Skip to Main

easy-pork-carnitas

Easy Pork Carnitas

An Authentic Pork Carnitas Recipe Served With Warm Tortillas and Sauces.

For this meal you don't need to cross the border or take a plane. You just need your oven, a Ziploc Endurables® Large Pouch and a few hours. If you follow every step, you’ll enjoy delicious Mexican food right at home.

Total cook time

4 hours

Prep time

30 min

Servings

4 to 6
Ingredients
lb boneless pork shoulder butt
2 tsp salt
1 orange
1 onion, cut into wedges
4 garlic cloves, cut in half
2 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick
2 tsp dried oregano
¼ cup vegetable oil

Shop this recipe

Endurables™

Ziploc Endurables® Large Pouch

Some call the Ziploc Endurables® Large Pouch a game-changer...and we can’t agree more. Made with durable, reusable platinum silicone, these half-gallon pouches are designed to go from the freezer to the oven to the table in a snap. So whether you’re storing leftovers or reheating for the family, making the most of your meals has never been easier.

Ziploc Endurables®Over 100 uses!

Front of Ziploc Endurables large pouches packaging.
Directions
1.
Heat oven to 300°F.
2.
Cut pork into 8 pieces; sprinkle evenly with salt.
3.
Use a vegetable peeler to remove the zest from the orange, being careful to just remove the orange part of the peel. Reserve peeled orange for another use.
4.
Pack 4 pork pieces in single layer on bottom of Endurables Pouch; top with orange zest, onions, garlic, bay leaves, cinnamon stick and oregano. Top with remaining pork pieces; press firmly into other ingredient layers in Pouch. Drizzle with oil.
5.
Squeeze air from Endurables® Pouch; close zipper, leaving a one inch opening to vent. Place Pouch in a 9x5-inch loaf pan.
6.
Bake on bottom oven rack 3 to 3½ hours or until pork is fork tender. Remove loaf pan from oven; cool pork in Endurables® Pouch 15 min.
7.
Place large strainer or colander over large bowl. Carefully pour liquid from Endurables® Pouch through strainer. Transfer the strained juices into a small bowl. Let stand 5 min. or until fat rises to surface. Spoon the fat into a different small bowl; set aside along with the strained liquid.
8.
Remove pork from Endurables® Pouch; discard all Carnita ingredients remaining in the Pouch. Remove and discard fat and connective tissue from pork, then break pork into bite-size pieces.
9.
Heat 2 Tbsp. of the reserved fat in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add single layer of pork; drizzle with about ¼ cup of the strained liquid. Cook, without stirring, 3 to 4 min. or until bottoms of pork pieces are crisp and lightly browned. Turn pork pieces over; drizzle lightly with some of the remaining strained liquid. Cook until other side of pork pieces are crisp and lightly browned. Remove from skillet. Repeat, in batches if necessary, to cook remaining pork pieces.
10.
Serve crispy carnitas plain, or as a filling for tacos. For tacos, serve with warmed tortillas, topped with pico de gallo, guacamole and/or diced avocados, shredded cheese and dollops of sour cream. Or, you can use the pork carnitas as a filling for your favorite burritos, quesadillas or enchiladas.

Other recipes

Chicken parmesan pasta in a spiced spaghetti sauce served in a Ziploc® Endurables™ Container

Easy Baked Chicken Parmesan Pasta

Can’t decide between chicken and pasta? Enjoy the best of both worlds with this Easy Chicken Parmesan and Pasta recipe. The best part is you cook everything in one Ziploc Endurables® Medium Container. You’ll have a delicious and fast mid-week meal that goes from the microwave to the oven to the table in no time!
Ravioli lasagna made with ricotta cheese and mozzarella, served in a Small Ziploc® Endurables™ Container

Easy Ravioli Lasagna for One

Imagine you’re hungry, in a hurry, and have a Ziploc Endurables® Small Container filled with last night’s leftover ravioli. Simply reheat in the oven or microwave following the recipe below and enjoy. It's the perfect twist on leftovers for a busy weekday dinner or a quick midday meal.