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Pork Carnitas

Pork Carnitas Tacos

Shared by: Chef Maria Garza (Farm Boy)

Chef Maria Garza of Farm Boy shares her succulent recipe for pork carnitas. My absolute favourite way to enjoy pork is cooking the shoulder long and slow,” she shares. Chef María uses a flavourful braising liquid that gives the meat delicious flavour.

Prepping Time:

20 minutes

Cooking Time:

3 hours, 20 minutes

# of Servings:

Serves 12-16

Prepping Time:

20 minutes

Cooking Time:

3 hours, 20 minutes

# of Servings:

Serves 12-16

Ingredients:

  • 1 boneless Ontario pork shoulder (about 4 lb/2 kg), cut into 1/2 inch (1 cm) pieces
  • 1 1/2 cups (375 mL) orange juice
  • 1 1/2 cups (375 mL) chicken broth or water
  • 8 cloves garlic
  • 1 white Spanish onion, cut into quarters
  • 1 tbsp (15 mL) ground cumin
  • 1 tbsp (15 mL) salt
  • 2 tsp (10 mL) dried oregano
  • 1 tsp (5 mL) pepper
  • 2 tbsp (30 mL) sweetened condensed milk
  • 2 cups (500 mL) finely diced rinsed white Spanish onion (see tip)
  • 1 1/4 cups (300 mL) chopped fresh cilantro
  • 30 small corn tortillas, warmed
  • 1 cup (250 mL) thinly sliced radishes
  • 2 cups (500 mL) fresh salsa
  • 3 limes, cut into wedges

Cooking instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 300ºF (150ºC).

  2. In a large roasting pan toss together pork, orange juice, broth, garlic, quartered onion, salt, cumin and pepper to coat evenly. Cover with foil and bake for 3 hours or until pork is tender.

  3. Uncover and stir in sweetened condensed milk. Increase oven temperature to 375ºF (190ºC). Return pork to oven, uncovered and bake for 20 to 40 minutes or until most of the liquid is reduced and pork caramelizes and is falling apart tender.

  4. Remove garlic cloves and onion chunks and discard. Using two forks, shred meat and discard any large chunks of fat. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

  5. Tacos: In a bowl, combine finely diced onion and cilantro. Mound pork onto tortillas and top with onion mixture and radishes. Serve with salsa and lime wedges.

Tip: Rinse and drain the onion before combining with the cilantro to help mellow the onion.

As in-house chef, recipe developer, photographer and food stylist at Farm Boy, María’s talents cover all bases and flavours.

Nutritional Information

The following nutritionals are based on one (1) serving:

Calories: 420

Protein: 30g

Sugar: 6g

Fat: 24g

Saturated Fat: 9g

Cholesterol: 21g

Sodium: 730mg

Calcium: 75mg

Carbohydrates: 21g

Fibre: 2g

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Pork Carnitas Tacos

Chef Maria Garza of Farm Boy shares her succulent recipe for pork carnitas. My absolute favourite way to enjoy pork is cooking the shoulder long and slow,” she shares. Chef María uses a flavourful braising liquid that gives the meat delicious flavour.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time3 hours 20 minutes
Total Time3 hours 40 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: Easy Taco Recipe, Mexican Carnitas, Mexican Pork Tacos, Pork Carnitas, Pork Tacos, Pulled Pork Taco, Taco Recipes
Servings: 12 people
Author: Ontario Pork, Chef Maria Garza, Farm Boy

Ingredients

  • 1 boneless Ontario pork shoulder, cut into 1/2 inch pieces (about 4 lb/2 kg),
  • 1 ½ cups orange juice (375 mL)
  • 1 ½ cups chicken broth or water (375 mL)
  • 8 cloves garlic
  • 1 white spanish onion, cut into quarters
  • 1 tbsp ground cumin (15 mL)
  • 1 tbsp salt (15 mL)
  • 2 tsp dried oregano (10 mL)
  • 1 tsp black pepper (5 mL)
  • 2 tbsp sweetened condensed milk (30 mL)

Tacos

  • 2 cups finely diced rinsed white Spanish onion (see tip) (500 mL)
  • 1 ¼ cups chopped fresh cilantro (300 mL)
  • 30 small corn torillas, warmed
  • 1 cup thinly sliced radishes (250 mL)
  • 2 cups fresh salsa (500 mL)
  • 3 limes, cut into wedges

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 300ºF (150ºC).
  • In a large roasting pan toss together pork, orange juice, broth, garlic, onion, salt, cumin and pepper to coat evenly. Cover with foil and bake for 3 hours or until pork is tender.
  • Uncover and stir in sweetened condensed milk.Increase oven temperature to 375ºF (190ºC). Return pork to oven, uncovered andbake for 20 to 40 minutes or until most of the liquid is reduced and porkcaramelizes and is falling apart tender.
  • Remove garlic cloves and onion chunks and discard. Using two forks, shred meat and discard any large chunks of fat. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
  • Tacos: In a bowl, combine onion and cilantro. Mound pork onto tortillas and top with onion mixture and radishes. Serve with salsa and lime wedges.

Notes

Tip: Rinse and drain the onion before combining with the cilantro to help mellow the onion.

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