If you know me, you know I love Mexican food and the ability to make something I can put guacamole on. For this week’s Sunday night dinner, that meant carnitas! I looked up the general ingredients on All Recipes and modified to my own taste—and boy was it tasty. Full of flavor and juicy too, it got all high-fives.
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 4 pounds pork shoulder, cut into several large pieces
- 3 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 4 (14.5 oz) cans of chicken broth
Directions
Preheat an oven to 400° F (200° C).
Heat the vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat. Season the pork shoulder with salt, then arrange the pork in the Dutch oven. Cook until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Add the onion, garlic, lime juice, chili powder, oregano, and cumin. Pour in the chicken broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and continue to simmer until pork is very tender; about 2 ½ hours.
Add the onions and sauté while the pork is browning.
Sprinkle in the chili powder …
… the oregano. I mean my hubby is Italian, come on.
Add in the cumin … and a hefty squeeze of fresh lime.
Transfer the pork shoulder to a large baking sheet, reserving the cooking liquid. Drizzle with a small amount of the reserved cooking liquid and lightly season with salt.
Bake the pork in the preheated oven until browned, about 30 minutes. Drizzle more of the cooking liquid on the meat every 10 minutes, and use two forks to shred the meat as it browns.
While the pork simmers, you can too! Serve your simple appetizers with a little tequila.
Serve with chips and salsa on the side and all the traditional carnitas fixings: limes, guacamole, salsas, sour cream and some soft corn tortillas to wrap it all up.
