Made "Twice Cooked Smoked Carnitas" for a party, and it went very well, so I thought I'd throw out the recipe.
This served 30 people at a potluck where there were other choices. Would server about 10-20 if this were the only meat choice.
PORK PREP:
=========
Purchased two Pork Butts (Shoulders) from Sam's Club. No rub, no salt, no nothing! Rinsed them in water, trimmed off much of the fat, and placed one on each grill of my 18" WSM. They were probably in the 6 to 7 lb range before cooking. Put a little non-stick spray on both grills, and placed the butts fat side down.
WSM COOK NOTES:
==============
Filled up the charcoal ring with as much Kingsford as I could fit. buried 3 fist sized pieces of wood into the unlit coals. I used Cherry Wood. Lit 20 coals in a chimney and put them in the center of the unlit coals (ie: Minion Method). Filled water pan as full as I could. Started the cook at 9pm with all three vents wide open until the cooker reached 200 degrees, then closed down the vents to 25%. At 1am, temp was in the 230s. Filled the water as high as I could, added an extra 20 coals by hand to the ring (turned out to be unnecessary), and went to bed.
At 7am, found the WSM running at 254 degrees (man, what a great cooker). Rotated the two butts. Topped off the water pan with hot water, and continued to cook until the digital probe in the butts registered 190 degrees at 10 am. So a total cook time of about 13 hours. Rested the butts for over an hour in an aluminum covered pan and shredded into small, carnitas sized pieces. DID NOT KEEP the outer charred "skin" or the drippings. I was after a more lean pork carnitas and only kept the interior meat.
OVEN BAKED FINISH:
=================
Placed the cooled shredded pork into two large shallow bake pans. Poured on spice / liquid mixture (see below). Baked at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until most of the liquid was gone. This resulted in the top being lightly caramelized and the meat being tender and juicy with a light Mexican seasoning. The goal here was a smoked pork flavor, with a mild hint of spices. Served with warm tortillas, salsa, avocado, and cheese. Everyone loved them, they were "to die for" as one guest said.
SPICE/LIQUID MIXTURE:
====================
My goal here was to add liquid and spice for the baking phase. I wanted a bit of mild Mexican spice (suitable for the whole family) and also a slight bit of sweet so the carnitas would caramelize on top. This mix creates enough seasoning/liquid for two butts. Obviously, the spices can be modified to include things like; orange zest, fresh garlic, cumin, a different rub, etc. Mix dry spices into beer/OJ. The spices will cause the beer to foam a bit, no big deal. Pour 1/2 the mixture over each shredded butt and mix thoroughly in to the shredded pork. I used McCormick spices because that's what I like.
1 bottle of beer
2 cups orange juice (fresh or concentrate)
McCormick Grill Mates Pork Rub to taste
McCormick Salt Free Garlic and Herb to taste
Chili powder to taste
Salt and Pepper to taste
ARE THESE REALLY CARNITAS?
=========================
Purists will tell you that carnitas MUST be cooked in lard in a big copper pot. Fair enough, but nobody at the party pulled the "lard card" on me. Truth is, nobody noticed. The result of this recipe was great pork "carnitas" tacos without so much fat. They are more lean, not as "wet" in the tortilla, but the meat is moist and flavorful.
Dan
This served 30 people at a potluck where there were other choices. Would server about 10-20 if this were the only meat choice.
PORK PREP:
=========
Purchased two Pork Butts (Shoulders) from Sam's Club. No rub, no salt, no nothing! Rinsed them in water, trimmed off much of the fat, and placed one on each grill of my 18" WSM. They were probably in the 6 to 7 lb range before cooking. Put a little non-stick spray on both grills, and placed the butts fat side down.
WSM COOK NOTES:
==============
Filled up the charcoal ring with as much Kingsford as I could fit. buried 3 fist sized pieces of wood into the unlit coals. I used Cherry Wood. Lit 20 coals in a chimney and put them in the center of the unlit coals (ie: Minion Method). Filled water pan as full as I could. Started the cook at 9pm with all three vents wide open until the cooker reached 200 degrees, then closed down the vents to 25%. At 1am, temp was in the 230s. Filled the water as high as I could, added an extra 20 coals by hand to the ring (turned out to be unnecessary), and went to bed.
At 7am, found the WSM running at 254 degrees (man, what a great cooker). Rotated the two butts. Topped off the water pan with hot water, and continued to cook until the digital probe in the butts registered 190 degrees at 10 am. So a total cook time of about 13 hours. Rested the butts for over an hour in an aluminum covered pan and shredded into small, carnitas sized pieces. DID NOT KEEP the outer charred "skin" or the drippings. I was after a more lean pork carnitas and only kept the interior meat.
OVEN BAKED FINISH:
=================
Placed the cooled shredded pork into two large shallow bake pans. Poured on spice / liquid mixture (see below). Baked at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until most of the liquid was gone. This resulted in the top being lightly caramelized and the meat being tender and juicy with a light Mexican seasoning. The goal here was a smoked pork flavor, with a mild hint of spices. Served with warm tortillas, salsa, avocado, and cheese. Everyone loved them, they were "to die for" as one guest said.
SPICE/LIQUID MIXTURE:
====================
My goal here was to add liquid and spice for the baking phase. I wanted a bit of mild Mexican spice (suitable for the whole family) and also a slight bit of sweet so the carnitas would caramelize on top. This mix creates enough seasoning/liquid for two butts. Obviously, the spices can be modified to include things like; orange zest, fresh garlic, cumin, a different rub, etc. Mix dry spices into beer/OJ. The spices will cause the beer to foam a bit, no big deal. Pour 1/2 the mixture over each shredded butt and mix thoroughly in to the shredded pork. I used McCormick spices because that's what I like.
1 bottle of beer
2 cups orange juice (fresh or concentrate)
McCormick Grill Mates Pork Rub to taste
McCormick Salt Free Garlic and Herb to taste
Chili powder to taste
Salt and Pepper to taste
ARE THESE REALLY CARNITAS?
=========================
Purists will tell you that carnitas MUST be cooked in lard in a big copper pot. Fair enough, but nobody at the party pulled the "lard card" on me. Truth is, nobody noticed. The result of this recipe was great pork "carnitas" tacos without so much fat. They are more lean, not as "wet" in the tortilla, but the meat is moist and flavorful.
Dan
