 h
Total time: 6 h
Cuisine: American, Mexican, Latin American
Ingredients: 1 cup kosher salt (250 grams); 1.5 cups light brown sugar (300 grams); 2 small cinnamon sticks; 1/4 cup toasted + ground aniseed (30 grams); 2 oranges zested; 1 piece of Pork Belly 5-7 pounds (2.2-3.2 kg); 1 large yellow Onion sliced; 10 Garlic Cloves; 1/3 coca cola bottle; Carnitas Salt 3% of salt to weight of pork; 2-3 pounds of lard or enough to submerge the pork; Orange Juice 1/2 cup (100 ml); 8 medium carrots; 2 large white or yellow onions; 10 jalapenos; 1 head Cauliflower; 1/2 bunch celery; 4 1/2 cups cider vinegar 1 liter; 1 pound sugar 500g; 4 1/4 cups water 1 liter; black peppercorns 1 tbsp; bay leaves 5 allspice berries 5 avocado leaves 3 (optional); garlic cloves- crushed 4 salt 2 tsp; 2 cups tomatillos; 3 peeled garlic cloves; 1/3 cup diced white onions; 3-4 serrano chilis; 1/2 bunch of cilantro leaves; 1 whole avocado; salt to taste ( about 1 1/2 tsp)

19 steps

Prep:1hCook:5h

Updated at: Wed, 16 Aug 2023 19:41:25 GMT

Nutrition balance score

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Instructions

For Carnitas Salt

Step 1

Toast cinamon sticks for 3 - 4 minutes then add aniseed and toast for another 5 minutes until everything is fragrant

Step 2

Dump toasted cinnamon and aniseed in mortar and pestel and wait 10 minutes before grinding into powder

Step 3

In a bowl, combine salt, light brown sugar, ground spices and zest of 1 orange

For the Pork

Step 4

Cut pork into rough fist sized squares

Step 5

Pat dry and sprinkle with carnitas salt about 3% salt to meat weight ratio

Step 6

Place into large dutch oven

Step 7

Add sliced onions, crushed garlic, 1/2 cup coca cola and orange juice from orange that was zested

Step 8

Add approximately 2 lbs of lard or just enough to cover pork in the dutch oven

Step 9

Cover dutch oven and put in oven at 285 degrees F

Escabeche

Step 10

Add apple cider vinegar, sugar, salt, bay leaf, all spice and black peppercorns, bring mixture to boil then shut off heat, put a lid on it and let cool down for half an hour

Step 11

Thinly slice on mandoline: celery, carrot, onion, jalapeno and cauliflower

Step 12

Strain pickling liquid into a bowl and discard pickling spices from the mixture

Step 13

Put pickling liquid back into the pot and bring to a simmer

Step 14

Add each vegetable until cooked but still crispy, (approximate times as follows: Celery 1 minute, Onion 30 seconds, Carrots 2 minuntes, Cauliflower 2 minutes, Jalapeno 1 minute)

Step 15

Let vegetables rest on sheet pan. Allow pickling liquid and vegetables to cool to room temp; then add vegetables to mason jar and cover with pickling liquid, allow to cool in fridge for 24 hours

Salsa Verde

Step 16

Add raw tomatillos, cilantro, garlic, serrano, salt, onion, little squeeze of lime, avacado and a couple ice cubes to a blender and blend on high for 1 minute.

To Finish Pork

Step 17

After carnitas have been cooking for 2 1/2 hours, poke meat with temperature probe, if probe slides in easily then move to step 18

Step 18

Turn up oven to 360 degrees F and return pork to oven, continue checking every 30 minutes or so until deep amber color develops and temperature probe presses through meat with little to no effort

Step 19

Assemble tacos; pork, escabeche, avacado sauce and crumble pork rinds on top