I made my first carnitas Monday night...
Took a pack of taco mix (egads!), juice of half an orange, half a lime,
1/4 cup of brown sugar, 4 garlic cloves minced, 1 japaleno minced,
1 shallot grated and 2 good dashes of mesquite smoke flavoring.
Cut a pork roast into 3-4 inch "cubes", removed most of the fat.
Rubbed the spice mixture into it and let it marinate for 24 hours, mixing
occasionally.
Didn't sear or brown the meat first, just put it into a roasting pan with
2 cups chicken stock, 3 crushed cloves of garlic, 1 japaleno cut in 4ths and half an onion, sliced. Edit to add: I also poured in a can of Rotel Cilantro and Lime Peppers and Tomatoes.
Covered and put in the oven at 300 degrees for about 2 1/2 hours. Meat
was at 190 when I removed it and pulled it.
Meat went back into the roasting pan and into the oven, at 425 degrees. When it
was nicely browned, I mixed it to let more get brown and crispy.
The pan juices went into the freezer; by the time the meat was done, the fat had
congealed at the top and was easy to remove. Then, the juices went back into
the meat for some moisture and extra flavor.
Astoundingly good if I say so myself! And thanks to RosCoe in this thread... I based my recipe and method on his advice....
Here's a picture of the meat just as it is going into the oven....