Coke-braised Pork Carnitas               

 tags (edit): Bon Appetit Magazine @Vogel @Try Soon! Main Dish  

 

Serve the carnitas with mashed sweet potatoes, mixed baby greens, or rolled up in warm tortillas with salsa, chopped onions, and cilantro. Berkshire pork lends the best flavor, but a regular pork butt or shoulder is also delicious. Be sure to keep the oil at moderate heat, which will cook the pork perfectly without overbrowning.

Ingredients

4 pounds pork butt or pork shoulder (preferably Berkshire pork), trimmed, cut into 3x3-inch chunks
10 1/4 cups peanut oil divided
4 cups orange juice
2 1/2 cups Coke divided
 

Instructions
 Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Heat 1/4 cup peanut oil in heavy 8-quart pot over high heat. Working in batches, add pork to pot and sauté until browned on all sides, about 7 minutes per batch. Using slotted spoon, transfer pork to large bowl.

Pour remaining 10 cups peanut oil into same pot. Attach deep-fry thermometer to side of pot; heat over medium heat until thermometer registers 280°F. Add pork to oil in pot (temperature of oil will drop to between 180°F and 200°F). Cook pork over medium heat until brown and tender, adjusting heat as necessary to maintain temperature of oil between 200°F and 220°F, about 1 1/2 hours. Using slotted spoon, transfer pork to another large pot. Add orange juice and 2 cups cola to pork and bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer until pork is very tender, about 35 minutes. Add remaining 1/2 cup cola and stir over medium heat until meat falls apart and liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes longer. Season generously with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl and serve.

This recipe published with BigOven, and can be imported instantly by BigOven users viewing this page. Download your free trial at www.bigoven.com.


Yields: 6 Servings
     Bon Appetit magazine, September 2006, page 115

 notes:  I have yet to find the perfect carnitas recipe, but this one comes pretty close. I've always known that orange juice and coke were the key ingredients to a good carnitas, so I was excited when I saw this published in Bon Appétit’s magazine this month. I might cut down on the coke just a bit next time, but my dinner guests loved it, and sometimes, that is all that counts! The only bummer about this recipe is trying to figure out what to do after with all the used peanut oil!

Cuisine:  

Main Ingredient: