Mexican Pulled Pork (Carnitas)

By fuzzygroup

Ingredients

• 1 3.5 to 4 pound boneless pork butt, fat cap trimmed to 1/8" thick, cut into 2" chunks
• 1 small onion peeled and halved
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• table salt
• black pepper
• 2 cups water
• 2 tbsp juice from 1 lime
• 1 large orange halved
• Tortillas, lime wedges, salsa, sour cream to serve with

Preparation

Step 1

1. Move the oven rack to lower middle and head oven to 300.
2. Combine pork, onion, bay leaves, oregano, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, water and lime juice in large dutch oven. The liquid should just barely cover the meat. Juice the orange into a medium bowl and remove seeds (you should have 1/3 cup juice). Add the juice and orange halves to the pot.
3. Bring to a simmer over medium high heat, stirring occasionally. Cover the pot and transfer it to the oven.
4. Cook until the pork is soft and falls apart when prodded with a fork (about 2 hours). Flip the pieces of meat once during cooking.
5. Remove the pot from the oven and turn the oven to broil. Using a slotted spoon transfer the pork to a bowl. Remove the orange halves, onion and bay leaves and discard. Do not skim the fat from the liquid.
6. Place the pot over high head (handles will be hot) and simmer the liquid until thick and syrupy. A heat proof spatula will leave a wide trail when dragged thru the glaze. You should have 1 cup of reduced liquid.
7. Using 2 forks, pull each piece of pork in half. Fold in the reduced liquid, season with salt and pepper to taste.
8. Spread the pork in an even layer on a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet (or broiler pan). The meat should cover the surface of the pan. Place it in on the lower middle oven rack and broil until the top of the meat is well browned, not charred and the edges are slightly crispy -- about 5 minutes. Using a spatula, flip the meat and continue to broil on the other side. Serve immediately.