Mexican-style Confit Pork - Carnitas Recipe

[Saviolo]

Here's another one of those recipes that has a million variations depending on who's making it or where it comes from. At its base, it is a dish of pork that has been braised (or really confit) in pork fat. You can use lard that you get in a black from the grocery store, and that will work fine, but if you can get your hands on the rendered pork fat called "manteca" it is a little nicer to work with. The version we did here is very basic, and we only flavoured it with onion, garlic, bay leaf, orange peel, and orange juice. There are some wild variations out there that include things like evaporated milk and cola, as well!

This is a sort of low-and-slow cooking, but it's not your typical five-hour slow cooking situation. This recipe takes about an hour from the time the pork hits the hot oil to when it's fully cooked. We're lucky to have an induction burner where we can adjust the cooking temperature on a dime, so if you're using an electric range, make sure you give some time for the temperature to change when you turn it down at the beginning.

[Warpy]

1. This works really well with turkey thigh meat

if you don't eat pork. In fact, it was how they did it before the Spanish introduced domestic pigs.

[dem in texas]

2. milk on the meat

This is an old southern trick. The milk has a natural sugar that causes the meat to brown.

My late mother in law used this technique to finish up squirrel and other tough game meats. She would stew it until it was tender, then put it in a baking pan and sprinkle milk on it and put in a very hot oven and this would brown and crisp the meat.

Have read this technique for finishing off Carnitas in old Mexican recipes.

[trof]

3. You have to stop doing this.

I have drool all over my keyboard.
I'm doing low carb, intermittent fasting (16-8) and 'semi' keto.
I just found out that LARD'S OK!
It may even be good for you...sorta?
K&R

[Saviolo]

4. Sorry! (not sorry)

Honestly, there should be very little of the fat in the final product if you start things off at the right temperature.

[trof]

5. Fat is REQUIRED in a keto diet.

Some protein and very little to no carbs.