This is a print preview of "Slow Smoked Carnitas" recipe.

Slow Smoked Carnitas Recipe
by Patti Fisher

Slow Smoked Carnitas

Ken Fisher
September 15, 2018
Camp Cooking/Tailgating / Cast Iron / Our Recipes / Pork
6 Comments

Slow Smoked CarnitasSlow Smoked Carnitas

Slow Smoked Carnitas, we love a good Carnitas and all the different ways to enjoy it. I think this is the best Carnitas I have ever enjoyed much less made. The meat was so tender, lightly covered with a savory sauce, lightly kissed with a fruit wood smoke. Over the top!! One of the nice things about getting old is that you can’t remember the “Last Best One I Ever Made”. The smells coming from the grill are awesome and the house was full of that wonderful aroma. We served it on tortillas with chopped cilantro and shredded sharp cheddar. Perfect for tacos, burritos, enchiladas or just in a bowl.

Patti and I have set one night a week just for us. It’s our date night. We usually put something special on our Green Mountain Wood Pellet Grill/Smoker but sometimes we cook inside. We always eat outside on our patio where it is very comfortable with a rainforest theme. Wood Pellet Heater, little lights, candles, lanterns and surround sound. We enjoy a little wine, or strawberry margaritas using frozen strawberries for ice, good food, music and sometimes a dance or two…

Rating: 4/5
Avg. 4/5 1 vote
Prep time: Mexico Mexican
Cook time: Servings: 8

Ingredients

  • 9 pounds pork shoulder, cut into 2” cubes
  • 2 large sweet onions, rough chopped
  • 10-12 cloves of garlic
  • 3 cups of water
  • 1 ½ cups fresh orange juice
  • 1 ½ TBSP. orange zest
  • 2 TBSP. Country Bob’s Seasoning Salt
  • 2 TBSP. dried oregano
  • 2 TBSP. chipotle chili powder
  • 2 TBSP. red pepper flakes
  • 1 TBSP. ground cumin
  • ½ tsp dried thyme
  • ¼ cup bacon grease or lard/oil
  • 2 TBSP. corn starch (save to the end for the sauce)

Directions

  1. Directions: Slow Smoked Carnitas
  2. Cut your pork into 2 inch pieces and trim off any big pieces of fat. In a large cast oven Dutch oven heat your oil or bacon dripping and sear the meat. You’ll need to do this in batches. After they’re seared set it aside. Add the onions and garlic to your Dutch oven and cook until they soften.
  3. Remove your Dutch oven from the heat and add the meat back into it along with the rest of the ingredients.After 2 hours uncover your Dutch oven and increase the heat to a gentle boil reducing most of the liquid. I did this at 250 degrees (122c) for 40 minutes or so. Again the smells coming from the grill are awesome. Put a griddle on the grill and try to position it over the hot spot letting it start getting hot. When you’re cooking liquid is down to a ½ inch or so turn the grill up to 400 degrees (204c) put a little oil/grease on your griddle to get hot.
  4. Now, with a slotted spoon put the pieces of pork on the griddle and brown all sides. Again you’ll have to do this in batches. This is going to smell so good you’ll love it. After the meat is done set it aside and take your Dutch oven to the stove top over low heat. I use a Maverick ProTemp Instant Read Thermometer for checking meat temperatures.
  5. Mix the corn starch with water until it’s soupy and you can’t see any chunks. I added a cup of water to my Dutch oven and when it started to simmer I whisked in my corn starch and cooked this until I had nice gravy. Pour this over the pork and stir until it is evenly covered.