Pork carnitas tacos with tomatillo salsa verde
Delicious slow cooked pork, a quick & easy salsa, and all with so much flavor.
Servings: 8 or more/less depending how used
Calories: 617kcal
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Ingredients
For tomatillo salsa verde
- 8 oz tomatillos
- 2 green chilis eg jalapeno, serrano (or more/less to taste)
- ½ onion small
- 8 stems fresh cilantro/coriander (approx), main stem removed
- 1 clove garlic
For carnitas
- ½ onion
- 3 lb pork shoulder or eg Boston butt
- 4 cloves garlic
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ cup orange juice
To make up tacos (suggested, but may need more/less)
- 8 tortillas small, corn or wheat as you prefer
- 1 avocado
- 1 oz queso fresco or cotija cheese or a little more as needed
Instructions
For salsa verde
- Remove the papery casing from the tomatillos and wash off any stickiness. Place them whole along with the chilis in a pan of boiling water and simmer, uncovered, for approx 10 minutes.
- Drain the pan and put the tomatillos and chilis in a blender or food processor along with the roughly diced onion, cilantro and roughly chopped garlic. Blend until smooth then transfer to a dish. The sauce can be covered and refrigerated for a few days until needed, as suits. You may just need to add a little water to thin it slightly before using.
For carnitas
- Pat dry the pork and cut into chunks around 2in/5cm cubes. Crush the garlic and mix it with the salt, paprika, oregano and cumin. You can add a little oil, if you like, to make it slightly easier to rub on the pork but I don't find it's usually needed. Rub the mixture all over the meat (don't worry if it doesn't spread over completely). Cut the onion into slices.
For slow cooker method
- Place the onion in the bottom of a slow cooker in a layer.
- Put the chunks of meat into the slow cooker, on top of the onion, and pour over the orange juice. Turn on low and leave to cook for approx 7-8 hours.
For stove top method
- Warm a little oil in a Dutch oven/heavy based pot/pan over a medium-high heat so that you get a thin layer over the bottom. Add the pieces of meat and cook for a couple minutes each side to sear them. Once they are seared all over, create a slight space to once side and add the onion and cook a couple minutes to gently soften.
- Mix the onion through the pork, pour over the orange juice and bring to a simmer. Cover and reduce the heat so that the liquid continues to simmer and cook, turning the pork now and then and if needed, adding a little extra orange juice. The pork doesn't need to be submerged in liquid - just halfway is fine - but you don't want it to become dry. Cook until the meat is fall apart tender, around 1 ½ - 2 hours.
For both methods - to finish
- Once pork is cooked, remove the chunks of meat and shred with two forks. To crisp up the edges, warm a little oil in a skillet/frying pan and cook just enough of the meat at a time so that you have a thin layer. Turn after a couple minutes and cook another couple minutes until you get crispy edges on a few sides.
- Make up the tacos with some of the meat, some tomatillo salsa verde, a few cubes or slices of avocado and a bit of cheese crumbled on top, or to your taste.
Nutrition
Calories: 617kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 43g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 124mg | Sodium: 514mg | Potassium: 803mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 280IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 93mg | Iron: 3.1mg
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