Authentic Michoacan Style Carnitas
Cooked in lard, these Michoacán style pork carnitas are the perfect authentic carnitas recipe to make at home in your Dutch oven. This recipe uses seasoned and slow cooked fresh pork butt for fall apart tender pork carnitas.
Ingredients
- 4 Pound Pork Butt
- 16 Ounces Lard
- 4 Ounces Bacon Grease
- 1 White Onion Quartered
- 4 Garlic Cloves Roughly Chopped
- 1 teaspoon Cumin
- 1 teaspoon Ancho Chile Powder
- 2 teaspoons Adobo Seasoning
- ½ teaspoon Dried Oregano preferably Mexican oregano
- ½ Orange Cut into slices
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 teaspoon Black Pepper
Instructions
- Trim excess fat from the pork butt and then cut your pork shoulder into large chunks. Pat them dry with paper towels and season with the salt, black pepper, cumin, Adobo seasoning and chili powder. Let the pork sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld.
- Heat the lard and bacon grease in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onions, garlic and oranges.
- Lower the heat to low, then add the Bay leaves, oregano and (if using) Coca-Cola.
- Add the pork to the Dutch oven, making sure it is fully covered in the melted lard, and cook at 225 degrees for 4-5 hours, until tender.
- Once the pork is tender, remove it from the Dutch oven with a slotted spoon. Add a little of the lard to a skillet or heavy bottomed pan and heat over medium high heat. Briefly brown the large chucks of pork in the oil then move the pork to a large bowl and shred.
- Serve the carnitas with lime wedges, cilantro, salsa, and tortillas.
Nutrition
Calories: 756kcalCarbohydrates: 3gProtein: 34gFat: 67gSaturated Fat: 19gPolyunsaturated Fat: 15gMonounsaturated Fat: 28gTrans Fat: 6gCholesterol: 120mgSodium: 374mgPotassium: 667mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 81IUVitamin C: 5mgCalcium: 39mgIron: 3mg
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