Carnitas Tacos

5 from 11 votes

These melt in your mouth carnitas are to die for. Put them in a warmed flour or corn tortilla and top it off with some guacamole and a sprinkle of pickled onions, for the perfect dinner.

Prep Time10

Cook Time2 50

Total Time3

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings: people

Author: Gaby Dalkin

Equipment

Ingredients

3 pounds boneless pork shoulder cut into 2 inch cubes
½ cup fresh orange juice
¼ cup fresh lime juice
10 oz chipotle salsa
1 teaspoon kosher salt plus more to taste
Small corn and flour tortillas

Toppings

Diced white onions
Lime wedges
Guacamole
Fresh Cilantro
Sliced Jalapenos

For the Pickled Red Onions

1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
1 red onion thinly sliced

Instructions

Make the pickled red onions. Whisk the apple cider vinegar, sugar and salt with 1 cup water in a small bowl until sugar and salt dissolve. Place onion in a jar; pour vinegar mixture over. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour.
Place the pork in a large dutch oven with the orange juice, lime juice, salsa and salt. Add enough water to barely cover the meat. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium low and simmer with the lid on for 2 hours, at which point the pork should be falling apart to the touch.
Turn the heat up to medium high, and continue to cook the pork for 45 minutes, uncovered, stirring every once in a while, until all the liquid has evaporated and the pork fat as been rendered.
Parts of the pork should be caramelized and golden brown. Remove the dutch oven from the stove and season with salt and pepper as needed. Serve as needed or let cool and store in an airtight container for 4 days in the fridge
To assemble the tacos, warm or char a small tortilla and place a few pieces of carnitas on top. Add a dollop of guacamole, a few pickled red onions, chopped onions, jalapenos and a sprinkle of cilantro. Serve immediately.

Notes

Leftovers? Throw it on nachos or over rice.
These Carnitas Tacos are made on the stovetop. If you're using a slow cooker, cook the pork shoulder on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours. It’s important to use a meat thermometer to make sure your pork shoulder reaches an internal temperature of 170°F.

Nutrition