I love carnitas. I don’t think y’all understand how deep my love for it goes, but you’re about to find out. Here in San Antonio, my favorite place to grab carnitas tacos is at Carnitas Lonja. They specialize in traditional Michoacán carnitas and make it fresh daily. I believed I had good carnitas, until I visited this quaint, family owned establishment. From the first bite, I was hooked. The pork was next level; juicy, tender and delicious. Not to mention the fresh homemade tortillas. So, my whole goal for this recipe was to make an at home version as close to Carnitas Lonja as I could. And, I think I accomplished that with this recipe.

First things first, if you’re going to commit to making it, you must make it right and that means using lard. Yes, I said it, LARD! There’s no way around it. I do not recommend nor advise you using any substitutions. I’ve done the testing and it all comes back to frying, then slow cooking the pork in pure fat.

Trust and believe when I tell you, I’ve gone through many of the recommended methods and versions to not use lard. Like most, I wanted to avoid it at all costs. I like to consider myself somewhat health conscious and the thought of using lard was unconscionable. However, time and time again, these methods did not work. The end results were always missing something. There’s only but so much flavor you can get from using olive oil or any basic cooking oil. Also, I need food bloggers to stop trying to slow cook it in the oven or a slow cooker in what I call a citrus bath. These bloggers use so much orange, lime and lemon juice in a broth with just a splash of oil thinking that’s going to do something. THAT IS NOT CARNITAS. Call it citrus roasted pork for all I care, but please do not disrespect it by calling it carnitas. By no means am I claiming my version is authentic, but I guarantee you, after living in San Antonio for the last 18 years and being around Mexican food, this version is 100 times better than the ones claiming to be the “best”.

But, I digress. Let me reclaim my composure.

By now, you can tell I take my carnitas making serious. Which brings me to my next point. I know I said earlier I don’t recommend substitutions. I still stand by that, but because I’ve tested this so many times, there is one substitution I will allow. You still may not like this ingredient and no it’s still not the “healthiest”, but it works; vegetable shortening. You know the stuff your grandma and mom would fry chicken in. It’s also used sometimes when making donuts. Yep, that stuff. So, if you can’t find lard or still don’t want to use it, vegetable shortening is the next best thing.

I’ll wrap up this intro by saying, life is all about balance. Carnitas isn’t something I make often, but when I do, I’m using all the fat and not regretting a thing. Food isn’t something you should ever feel guilty about. You’re not cheating on your diet and not everything that isn’t “plant based” is a guilty pleasure. Food is life and life should be enjoyed to the fullest. So, today we give honor to the divine pork butt in all its fatty and delicious glory. Tomorrow we’ll have a salad with a fresh pressed juice on the side and everything will be ok, I promise. So, let’s get into this recipe.

A few things I’ve learned along the way while perfecting my carnitas:

Use LARD! - had to say it one last time for the people who still aren’t listening.
Citrus should only play a background note to the dish. It should never be the star player.
Evaporated milk & Mexican Coca Cola may sound like an odd thing to use in a savory dish but they truly make all the difference in the final product.
Only use Mexican Coca Cola and not the American version. There’s a difference.
To get a crispy outer layer, sear cooked pork chunks in a cast iron or skillet on high heat 1-2 minutes. Broiling in the oven can work too, but I found that cast iron works best.

Carnitas

Yields: 6 - 8 servings

Prep Time: 5 mins | Cook Time: about 2 hours | Total Time: 2 - 3 hours

Ingredients

3 - 4 lbs bone-in pork butt (cut into 2 inch chunks)
1 lb lard
8 oz Mexican Coca Cola
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
3 bay leaves
3 cloves garlic (whole)
1/2 white onion
1 orange (cut in half)
kosher salt

Special Tools

large pot

--

Instructions

In a large pot, heat lard on medium high heat. When the lard has melted and is hot but not smoking, place the pork chunks in to start the frying process. Make sure the meat is not overlapping.
Let the meat fry on one side for 25 - 30 minutes. Then, flip and repeat on the other side for another 25 - 30 minutes.
After this hour, reduce heat to medium/low, add in the remaining ingredients (Coca cola, evaporated milk, bay leaves, garlic, onion, orange and a heavy pinch of salt)and let simmer for an hour.
After this time, check for tenderness. If the meat is falling off the bone or easily shredded with a fork, it's done. If it's not continue to simmer for an additional 15 - 30 minutes.
Once the pork is done, remove it from the lard bath and sear the meat in a cast iron skillet, if you desire some crispy pieces. Then, chop or shred meat.
Warm corn or flour tortialls prior to serving the carnitas. Top tacos with cilantro and onion and salsa. Enjoy!

--