Carnitas and Salsa Verde
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. pork shoulder cut into 2” chunks
- 1 cup sweet onion chopped
- 2 tsp. garlic chopped
- ¼ cup fresh oregano
- 2 dry bay leaves
- ½ cinnamon stick
- 12 oz. bottle of your favorite Mexican beer or cola
- 2/3 cup low sodium chicken broth
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ½ tsp. chili powder
- Kosher salt
- Ground pepper
- Carnitas
Instructions
- Preheat oven 325F
- Place a large sauté pan over medium high heat, add vegetable oil and heat. Season pork with 1 ½ tsp. salt, ½ tsp. pepper and chili powder. When oil is hot add half of the pork to almost pan fry, cooking about 4 minutes per side, you want a nice crust on all sides, then remove and set aside in a plate and repeat with other half of the pork.
- Carefully pour out the hot oil from pan, return pan over medium heat, add the onion, garlic and sauté for about 4 minutes, return cooked pork to pan with its juices, along with oregano, bay leaves, ½ cinnamon stick, beer, broth, ½ tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. of pepper and stir to combine. Allow to come to a simmer, cover with a tight fitted lid and transfer into preheated oven to cook for 2 hours.
- To serve, place carnitas onto a serving platter or serve right out of pan along with Salsa Verde, your favorite tortillas and enjoy!
Tomatillo Salsa
Ingredients
- 5 medium size tomatillos husked removed and washed
- 2 serrano chiles
- ½ cup cilantro chopped
- ½ cup green onions chopped
- 1 garlic clove chopped
- ¼ tsp. ground cumin
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- ¼ tsp. ground black pepper
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
- Place a grill pan or skillet over medium high heat, when hot add tomatillos and chiles, allow them to cook about 5 minutes per side until nicely charred. Transfer charred tomatillos and chiles to a food processor fit with a steel blade or a blender along with half of the cilantro, half of the green onions, garlic, cumin, salt, pepper and water and pulse until well combined. Pour into a bowl and stir in remaining cilantro and onions, taste for salt and adjust to taste.
