Carnitas

!WARNING!

If you are a pork fan this recipe may have a significant impact on your life

 !WARNING!

I had some unexpected time this evening and with a spare avocado on my hands (as you do) had decided I needed guacamole. My freezer held some cider braised pulled pork which floated my boat but was just not appropriate with guac.

Consequently, I decided to go "full Mexican" and bought a pork shoulder (as you do) to make carnitas. Clearly a very restrained mid-week meal...

Holy moly, I'm glad I did. This pork was so unbelievably tasty, I must have eaten at least as much as I put on the plate just whilst I was plating. It was so tender yet with a real bite and a caramelised exterior all combining to burst into a beautiful mouthful of porky goodness. It was just immense. Utterly delicious. 

On top of that it was ridiculously easy to make and far far quicker than I had imagined.

To have with the carnitas, I had the aforementioned guac, crackling chunks from the shoulder skin, some re-fried beans and feta, all atop a tortilla. I realise I could have made a burrito roll but this seemed more refined.

Seriously, carnitas vs. pulled pork is now a very close contest. You need to try this out.

Carnitas (recipe taken from Williams-Snoma "Mexican")

Ingredients:

~1.5kg boneless pork shoulder

6 cloves garlic, peeled and halved

Strips of zest from one orange

180 ml orange juice

2tsp sea salt

Oil, if required

Method:

1. Trim the fat from the pork and put in a wide heavy saucepan.

2. Cut the shoulder into 1" strips and then cut in to chunks ~1"x2".

3. Add the pork cubes to the pan with the garlic, orange zest, orange juice and salt. The meat should be in a single layer, if possible.

4. Add enough water to barely cover the meat and bring to the boil over a medium heat.

5. Reduce to a medium-low heat, cover partially and cook for ~1hour until the liquid has evaporated, stirring occasionally.

6. If the pork isn't quite tender, add a bit more water and continue cooking.

7. Once the pork is tender and the liquid has evaporated, remove the orange zest and garlic cloves (if possible) then brown the meat in the fat (adding more if required).