It’s Only Tuesday But I’m Already Planning My Weekend Around Carnitas

Every Monday night, Bon Appétit editor in chief Adam Rapoport gives us a peek inside his brain by taking over our newsletter. He shares recipes he's been cooking, restaurants he's been eating at, and more. It gets better: If you sign up for our newsletter, you'll get this letter before everyone else.

Honestly, I had forgotten all about the pork shoulder. I bought it eight weeks ago, frozen and vacuum-sealed, and it had been sitting in the deep recesses of my freezer ever since. And then Saturday morning, as I was wondering just what the heck I was going to do all day—besides laundry and other chores—a light bulb went off.

Carnitas!

Have you ever made carnitas? Pork braised in its own fat till crispy but still tender? As a cooking project, it presents that perfect balance of being both easy and time consuming. Which, frankly, during these self-isolating months is exactly what I can handle.

There are different ways to approach this beloved and storied Mexican dish. You can check out Rick Martinez’s recipe for Double Pork Carnitas, or his recipe for Duck Carnitas, or you can listen to Rick and me talk carnitas on the Bon Appétit Foodcast. (If you haven’t gathered, Rick has a thing for carnitas.)

But I kind of winged it. I browned and then braised the pork shoulder with a bunch of chopped up veg and some chicken stock and wine. Three hours later, I strained the liquid, popped it in the freezer and then skimmed the congealed lard from the surface.

Want this letter before it hits the website? Sign up for our newsletter!

I shredded the fall-apart meat and fried it till crispy—but not too crispy—in the reserved pork fat in a high-sided Dutch oven. (I guess you could say my technique is a bit more akin to Gaby Melian’s Instant Pot Carnitas recipe.) At this point, I would’ve been happy to sit there at the cutting board with a bottle of beer and tub of sea salt and just go at the succulent pork shoulder. But half the fun of making carnitas is crowning it with a constellation of complimentary dishes. Something to do, something to take your mind off yet another weekend that doesn’t really feel like a weekend, and something to get your spouse and kid excited about.

So I sliced up some ripe avocados. I quartered some limes. I quick-pickled some red onion and showered it with chopped parsley and mint (because Rick, in his epic taco primer a few months back, declared that cilantro is not required, and that it’s time other herbs get some love). I warmed some brothy pinto beans I had in my fridge. I heated up some jarred queso that my 12-year-old loves. I opened up a bag of chips. And just before sitting down, I blistered some tortillas in a cast-iron skillet and wrapped them in a dish towel to stay warm and moist.

And then I devoured more carnitas tacos than I could count. Not a bad Saturday after all.

Get the recipe

Double-Pork Carnitas

Originally Appeared on Bon Appétit