Authentic Beer Braised Carnitas Tacos Recipe
Pork shoulder is braised for hours in a combination of beer, onions, citrus, and spices until it's fall-apart tender. Then, it's crisped up in a skillet so you have a perfect mix of crispy and tender pieces.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 4 hours
Total Time: 4 hours 15 minutes
Makes: 8 - 10 servings
Ingredients
For the Carnitas
- 4 lbs boneless Boston pork butt, cut into large chunks (or 5 lbs bone-in pork, cut into 2-3 pieces)
- kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 cup lard
- 1 orange, sliced
- 8 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 yellow onion, sliced
- 4 dried ancho chilies, whole
- 2 dried guajillo chilies, whole
- 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
- 3 bay leaves
- 24 oz lager or amber beer (let it go flat)
- 1 tablespoon salt
For the Tacos
- Corn tortillas, warmed
- Cotija cheese, crumbled
- Lime wedges, for serving
- Pickled onions, for serving
- Raw salsa verde, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 350ºF. Heat a large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium heat and add the lard to the pot. Season the pork chunks liberally with salt and pepper.
- Sear the pork. Place pieces of pork in the pan and brown on all sides.
- Add the carnitas ingredients. Add the sliced onion, oranges, and garlic cloves to the pot and arrange around the pieces of pork. Then, add cumin, bay leaf, and dried chilies. Pour in the beer and sprinkle the salt all over. If there is not enough liquid to come 3/4 of the way up the pork (we don't want to cover it), add a little water. Bring to a simmer and then remove from the heat and cover.
- Braise. Place in the oven and cook for 2 1/2 hours, until almost fork tender. Remove lid and cook for 30 minutes to 1 hour more, or until tender enough to be pulled apart with a fork.
- Let cool, then refrigerate overnight. Remove pot from oven and let the pork cool to room temperature. Re-cover, place in the fridge and allow to chill overnight.
- Make the salsa verde. Combine all the ingredients in a high-powered blender and blend until smooth. Season to taste with salt.
- Crisp up the pork. Before serving, pull the pork from the liquid and roughly shred it into pieces, discarding large pieces of fat. Heat a cast-iron pan over medium-high heat and add the pork to the pan until crispy on one side and golden brown. Season with extra salt as needed.
- Assemble the tacos. Serve the carnitas on warm corn tortillas with pickled onions, salsa verde, and cilantro with some lime wedges on the side.
Notes
*Note: Tomatillos are NOT green tomatoes. They’re part of the gooseberry family, which is why they have a husk. They are a bit tart which makes for a very fresh salsa verde!
