Pork Belly Carnitas

Pork Belly Carnitas

Pork Belly Carnitas

Recently, I’ve been eating a lot of pork belly in taco form. Instead of just browning it until crispy, I wanted to prepare it like carnitas. Typically, carnitas is pork shoulder simmered with lard, then browned. Since there is a lot of fat in pork belly, I omitted the lard. Most of the fat rendered out of the belly, allowing it to brown in its own fat. The belly was nice and crispy, but still tender.
Prep Time2 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 20 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: Latin American, main course, Mexican, Pork, signature dishes
Author: Alex Gorgos

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 lbs pork belly cut into small cubes
  • 2 cups water
  • salt to taste

Tacos

  • vegetable oil
  • corn tortillas
  • white onion finely chopped
  • cilantro chopped
  • hot sauce
  • lime wedges

Instructions

  • Bring the water and pork belly to a boil in a sauté pan. Simmer for 1 hour on low.
  • Increase the heat. Cook off all the water. Season with salt.
  • Turn the heat to medium low and brown the pork belly until crispy; about 10-15 minutes. Drain any excess fat.