Chipotle Carnitas Recipe - Food Fanatic
Print

Chipotle Carnitas Recipe

Embed
    10 Servings

Ingredients

  • 2-3 tablespoons Canola Oil, Or vegetable oil
  • 5-6 pounds Pork Shoulder
  • 1 medium Onion, Coarsley chopped
  • 1 tablespoon Kosher Salt
  • 1 tablespoon Black Pepper
  • 2 cloves Garlic, Peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1-2 Chipotle Peppers, Finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon Adobo Sauce
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons juniper berries, Lightly crushed
  • 2 Bay Leafs
  • 1/2 tablespoon Red Chili Powder
  • 1 tablespoon Dried Oregano
  • 1 teaspoon Dried Thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon Ground Cumin
  • 2 cups Chicken Broth

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
  2. Place a large oven-safe pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the canola oil and heat until oil is hot.
  3. Place the pork shoulder in the pan and sear each side for about 2-3 minutes. Continue rotating until all sides of the pork shoulder have been seared.
  4. Reduce heat to medium and add the chopped onions. Cook for 6-8 minutes.
  5. Add all of the remaining ingredients except for the chicken broth (garlic, chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, juniper berries, bay leaves, chili powder, oregano, thyme and cumin) to the pot.
  6. Add chicken broth to the pot. Then add water until the water is about ¾ of the way up the side of the pork shoulder. Stir the pot gently.
  7. Cover and place pot in the oven for 4 hours.
  8. Once cooked, transfer the pork shoulder to a large cutting board. Discard the remaining liquid.
  9. Once pork is cool enough to handle, shred it using 2 forks.
  10. To prepare, place about 2 cups of pork in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2-3 Tbsp of chicken stock and cook until stock has evaporated and pork is slightly crispy.
  11. Serve in tacos or burritos along with shredded lettuce, guacamole, corn salsa, pico de gallo, cheese and Chipotle rice.

Notes

  • Cans of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce are common in the Mexican food aisle. Chipotle peppers are very spicy, so I usually only use 1-2 peppers for this recipe. I do add about one tablespoon of the adobo sauce from the can into the pot as well. The leftover peppers and adobo sauce freeze quite well.

Chipotle carnitas recipe photo