Make Ahead Carnitas

Cut the meat into small cubes (measuring roughly 1 inch or 3 cm wide). Then, season the meat evenly with salt.

• If you want to be exact: set a pot or bowl over a scale, add the pork chunks, and note their weight down. Add 1% salt based on the weight of the pork (e.g. 1500 g pork = 15 grams of salt).

Once the meat is salted properly, add it to a braising pot.

Fill the pot with water to just barely cover the pork pieces. Set the pot on medium-high heat and bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat to medium-low so that the pot is just simmering.

Let the pork continue simmering uncovered while stirring occasionally. Continue braising the meat this way until the liquid has evaporated, which usually takes at least an hour.

Once the water has completely evaporated, check the texture of the pork:

• If the meat is easily pulled apart with a fork, it’s done.
• If the meat is still tough and hasn’t gone tender, it needs more braising time. Add a bit more water at a time and continue simmering until it reaches a tender texture.

Once the pork is done, there will be a layer of fat that has rendered out in the pot. Use this to crisp the pork carnitas in the next step:

You now have a decision to make, depending on when you’ll be enjoying the carnitas:

If serving immediately: Continue cooking the chunks of pork right in the pot with the rendered fat until they have lightly browned and gotten crisp on all sides.

• Then, remove from the pot and chop or bash/shred into pieces and serve with tacos, salsa, etc.

If saving for later: Remove the pork from the pot. Reserve any rendered fat. Shred the warm pork chunks with your hands or forks.

• Alternatively, add a handful of pork chunks at a time to a mortar and pestle and bash to create finder shreds of pork.

Store the carnitas in a container in the fridge. When ready to serve them, sear them with the reserved fat until browned and crispy. See the FAQ section of this recipe for serving ideas.