Carnitas

Chunks of pork braised in water and orange juice to tender perfection

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mexican

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 2 30

Servings people

Ingredients

4 lb (2 kg) boneless pork butt - *See note below
2 cups (450ml) water
1.5 cups (350ml) orange juice
2 garlic cloves - crushed
1 Tsp salt
1/4 cup 60 ml brandy or rum

Instructions

Trim any large pieces of fat and cut the pork into 2" (5 cm) chunks.
Place the pork, water, orange juice, garlic and salt in a large, heavy pot over high heat.
Bring to a boil. Cover the pot, lower the heat and simmer for about 2 hours. Check occasionally to monitor the progress.
As it gets closer to the time test the meat by poking it with a knife. When the knife can be inserted without resistance the meat is done. Give it more time if necessary.
Add the brandy or rum and increase the heat to medium. Continue cooking, uncovered for another 15-20 minutes.
If any cooking liquid remains, turn the heat to high to boil it off.
Once the liquid has evaporated, turn the heat back to medium and continue cooking until some pieces of pork begin to crisp. Be careful at this point; the sugars in the orange juice will tend to burn. Stir the pork as it fries to prevent burning and also to break up the bigger pieces of meat.
Taste for seasoning but be warned - this stuff is addictive!

Notes

*A whole pork shoulder is a huge piece of meat. At retail it is typically sold in the US as shoulder and butt. The shoulder cut is lower on the leg and the butt is the upper portion. However it is sold where you live, the upper butt is the preferred cut here. It has more muscle groups and connective tissue than the lower, shoulder cut. During the long, slow cooking process the collagen in the connective tissue breaks down into gelatin. It's this gelatin that makes the finished pork tender and juicy with a luxuriant mouth feel. Leaner cuts of pork (or any meat for that matter) do not have the same connective tissue and long cooking like this renders them dry and tough.

You can scale this recipe up or down as you please. If you use less meat the cooking time will be the same, more or less. But, because there is less liquid it may cook down before the meat is fully cooked and you may need to add more water if it looks to be running dry.

Carnitas keeps well in the fridge for a few days in an airtight container. It also freezes very well. Portion it out into separate containers and you will have a quick dinner ready at a moment's notice.