Sunday, March 17, 2013

Carnitas


Sometimes I think I could eat Mexican food every day.
One of our favorite dishes is Carnitas, a slow roasted pork
that is seasoned, baked until it falls apart, then shredded and
baked some more until it is crispy on the top.

My friend Sue Ellen was the first person that introduced
me to Carnitas.  We have been making it for years now, but
this is a new twist on the recipe that I found and I love.


We are down in Cabo right now and when I was here last time
I found a cookbook that someone had left at the home called
by Ann Hazard.

If you know me, you know I love to read through cookbooks
like novels and this one is packed with fabulous Mexican recipes,
many from restaurants.  My mouth was watering the whole time
and I had to come back and start trying some of the recipes right away.

Her recipe for Carnitas calls for the addition of some salsa verde
and that added such a flavor punch.  We won't ever want to make
Carnitas the old way again.  This is a slight variation on her recipe
as I have found that I love to use Montreal Steak Seasoning to
season my Carnitas, so I substituted that for her seasonings, I also
added my salsa verde after the pork was shredded.

Carnitas Recipe
4 lb. pork shoulder (don't use tenderloin, it is too dry)
2 -3T. Montreal Steak Seasoning
1 1/2 C. salsa verde (I used World Market's Roasted Tomatillo Salsa)
Corn tortillas
Shredded Monterey Jack or Chihuahua cheese
Pico de Gallo
Fresh limes

Season the pork shoulder with the Montreal Steak Seasoning.
Place in a roasting pan and bake uncovered at 350 for one hour.
Cover with foil and then reduce heat to 250 and bake another
4-5 hours or until it falls apart.  

Remove from oven and spoon out
excess grease if there is a lot. Then shred the meat using two forks
 Stir in the salsa verde.
Turn the oven back up to 350.  Return the meat uncovered
to the oven and bake about 20 minutes or until the top
is crispy.  Turn the meat over and repeat until the top is crispy.

Serve with corn tortillas that have been sprayed with Pam and heated
on both sides in a frying pan.  Top with Monterey Jack of Chihuahua
cheese, and pico de gallo.  Before eating, squeeze fresh lime juice 
on the top of the tacos.



See how crispy the uncovered meat becomes.  In one of my favorite
local restaurants, their Carnitas is deep fried - absolutely wicked!


This is such a great dish for a large crowd and so easy to prepare.
Everyone loves it.  You will make it over and over.
Just place everything in bowls and let everyone create their own.

I will be posting this with



Jacqueline
Jacqueline

Chocolat - French for Chocolate. I adored chocolate from a young age when I had to sneak in the cupboard to find where my mother had hidden the Nestle's Chocolate Chips. Having read about the famous chocolat shoppes in Paris, when I finally got there I was determined to try a chocolate from every Paris shoppe. I invite you to share my adventures in creating, in travel, and in life.

20 comments:

  1. Yummy! I love carnitas, as I DON'T like anything with beans, lol..Happy St. Patty's, pretty girl!
    FABBY

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  2. I've not heard of these before but do love pulled pork sandwiches that are popular here.
    Good thing I don't live near you J, I'd be hanging around your kitchen a lot.
    Judith

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  3. I agree with Judith, thank goodness I don't live near you:):) These sound delicious and we love pork. Thanks for sharing the recipe. XO, Pinky

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  4. These look so delicious. I love Mexican food too, holding the beans and sour cream, which I am not crazy about. ;-) xo

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  5. Jacqueline, this recipe sounds wonderful! I think we could eat Mexican food almost everyday, too! I think I am going to try this recipe, while the girls are home for Spring Break, next week! Thanks for sharing!

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  6. We love homemade carnitas...anxious to try them using Montreal Steak Seasoning. Thanks for sharing the recipe, Jacqueline.

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  7. I've never heard of these but they look yummy!

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  8. Your carnitas look amazing Jacqueline! My friend said she just made some a couple weeks ago... I haven't tried them yet and now I think I'm missing out:@)

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  9. We love carnitas and we use the montreal Steak seasoning for them too!
    My dear Mexican friend Andrea came over on Christmas and made them us!
    I have cooked with her multiple times but i am afraid by myself it might be a disaster!Might you be able to email me? I have a question for you! Thanks!
    Hearts to you,
    Betsy

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  10. Wish I could sit down to some carnitas right now! Love tomatillo salsa!!!

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  11. Wish I could sit down to some carnitas right now! Love tomatillo salsa!!!

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  12. Simply delicioso! I love Carnitas and yours look awesome!

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  13. We have an authentic Mexican place here (they make the tortillas after you order) and that is the only place I've had these. I loved them and can't wait to try them at home.

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  14. These look and sound delicious. I just put it on my list to try. Thank you for sharing.

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  15. carnitas are my FAVORITE Mexican food, I love your preparation!! anne

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  16. OH, so you're in Cabo again?!??!?!! Aha! That's why we haven't heard much from you! Lucky gal! Have fun!!! If you get a chance, please drop me a quick Yea or Nay on whether it's OK for me to pin this recipe to my Pinterest recipe board. I want to be able to refer back to this recipe so I can make the carnitas next gathering that calls for Mexican food. Not sure when that might be, but yours look so good!!! I have a pork shoulder in the freezer that I bought on sale a couple of weeks ago, so I'm rarin' to go! We have to drive about 1/2 hour away to get good, fresh tortillas (there's a whole section of town just across the Missouri border into Kansas where a loarge population of Latinos live and have tons of markets!), but it's worth the drive for fresh! As much Mexican food as I cook and eat, you would think that I would have made carnitas at some time in my life, but I haven't! Let me know, please! Thanks, and make sure you're using sunblock, Missy! :-)

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  17. I love Mexican food too -- yum!

    Jenny
    www.simcoestreet.blogspot.ca

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  18. These sound wonderful! I have a pork shoulder in the freezer and would love to try this recipe.

    Have a great time in Cabo!

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  19. Carnitas are must about my favorite Mexican food. I've found I can have them even more often by purchasing them at Costco. They're not likely as good as these, but they aren't bad substitutes.

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  20. I'll be making these soon. They look divine! Thanks so much for joining us at Foodie Friday.

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