Carnitas

After moving to Houston, Dr. Sweetpea and I have been eating a ton Carnitas. If we end up moving away after training, I'm definitely going to miss the top notch Tex Mex restaurants here. Anyway, back to the Carnitas, they are addicting and absolutely life changing. We already spent way too much money eating at various restaurants in the area, so I decided to make Carnitas at home. Dr. Sweetpea looked at me very cynically when I told him I'm making Carnitas for dinner. In fact, I'm pretty positive he had a backup plan just in case I messed it up. I saved about 10 different recipes and decided to make the recipe from Epicurious since there were so many wonderful reviews. This recipe is so easy to make but sooooo flavorful. While I was cooking the Carnitas, Dr. Sweetpea kept coming back into the kitchen saying that it smelled wonderful. After the Carnitas were done, Dr. Sweetpea took the first bite and his eyes got BIG, because he was blown away by how tasty they were. The Carnitas were so tender, flavorful, and as good as what we ate at restaurants. This is our go-to recipe for Carnitas at home now.

Carnitas

(Source: Epicurious)

4 pounds fatty pork shoulder, cut into 2-inch pieces

3 cups water

1 medium white onion, thinly sliced

1/2 orange, cut into 2 pieces

1/4 cup pork lard or vegetable oil

8 garlic cloves, peeled

3 bay leaves

1 tablespoon sweetened condensed milk

2 teaspoons dried oregano, preferably Mexican, crumbled

2 teaspoons fine salt, or 4 teaspoons kosher salt

Put all the ingredients in a wide 6-to 7-quart heavy pot (don't worry if the pork is not completely covered) and bring the water to a boil, skimming the surface as necessary. Lower the heat and simmer vigorously, stirring occasionally, until the pork is fork-tender and the liquid has completely evaporated,  1 1/2 to 2 hours. Discard the orange pieces and bay leaves. If the liquid hasn't evaporated after 2 hours, transfer the pork pieces to a bowl and let the liquid continue to bubble away, stirring often, until it has.

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Transfer the pork and fat to an ovenproof dish, if necessary, and brown the pork, uncovered, in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes. There's no need to stir.

Carnitas keeps in the refrigerator for up to three days.

Note: If you want to make half a batch, cut the amount of pork, salt, and oregano in half, but use the same amount of the remaining ingredients and water. You will need to use a slightly smaller pot.