This is the healthier version of carnitas. In Mexico, carnitas are like pulled pork, but in addition to braising the meat, carnitas are also fried in lard to give a delicious crunchy texture. For this recipe we are skipping the lard; we use our Yucatan marinade to add flavor and we are cooking in a slow cooker to simplify the process. The preparation time is no longer than 5 minutes and the result is a tender, flavorful pork.
The traditional way to cook carnitas is in a copper pot (called cazo in Mexico). Lard is used to cover the meat. Once the lard has melted, spices are added – these varies depending of the cook but they may include salt, cumin, oregano, marjoram, thyme, bay leaf and garlic. Then the meat simmers in the lard until tender over a very low heat. Once cooked, the heat is turned up and the outside of the pork begins to crisp.
- 5 lbs pork shoulder , trimmed of excess fat
- 1 bottle Molli Yucatan marinade
- 4 cups of chicken stock
- ½ cup fresh cilantro , chopped
- ½ onion , diced
- 1 lime , quartered
- 10 corn tortillas warm
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Place pork in a non-reactive dish and add the Molli Yucatan marinade. Marinate for 4 hours or overnight in the fridge. If you don’t have time, you can skip this step.
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Place pork, the Molli Yucatan marinade and chicken stock in the slow cooker. Cover with lid and cook on low for 8 hours (or high heat, for 4 hours). The pork should be falling apart when finished.
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Take our the meat from the slow cooker, but reserve the liquid. Using two forks, pull pork into smaller strands and set on a platter. Add liquid from the slow cooker to the pork, one cup at a time, until the pork is moist.
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Serve pork on a warm corn tortilla and garnish with fresh cilantro, diced onions and a squeeze of lime. We like to add a slice of avocado too. Provecho!
If you don’t have time to marinate or you forgot, you can skip this step.
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