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Tacos de carnitas

The secret to great carnitas is what happens in the moments after the meat braises – once the liquid evaporates, the pork fries in its own rendered fat until deeply golden and crisp around the edges.

Tacos de carnitas

Credit: Adam Liaw

  • serves

    8

  • prep

    15 minutes

  • cook

    2:30 hours

  • difficulty

    Easy

serves

8

people

preparation

15

minutes

cooking

2:30

hours

difficulty

Easy

level

Ingredients

  • 12 small corn tortillas
  • 1 cup finely diced onion
  • 1 cup finely shredded coriander

Carnitas

  • 500 g pork shoulder, cut into 5 cm pieces
  • 500 g pork belly, skin removed, cut into 5 cm pieces
  • 1 tbsp salt
  • 1 dried bay leaf
  • ½ tsp black peppercorns
  • 1 onion, halved
  • 4 garlic cloves, bruised

Salsa verde

  • 1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 600 g tomatillos (fresh or canned)
  • 2 fresh jalapenos
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • salt, to season

Instructions

  1. Heat your oven to 180°C (fan-forced) or 200°C. Combine the ingredients for the carnitas in a lidded low casserole dish with 2 cups of water. Add a cartouche of baking paper then cover with a lid and bake for 2 hours until the pork is very tender. Remove from the oven and transfer to a stove. Remove the lid and cartouche, then cook over medium heat to evaporate the remaining liquid. Allow the carnitas to fry in their rendered oil until well browned. 
  2. For the salsa verde, add the ingredients to a small saucepan and add about 1 cup of water. Simmer the ingredients for 10 minutes, then blend with a stick blender to a mostly smooth salsa. 
  3. Transfer the carnitas mixture to a chopping board and finely chop the meat. Heat the tortillas on both sides on a dry frying pan and top with the carnitas, onion and coriander, and serve with the salsa verde. 

As featured in Adam Liaw’s North American Fan Feasts showing on SBS On Demand.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.


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Published

By Adam Liaw
Source: SBS



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