pork carnitas: are you ready for a taste sensation?

pork carnitas
1 head garlic
1 lime (juice and zest)

1/4 c grated sweet onion

2 Tbsp grated shallot

2 Tbsp grated jalepeno (1 very large jalepeno)

1 Tbsp salt
1 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 c fresh chopped cilantro
1/4 c + 2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp butter
about 3 pounds pork shoulder
3 c chicken stock
3 c beef stock
water to cover the pork

pork carnitas sauce
1 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
3 c of the liquid the pork was cooking in

wrap 1 head of garlic in aluminum foil.  place in a 350 fahrenheit degree oven for 30-45 minutes.  take each clove of garlic and squeeze the garlic out of its papery skin into a bowl.  to the garlic add all the ingredients from salt all the way down to cilantro.  to that add 1/4 c olive oil.  mix everything together.

roasted garlic, lime juice, and lime zest (1)

(1) + onion, shallot, and jalepeno (2)

(1) + (2) + salt, pepper, onion and chili powder, oregano, and cumin (3)

(1) + (2) +  (3) + cilantro and olive oil (4) 

pull out two strips of plastic wrap.  overlap them to look like a plus sign (+).  place a spoonful of the mixture on the middle and spread out to the size of the bottom of the pork shoulder.  place the pork shoulder on top of the spread out mixture.  use about two-thirds of the mixture to cover the pork shoulder on all sides.  wrap the pork shoulder up in the plastic wrap and place in a gallon size zip lock bag.  let marinate 24 hours: 23 hours in the refrigerator and 1 hour on the counter prior to cooking.  save the remaining mixture for cooking.

two-thirds of the mixture covering the pork shoulder

heat a skillet with 2 Tbsp olive oil  plus the butter.  sear each side of the shoulder for 3 minutes.

place the pork in the slow cooker.  in the pan with all the drippings add the chicken stock, beef stock, and remaining roasted garlic mixture.  bring to a low simmer.  pour over the pork.  depending on the size of slow cooker, you may need more liquid to cover the pork.  if so, cover the pork with water.

place the lid on and cook for 1 hour on high.  then reduce to low for 4-5 more hours.  at the 4 hour mark, use a pair of tongs to test the pork. try to pick a chunk off.  if the pork breaks or comes apart easily (sort of breaks with the pressure of the tongs).  pull the pork out.  when it is cool enough, go through twice pulling the fat out and shredding the pork.

yum! yum!! yum!!!

to make the sauce, melt the butter in a saute pan.  brown the butter for 3-5 minutes.  slowly add the liquid.  bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.  simmer for 15-20 minutes until the liquid thickens to the consistency of a tasty gravy (until it coats the back of a spoon).  toss the pork in the gravy and serve.

My sister-in-law Mary Louise asked me out to dinner to a little tapas restaurant with a Mexican flair.  I noticed the pork tacos and the pork carnitas.  Based on the waiter's recommendation, I ordered the pork carnitas.  Thank goodness the waiter and I share similar tastebuds.  So moist, so succulent, so tasty.  I went home and immediately searched for a recipe.  The only thing the recipes really had in common was slow cooking.  After comparing them, I came up with this gem.

Searching "pork carnitas" in google helped me find recipes calling for many different names of what turned out to be the same cut of meat: boneless pork shoulder roast, pork butt roast, pork shoulder, and pork butt.  Not knowing if these were the same or different cuts I looked up and thankfully found http://www.foodsubs.com/MeatPorkShoulder.html.  Lucky for me because, all I could find at the grocery store was a Boston butt which I knew I could buy because I had read this website that gave all the names of pork shoulder cuts.