A well-balanced recipe between cooking time, complexity, and flavour. This recipe will quickly have your tastebuds enjoying a masterpiece of Mexican cuisine.
1.5kgfree-range pork shouldercut in medium pieces – roughly 10 cms
3kgpork lard
1orangecut in half
5bay leaves
1brown onioncut in half
1cupcola soft drink
5garlic cloves
1spring of thyme
salt to taste
2white onionsfinely diced for garnish
1bunch of corianderchopped for garnish
5limescut in wedges for garnish
20nixtamal corn tortillas
Instructions
Melt the lard in a large pot over medium-high heat.
Add all the ingredients except the garnish.
Once it starts to boil, lower the heat to simmer.
Cook for 3 hours until meat is tender.
Remove the meat from the pot, shred it and place it on a serving plate or tray. This is what we call 'carnitas' in Mexico.
Reheat the tortillas on a hot frying pan or griddle, and place them in a tea towel or tortilla warmer.
Place the onion and coriander in serving bowls and limes on a plate.
Bring the pork, tortillas, coriander, onion, and limes to the table.
Get family and friends around the table to assemble their tacos by grabbing a tortilla, filling it up with the 'carnitas' pork, and garnishing it with onion and coriander. Squeeze the lime on top and put your favorite salsa on top.
Notes
For salsa, I really enjoy a good avocado salsa for carnitas tacos.
If you can't find lard or prefer not to use it, you can substitute with vegetable oil, about 1 litre.