Carnitas (Mexican Braised Pork)

Method

1. Season the pork with salt, pepper, cumin, and oregano.

   Season generously — underseasoned food is the most common home cooking mistake. You can always add more at the end, but building seasoning in layers produces deeper flavor than a single pass.

2. Braise. Place pork in a Dutch oven with orange juice, lime juice, garlic, onion, bay leaves, jalapeño, and lard. The liquid should come halfway up the meat. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook at 300°F for 3–3.5 hours until the pork is fall-apart tender.

3. Shred the pork with two forks into irregular pieces. Discard the bay leaves, onion, and jalapeño.

4. Crisp the carnitas. Spread shredded pork on a sheet pan. Drizzle with 3–4 tablespoons of the braising liquid (it's mostly rendered fat at this point). Broil for 3–5 minutes until the edges are crispy and charred. Toss and broil again for 2 more minutes.

5. Serve on warm corn tortillas with diced onion, cilantro, lime, and salsa verde.

   Cut everything to a uniform size. Uneven cuts mean uneven cooking — some pieces will be raw while others are overdone. This is the most fundamental knife skill and it affects every dish you make.

Equipment

• Dutch oven with lid Recommended: Lodge 6-Quart Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven · Also good: Lodge 6-Quart Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven
• Rimmed sheet pan (for crisping) Recommended: Nordic Ware Natural Aluminum Half Sheet Pan
• Two forks (for shredding)

Chef Notes

• The most important thing: Carnitas is a two-stage process — braise low and slow until fork-tender, then crisp in the rendered fat (or under the broiler). The braising makes it tender; the crisping makes it irresistible. Skipping the crisping step gives you pulled pork, not carnitas.
• Traditional carnitas are braised in lard. The pork simmers in its own rendered fat, which bastes and flavors the meat. If you don't have lard, use vegetable oil — the pork will render its own fat during cooking.
• The orange juice is essential — it adds a subtle sweetness and acidity that balances the rich pork. Don't skip it.
• Shred the braised pork into irregular pieces — some big, some small. The small pieces get extra crispy; the big pieces stay tender inside. This textural variety is what makes great carnitas.
• Broiler method: spread shredded pork on a sheet pan, drizzle with braising liquid, and broil for 3–5 minutes until the edges are crispy and charred.

Common Substitutions

Ingredient	Substitution	Notes
Pork shoulder	Pork butt (same cut)	Different name, same thing
Lard	Vegetable oil	Less traditional, still works
Mexican oregano	Regular oregano	Slightly different flavor
Orange juice	Coca-Cola (traditional in some regions)	Adds sweetness and acidity
Broiler crisping	Pan-frying in cast iron	More control, equally crispy

What You're Practicing

Carnitas teaches you the braise-then-crisp technique — cooking protein low and slow for tenderness, then using high heat to create a crispy exterior. This two-stage method is used for Haitian griot, Chinese twice-cooked pork, and Korean fried chicken. Visit Techniques for more on two-stage cooking.

You're also learning fat-braising — cooking protein in its own rendered fat for maximum richness. This is the same principle behind duck confit and rillettes. Explore more at Techniques.