This is about as authentic as you can get ...
Carnitas
3 pounds of lard
3 pounds of meat
a few slices of an orange
tortillas, salsa, sour cream,
Use about 3 pounds of lard for 3 pounds of meat. Pork shoulder or lean
butt roast works best. Trim all the fat you can off, and cut the meat
into 1 inch cubes. If you want larger pieces you have to cook it longer.
Put the lard in a large, heavy, deep pan (cast iron works best) over
medium low heat. When the lard is melted, add the pork cubes along with
a few slices of an orange. The orange is what makes the lard boil
instead of burning. It will start to boil after about 30 minutes. Let
the meat boil in the lard for about 1 - 1 1/2 hours, watching carefully
(3 inch cubes take about 2 - 2 1/2 hours). Toward the end of the time
limit, the meat will brown. At that time, remove it from the lard. Dont
let it brown too much or it will be hard as rocks. If at the end of the
recommended cooking time the lard is still actively boiling and the meat
has not browned, carefully remove the orange slices and the meat will
brown pretty fast after that.
Drain on paper towels, and serve with tortillas, salsa, sour cream,
whatever you like.
A suggestion from "Adventures in Mexican Cooking," from the Ortho Books
series, is to put a half cup of chopped cilantro in the lard when you
add the meat and the orange slices.
--
Rec.food.recipes is moderated by Patricia D Hill at [email hidden].
Only recipes and recipe requests are accepted for posting.
Please allow several days for your submission to appear.
Archives: http://www.cdkitchen.com/rfr/ http://recipes.alastra.com/