Pork cooked in lard? Oh lord, yes. Not exactly health food, I know. But in México this is a weekend meal, ideal for a late lunch with the family, enjoying a ball game and a few cervezas. It’s also one of the go-to breakfasts when you have a bad hangover. This is definitely not an everyday meal, and it’s usually enjoyed in the day-time. While you can find it every day of the week in some places, the best ones typically open only on Saturday and Sunday mornings. They’ll start cooking in the early hours, as early as 4am, since the process typically takes between 2 and 3 hours. They’ll then open at 8am or so, and close by the time everything has been sold. Some of the best places close by 10-11am, so you have to get there early. Good case for pulling an all-nighter. 

Anyway, this is one of the quintessential Mexican dishes of my region, the Central Mexican Plateau. Making it is a matter of specialization that, in some cases, takes generations to perfect and preserve. It’s not so much a matter of the ingredients, but also the equipment. Eateries specialized in carnitas will typically have a huge copper pot of boiling pig lard. I’m talking about the size of a beer keg, but a bit wider in diameter. Those bits of lard that have been at the bottom of the pot for probably years definitely add to the taste. 

So, while it’s hard to replicate that in the comfort of your home’s kitchen, this is a very good approximation that I’ve perfected over many Sunday mornings and takes less time to make— about an hour and a half. This recipe includes the slow-cooked pork, and everything you’d need to make the perfect taco de carnitas: pickled jalapeños, grilled tomatillo salsa, and pico de gallo. The tortillas are the only thing you’ll have to buy ready-made, as well as the lemons, unless you happen to have such a tree nearby. 

In some regions of Mexico some recipes call for using coca-cola, garlic cloves, orange soda, dried herbs, and all sorts of wacky ingredients for the boiling lard pit. I prefer a more natural version where it’s just pure porkness for the meat, because the final taco will have enough of everything (hotness from the salsa, super fresh fruitiness from the pico de gallo, and an acidic and hot touch from the pickled jalapeños) to make it a true gift from the gods. 

For utensils, you’ll need to ready:

• 1 large saucepot or medium-sized stockpot
• Scale
• Iron griddle or flat pan
• Sauté pan
• Blender

Instructions

---

---

---

---

---

Recipe notes

How to serve Mexican carnitas

Finally, to serve these lovely tacos de carnitas, heat up enough corn tortillas (12-16) on an iron griddle or flat pan, and assemble all the elements on the table: 

Hot carnitas, pico de gallo, grilled tomatillo salsa and pickled jalapeños. 

This way each guest can assemble his taco as they please.

My preference is to put a little bit of everything in every taco. A little pico de gallo, a little salsa, and, a little bite of a pickled jalapeño, so you get a taste of everything with every bite.

How hot?

Depending on your personal taste, Mexican salsas (in this case, pico de gallo and grilled tomatillo salsa) can be adjusted to your desired level of hotness/spiciness. it comes down to how much seeds/veins you leave in the finished salsa. Remove them completely to get a not very hot/spicy salsa. Leave a few for medium spiciness, etc.

What about the leftovers? 

Leftover carnitas are delicious wherever you may include them. 

Tortas ahogadas (from the state of Jalisco) are a kind of carnitas sandwich covered in red tomato salsa. Avocado and cheese can be included inside. 

Who came up with this? 

The history of carnitas is hard to get right because there are many versions floating around. It wasn’t exactly the priority of the Mexican government to come up with an official one, so it’s more of a folk’s tale at this point. Several states in the Central Plateau claim the invention as a local one, but most people agree that they came from Michoacán. Other states like Hidalgo, Jalisco, the Mexican capital, and my dear Querétaro are also famous for them. What most of us can agree on, though, is that they’re a staple of our gastronomy, since they are also used as the base ingredient of other dishes like burritos, tortas ahogadas, flautas, and gorditas. 

Another cool thing is that the dish is a clear combination of elements from the pre-hispanic diet (tomato, chili, tortillas) and the Spanish cuisine of the XIV century. I mean, it was the Spanish who introduced the ultra versatile pork to the Americas back in the day. So, regardless of your reading of those events and the concept of New Spain, I think we can all agree that carnitas are one of the nicest things to come out of the whole ordeal. Hence, to me, there’s something special about the fact that we still enjoy them today, in all of present-day Mexico, and all the way to Madrid, and of course, some places in the US. 

Enjoy!

Want more Mexican cuisine? I upload recipes here on a weekly basis. Subscribe below to get them straight to your inbox, or check out one of the favorites next, Authentic Tacos al Pastor.