In honor of Cinco de Mayo, I'm making carnitas. Based upon my dining experiences with carnitas, carnitas is a pork dish that is either 1) braised and served in the cooking liquid, 2) twice cooked where the carnitas is first braised and finally cooked in a little oil to crisp up the meat, 3) the carnitas is simply grilled pork and 4) pork that is deep fried. Carnitas is not a spicy dish nor a tomato based dish.
My version is the twice-cooked carnitas.
The Fixin's
The night before the pork is seasoned:
4 lb pork should roast bone-in
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 to 2 T Susie-Q seasoning
1/2 t Garlic Powder
1/2 t Onion Powder
1/2 t Dried Basil, crumbled
1/2 t Dried Oregano, crumbled
2T Vermouth - the pork was looking a little dry so I added the vermouth to help marinade the pork.
Black Pepper - a few grinds
Dumped everything into a zip-loc to marinade overnight.
The cooking:
The next morning - dumped everything into a Dutch oven.
Added 2 C broth
Brought to a boil and simmered 5 minutes.
The rest of the cooking was in a pre-heated oven about 175F for about 10 hours, while I was a work.
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The results after the long, slow cooking. The house wafted with the pleasant aroma of garlic and onions.
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I couldn't resist taking a small bite. The meat is flavorful with onion and garlic, juicy and melted in my mouth. :)
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While the meat was cooling, I made guacamole.
Guacamole
1 avocado
2 T minced fresh onions
1 big clove of garlic, mashed through a garlic press
1 T Cilantro, hand shredded
2 T Salsa
1 dash garlic powder
1 dash onion powder
1/2 lemon juice
1/2 lime juice
Mash and blend
Cover and refrigerate so the flavors can meld.
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The carnitas was shredded and defatted. The long slow braising made for easy shredding. The fat and mystery bits separates easily from the meat.
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Shredded Carnitas... What to do next?
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Traditionally, the carnitas is crisped in a skillet with lard. I didn't have any lard, but I did have the drippings skimmed from the cooking broth. Some people may see this as a bowl of fat to be discarded. I see this a bowl of golden, elixir of flavor.
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With drippings, I added a tablespoon to a can of refried beans and another tablespoon was used to fry the pork.
With the braising liquid, I made my version of Mexican rice.
Mexican Rice (pictures were blurry, from hunger?)
2 C Long Grain Rice, uncooked
2T oil
2.5 C braising liquid (didn't need any broth or other seasoning since there was a lot of flavor)
1/4 C Salsa
Cooked the rice in oil to a light brown.
Added the liquid and the salsa and cooked for 25 minutes. (Bring to a boil and lower to medium-low heat.)
The Final Dish
Carnitas served with guacamole, rice, tortillas, beans and a twist of lime.
The meal had a lot of flavor from the pork and the braising liquid used in the rice. I actually surprised myself at how well the dish turned out. lol... Main flavors were garlic, onions and a light hint of the herbs.
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PS... Shawn, You need to get here soon. My freezer is almost full with the blog food I'm saving for you. :-D
2 comments:
Gosh reading about all your dishes really makes me hungry!
Your carnitas looked wonderful in the pictures. I could almost smell it from here. I am definitely drooling... I bet the pooches had their salivary glands working overtime. You're lucky they haven't figured out how to open the oven door and use hot-mitts yet. Give em time. The little geniuses!
Feliz Cinco de Mayo to you. Can't wait to check out your freezer. Frozen Carnitas on a stick sounds mucho delicioso!
Thanks! The dogs were definitely eye-balling me and waiting for any bits that hit the floor. lol
Meat on a stick is always a good thing - satay, kabobs, corn dogs and even those little sample on toothpicks at Costco!
I like your carnitas on a stick idea. Let's trademark that idea.
Teamwork! :-)
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