Simpy's Carnitas

I grew up in South Texas near the Mexican border and can say that this is exactly how Carnitas should taste. The flavor is subtle so that it doesn't overpower the other ingredients piled on at the dinner table: salsa verde, lime, guacamole, fresh cilantro, etc. But of course, "home food" never tastes authentic to the next person because each Mom uses what ever she has on hand and makes it taste just right. That is the beauty of traditional foods.<br/><br/>This recipe is so versatile and cost effective because we have Carnitas and/or Carnitas nachos with a creamy green salsa for the first few days, and then I simmer the remaining meat with rich spices, chiles, etc. to make pork tamales. (Allow the floating grease to remain with the pork when the carnitas are finished cooking. Chill. After it has chilled overnight, scrape the soft lard off the top and mix it with the masa harina to make wonderfully-flavored tamales.)<br/><br/>My family requests this recipe every time pork goes on sale. In fact, I buy extra and freeze one for future carnitas.

I followed other reviewers advice and made a few adjustments: increased the cumin to 2T, added 6 cloves roughly chopped garlic, added 1t oregano, added 1T adobo seasoning. After cooking till soft, I shredded meat into roaster. Removed bay leaves from broth and reduced broth(boiling on high heat) until it was about 1, 1/2 cups, added reduced broth to meat and let it sit for awhile. When I was ready to serve I put it under the broiler for about 10 min. When I tasted the meat as I was shedding it it did taste a little bland, but after soaking it in the concentrated broth it was wonderful, and even better the next day. Served with taco fixens in recipe, but they taste phenomenal with caramelized red onions and just a little cheese

This is a wonderful recipe. I did go by the recipe, but increased the amount of garlic and doubled the cumin spice. I also added about 2-3 tbs of Recaito, 2-3 tsp of Adobe, and 1-2 tsp of sea salt at the end. Great recipe, will be using again for sure!

There's no Chipotle near me, so I wanted to make my own carnitas burrito bowls. We ate this with cilantro lime rice, pinto beans, fresh salsa and guacamole, and sour cream. As good...if not better...than Chipotle! Thanks!

These carnitas are melt in your mouth delicious! I followed the recipe and directions exactly as stated. My son and grandson were here for lunch and they, along with my hubby, gobbled this up like they were starving. They already requested that we have this again. Thank you very much for posting this recipe.