Citrusy Carnitas
I think you’ve gathered by now my love for huge hunks of braised meats that can be used in many delicious ways over the week. These orange and lemon spiked carnitas fit the bill perfectly. Tacos, rice bowls, nachos, quesadillas, hash, go with your heart. This works equally well in a dutch oven or instant pot.
Ingredients:
A knob of butter
about 3 pound pork shoulder or butt
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons dried oregano or Italian seasoning
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground cumin
juice of two oranges
juice of one lemon
1 cup chicken broth for instant pot
3 cups chicken broth for dutch oven
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Directions:
In a large oven safe pot (I love my dutch oven) or instant pot on the saute setting, melt a thumb sized knob of butter. When the butter is melted sprinkle salt on top of the pork shoulder and brown on each side. While its browning, stir the rest of the ingredients together in a bowl. If you are using an instant pot you’ll use the smaller amount of broth since it won’t reduce as much as oven cooking.
Pour the mixture over the meat and place the lid on. For oven cooking, you’ll cook at 350 degrees F for about 3-4 hours. Check it at the 2 hour mark to see if more liquid is needed. You don’t want to burn the bottom! You can add another cup of broth if it’s getting dry. If you want it to cook more quickly, you can cut the shoulder into smaller pieces. If you are using an instant pot, you can cook on the manual setting for about 60 minutes. Give yourself a bit of extra time in case you need to do another 20 minutes. You’ll want to meat to easily shred when pierced with a fork.
In both cooking scenarios, once the meat is tender enough to shred easily. Place the meat on a plate and carefully use two forks to shred it into smaller chunks. Meanwhile, bring the remaining liquid to a simmer and reduce for about 5-10 minutes. Add the meat back to the pot and serve!
