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The fat ratio that finally made my carnitas right

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After two years of good-but-not-great carnitas I finally cracked it: the ratio of lard to meat matters more than the spices. I had been using way too little — a couple tablespoons for three pounds of pork. The correct amount is enough to partially submerge the meat. It is not deep frying, but it is closer to confit than most recipes admit. The other thing I had wrong was pulling the meat too early. The fat needs time to render completely out of the shoulder. Once I started going to an internal of 200F and then resting the pulled meat in the cooking fat for twenty minutes before crisping, everything changed. The texture is completely different — succulent rather than just cooked.

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slow_carnitas

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Fully agree on the fat ratio. Where I differ is the resting time — I rest mine for a full hour, still in the fat, before the crisp step. The extra time makes the meat absorb more of the rendered fat back in and you get a richer result. Twenty minutes is good but an hour is better if you can manage it.

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FrijolFrank

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One assembly note from my side: when you put the carnitas in the burrito, put them next to the beans, not next to the salsa. The salsa acid will start breaking down the texture of the crispy bits immediately. Beans are neutral and protect the crisp.

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