In BBQ & Grilling, Recipes, Rub & Marinades and Glazes & Sauces, Sandwiches & Wraps, Uncategorized

 

BBQ Style Pork Carnitas and Salsa Verde

Rusty Johnson
This can be served on tacos, burritos, and tortas. It’s awesome! Serves 4 (and some leftovers)
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

BBQ Style Pork Carnitas

  • 2 pounds Johnston’s Boneless Pork Shoulder you can get bone-in, but have it removed before cooking
  • 1.5 tablespoons oregano
  • 1.5 tablespoons cumin
  • 2 tablespoons kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoons cracked black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons raw sugar
  • ¼ large orange
  • ½ lime
  • ¼ cup lard
  • 1 - 350 milliliters bottle Mexican Coca-Cola
  • ½ white onion halved (so in quarters)
  • 1 cinnamon Stick
  • 2 bay leaves

Salsa Verde

  • 5 grilled medium sized tomatillos
  • ¼ white onion
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 1 grilled jalapeño optional
  • Pinch salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
 

BBQ Style Carnitas

  • Prepare Salsa Verde (see below).
  • Cut pork into roughly 2-inch chunks (no bones).
  • Mix oregano, cumin, salt, pepper, and sugar in a small bowl. Season pork on all sides with half of seasoning mixture. Set aside rest of seasoning and let pork rest for 1 hour.
  • Place pork above a shallow roasting pan on rack to ensure air can flow below the meat.
  • Convert your gas BBQ into a smoker by placing a tinfoil pack full of wood chips on direct heat side of grill. Ensure one side is hot and other side has no direct heat (off).
  • Once smoke starts to come from the chips, place pork on indirect colder side of grill opposite the smoke pack. Cook for 2 hours at 275°F until a nice mahogany color forms over meat.
  • Once meat is smoked, place pork in a pan. Crush your oranges and limes over top of the pork and place peels in the pan. Now add lard, coke, onion, cinnamon stick, and bay leaves. You can also add remaining seasoning from before to your own taste (you will need to perform a couple taste tests to determine, but I personally add the remaining rest. You can always add seasoning, but you can’t take it away). Pork should be mainly submerged in pan under the liquid. If not, you can add a little water to top it up.
  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Cover top of pan with aluminum foil and place in oven. Cook for 1 to 2 hours. Pork is ready when it is fork tender and can easily be shredded without any effort.
  • When your pork is tender, remove it from pan to shred. Do not shred too fine; leave it a little chunky. Place pork in a frying pan on medium high heat with a splash of your braising liquid. You do not have to do it all at once. I did mine on my BBQ flat top.

Salsa Verde

  • Grill tomatillos and jalapeños until soft. Let rest for 30 minutes afterwards until room temperature.
  • Place all ingredients in blender and pulse gently until all large chunks are removed. Careful to not puree it.
  • Pour into your container and let rest one hour before serving to ensure flavours properly blend.

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