These incredibly moist, melt-in-your-mouth carnitas are infused with warm spices and become the base for a variety of dishes. My favorite way to eat these is inside corn tortillas, topped with cilantro and onion, but it's also delicious in quesadillas, posole, nachos, or atop a salad! For added flavor, rub the seasonings on the pork the night before.
Ingredients
- granulated garlic: 2 tsp
- ground cumin: 2 tsp
- salt: 1 tsp
- Mexican oregano: 1 tsp (dried)
- ground coriander: 1 tsp
- black pepper: 0.5 tsp
- ground cinnamon: 0.25 tsp
- boneless pork butt: 1 piece (4 pound)
- chicken soup base (such as Better than Bouillon®): 1 Tbsp
- medium orange: 1 piece (sliced)
- bay leaves: 3 piece
- vegetable oil: 1 Tbsp (or as needed)
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Fill a large pot with water and place a sous vide immersion cooker into the water. Set temperature to 165 degrees F (74 degrees C) according to manufacturer's directions.
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Combine granulated garlic, cumin, salt, oregano, coriander, and black pepper in a small bowl.
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Cut pork butt into 2 chunks and rub with soup base. Sprinkle with spice mixture and rub until evenly distributed. Place pork into a large vacuum bag. Add orange slices and bay leaves throughout the bag. Seal using a vacuum sealer.
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Place bag into the water and set timer for 24 hours, turning bag over halfway through. When done, remove pork to a platter, reserving some or all of the juices.
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To crisp up carnitas, heat vegetable oil in a large cast iron skillet over high heat until smoking. Add shredded pork and fry until edges are browned and crispy, 1 to 2 minutes. Drizzle with reserved juices, if desired. Alternately, you may crisp under an oven broiler for 3 to 4 minutes.
