Carnitas is a Mexican recipe to prepare pork: slow cooked in lots of lard. This will make the pork tender and juicy on the inside, with some crisp edges on the outside. With sous-vide and a broiler you can get a similar result that is very tasty and does not require a bucket of lard. Although carnitas are traditionally made using pork shoulder, I used pork belly instead to make up for not using lard. I used the leftover pork juices to make quick but delicious refried beans. Here’s what I did…
Ingredients
For 4 servings
700 grams (1.5 lb) pork belly
freshly squeezed orange juice from 1 orange
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp minced garlic or garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chipotle powder
For serving
black beans
tortillas
guacamole or avocado and lime juice
pico de gallo or tomato wedges
cilantro
Instructions
In a small bowl combine the salt, ground cumin, dried oregano, chipotle powder, black pepper, and garlic, and stir to mix.
Rub the pork belly with the spice mix on all sides.
Vacuum seal the pork with orange juice. There are three options for this: a chamber vacuum sealer, ziplock bags with the water displacement method, or freezing the orange juice first and then using a regular vacuum sealer.
Cook sous-vide for 24 hours at 74C/165F.
Preheat the broiler. Reserve the juices from the bag and ‘pull’ the pork using two forks.
Arrange the ‘pulled’ pork in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.
Drizzle with the fat that will float on top of the reserved bag juices.
Broil on the highest setting and close to the broiler (i.e. as hot as possible) until the edges of the meat are crispy, about 5 minutes.
Warm up the remaining reserved juices in a saucepan, and add a few tablespoons of those juices to the broiled meat.
Stir to coat the meat with the juices.
Add a drained can of black beans to the remaining juices in the saucepan. Bring to a boil, then turn off the heat, and use an immersion blender to puree the beans. This is a quick and easy way to make refried beans.
Taste and adjust the seasoning, which is probably not needed.
Serve the carnitas with tortillas, the refried beans, guacamole or avocado with lime juice, pico de gallo or tomato wedges, and cilantro.
Stefan's Gourmet Blog 
Great recipe Stefan. You made ma laugh twice. First the reference to ‘a bucket of lard’. Second, when you use belly instead to be sure you get the lard anyway.
Great stuff!
C
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Carnitas may be one of my very favorite Mexican tacos ever. I never fail to order one at our local taco stand when I go there! Of course, homemade is always better. 🙂 Your version looks muy bueno!
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This sure does sound like it would be delicious, but i have to add that the traditional method for making carnitas didn’t involve frying it in a bucket of lard. Rather, a couple of kilos of fatty pork shoulder was put into a heavy pot with a chopped onion, seasoned with cumin and oregano and salt, just barely covered with water, and simmered partly covered until the water had boiled away and the meat had browned in the rendered fat. Shred with forks and serve. My grandmother cooked it this way on a wood stove before electricity came to town. Low tech and also delicious.
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Thanks, that sounds great. I have never been to Mexico, so I have to make do with (often contradictory) information I find online. What about the orange juice?
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Thanks to you i now own an Anova and have used it with great success, most spectacularly with your sublime 72-hour pork belly recipe, but i’m also fascinated by traditional cooking using simple methods. Grandmother didn’t have oranges except in the winter and early spring, and even then they were a luxury, but the next time i make carnitas i’ll use orange juice instead of the water because it sure does seem like a good idea. Well, your recipe sounds so delicious that i’ll try it your way first.
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Carnitas are exceptional, in my opinion. 🌶
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