Carnitas Tacos with Red Cabbage Citrus Slaw
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: Dinner
Makes: 8 servings
Ingredients
  • 4 lbs boneless pork shoulder, cut into 4-inch chunks, trimmed of excess fat (or bone-in...just remove the bone)
  • salt
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • ½ teaspoon cumin
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 5 cloves garlic, sliced
  • 1 small head or half a large head of red cabbage, shredded
  • 1 small orange, juiced and zested
  • olive oil
  • corn tortillas, toasted
  • chopped avocado
  • fresh cilantro
  • lime wedges
Instructions
  1. Sprinkle and rub the pork with the salt. Add oil to a large ovenproof pot or dutch oven, and heat over medium high heat. Sear the pork in batches until it’s browned on all sides.
  2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Make sure all pork has been added back to the dutch oven. To that, add in the spices, bay leaves and garlic. Stir to distribute. Cover the meat ⅔ of the way up with water. (For reference, I used about 12 cups of water.) Bring to a boil on the stove. Once your mixture begins to boil, place the entire mixture into the oven, and leave the pot uncovered. Cook 3 ½ to 4 hours (I cooked mine for 4 hours), checking the pork every hour to give it a stir and assess the water level. If the pot starts drying out, add a little more water (you will likely not run into this issue). Remove the pot from the oven when the pork is tender and falling apart.
  3. Toss the shredded cabbage with orange juice, orange zest, a drizzle of olive oil, and salt to taste. Serve the carnitas in a toasted corn tortilla (I toast mine straight over my open stove flame), along with the cabbage slaw, some fresh avocado chunks, fresh cilantro sprigs and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.
Notes
Barely adapted from The Woks of Life.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 2 tacos
Recipe by Big Sky, Little Kitchen at https://www.bigskylittlekitchen.com/carnitas-tacos-with-red-cabbage-citrus-slaw/