The Busy Gourmand

Carnitas with Pico de Gallo and Sour Cream

Generally speaking when I see carnitas on a menu they would hardly raise an exclamation point or a second look for that matter. They are usually comprised of shredded pork that has been braised for a long period of time. You generally place the shredded pieces on a warm tortilla and garnish with your favorite condiments. I have had decent varieties served in Mexico. However, even there they tend to be on the dry, tasteless side. You end up getting more flavor from the pico de gallo than from the meat itself.

Composing the Carnitas

I found some beautiful boneless country pork ribs at the Mexican market. I had no idea what I wanted to do with them. They were probably headed for pork schnitzel. But seeing as how I bought them at a Mexican store I thought I would see if I could come up with an edible version of carnitas. Doing my usual research I found that recipes were from all over the board, all of them claiming to be authentic. The most unusual included cooking them in pepsi, and another suggested so many spices I was not sure you would end up tasting meat at the end.

Carnitas in the Pot

I landed on an inspiration from Williams-Sonoma’s slow cooker cookbook. Their version included browning the meat and then braising the meat in beer and citrus juices. It was a good start. I coated my meat with some spices before browning and instead of using the juice and rind from a lime I cut two Mexican limes into quarters, squeezed the juices into the pot and threw the lime pieces into the beer mixture. You have to remember to take out the limes pieces before shredding. I also reduced the temperature for braising so as not to make the meat too tough. These carnitas were very moist, mildly spicy, including some sweetness from a bit of cinnamon, and they definitely had that hint of lime all the way through the meat. Although they could certainly stand on their own, a bit of pico de gallo and some lime-infused sour cream rounded out the meal. Que rico!