Sometimes I think I could eat Mexican food every day.
One of our favorite dishes is Carnitas, a slow roasted pork
that is seasoned, baked until it falls apart, then shredded and
baked some more until it is crispy on the top.
My friend Sue Ellen was the first person that introduced
me to Carnitas. We have been making it for years now, but
this is a new twist on the recipe that I found and I love.
We are down in Cabo right now and when I was here last time
I found a cookbook that someone had left at the home called
by Ann Hazard.
If you know me, you know I love to read through cookbooks
like novels and this one is packed with fabulous Mexican recipes,
many from restaurants. My mouth was watering the whole time
and I had to come back and start trying some of the recipes right away.
Her recipe for Carnitas calls for the addition of some salsa verde
and that added such a flavor punch. We won't ever want to make
Carnitas the old way again. This is a slight variation on her recipe
as I have found that I love to use Montreal Steak Seasoning to
season my Carnitas, so I substituted that for her seasonings, I also
added my salsa verde after the pork was shredded.
Carnitas Recipe
4 lb. pork shoulder (don't use tenderloin, it is too dry)
2 -3T. Montreal Steak Seasoning
1 1/2 C. salsa verde (I used World Market's Roasted Tomatillo Salsa)
Corn tortillas
Shredded Monterey Jack or Chihuahua cheese
Pico de Gallo
Fresh limes
Season the pork shoulder with the Montreal Steak Seasoning.
Place in a roasting pan and bake uncovered at 350 for one hour.
Cover with foil and then reduce heat to 250 and bake another
4-5 hours or until it falls apart.
Remove from oven and spoon out
excess grease if there is a lot. Then shred the meat using two forks
Stir in the salsa verde.
Turn the oven back up to 350. Return the meat uncovered
to the oven and bake about 20 minutes or until the top
is crispy. Turn the meat over and repeat until the top is crispy.
Serve with corn tortillas that have been sprayed with Pam and heated
on both sides in a frying pan. Top with Monterey Jack of Chihuahua
cheese, and pico de gallo. Before eating, squeeze fresh lime juice
on the top of the tacos.
See how crispy the uncovered meat becomes. In one of my favorite
local restaurants, their Carnitas is deep fried - absolutely wicked!
This is such a great dish for a large crowd and so easy to prepare.
Everyone loves it. You will make it over and over.
Just place everything in bowls and let everyone create their own.
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