I saw this recipe done on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. It seemed so simple that I had to try it, and it was outstanding!
Pork shoulder - I used about 2.5 lbs cut into fist-sized pieces
1/2 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 can cola (used dr. pepper because it is what we had)
1 cinnamon stick (used two like on tv, I'd suggest only using one)
1 head garlic with base cut off
A bunch of salt
Put the pork in a big heavy pot (enameled dutch oven worked well) and dump in milk, coke and enough water to bring it up to about 2/3 the level of the pork. Add the salt, garlic and cinnamon stick and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover for an hour. After an hour, turn the heat up to medium and leave uncovered for a second hour. I checked every 20 minutes or so just to make sure the pork chunks weren't sticking to the pot. During the second hour the liquid will reduce significantly and the outside of the meat will get nice and firm. I removed the meat to a cutting board, and using a fork and tongs broke it into smaller chunks. Then I put those chunks into a hot iron skillet for a couple of minutes to crisp the outside, and served them from the skillet just like fajitas.
These were the best carnitas I've ever had at home. Way better than making them in the crock pot. Next time I'll use a whole pork butt, because the carnitas were great reheated the next day and would probably freeze very well.
Pork shoulder - I used about 2.5 lbs cut into fist-sized pieces
1/2 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 can cola (used dr. pepper because it is what we had)
1 cinnamon stick (used two like on tv, I'd suggest only using one)
1 head garlic with base cut off
A bunch of salt
Put the pork in a big heavy pot (enameled dutch oven worked well) and dump in milk, coke and enough water to bring it up to about 2/3 the level of the pork. Add the salt, garlic and cinnamon stick and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover for an hour. After an hour, turn the heat up to medium and leave uncovered for a second hour. I checked every 20 minutes or so just to make sure the pork chunks weren't sticking to the pot. During the second hour the liquid will reduce significantly and the outside of the meat will get nice and firm. I removed the meat to a cutting board, and using a fork and tongs broke it into smaller chunks. Then I put those chunks into a hot iron skillet for a couple of minutes to crisp the outside, and served them from the skillet just like fajitas.
These were the best carnitas I've ever had at home. Way better than making them in the crock pot. Next time I'll use a whole pork butt, because the carnitas were great reheated the next day and would probably freeze very well.
