📍 Michoacán

Carnitas michoacanas (Michoacán carnitas)

· Lunch

Pork slowly confited in its own lard in a copper pot until tender inside and golden outside.

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Carnitas michoacanas (Michoacán carnitas): Pork slowly confited in its own lard in a copper pot until tender inside and golden outside.
Photo: Tomascastelazo · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia CommonsPhoto resized, converted to WebP and cropped for display.
⏱ 170 min🍽 8 servings📊 Intermediate🏷 Commonly associated🌱 Gluten-free
Preparation
20 min
Cooking
150 min
Waiting and resting
0 min

History

The pride of Michoacán, especially Quiroga and Uruapan; the copper pot and long cooking in lard give carnitas their characteristic texture.

Ingredients

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Preparation

  1. 1

    Melt the lard in the copper pot over medium heat.

  2. 2

    Add the pork pieces along with garlic, bay leaf, and salt.

  3. 3

    Add the orange and a splash of milk to brown and tenderize.

  4. 4

    Cook over low heat, stirring now and then, for a couple of hours.

  5. 5

    Raise the heat at the end so the carnitas brown.

  6. 6

    Chop and serve in tacos with onion, cilantro, and salsa.

Cooking tips

  • Add liquids carefully while the fat is still lukewarm; water added to very hot fat can splatter violently.

References to consult

References provide information about the dish, its context or a technique. Quantities in this version may differ from those in the source.

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