Coke-Braised Pork Carnitas

I've been doing this dish for years but no need to deep fry it. I just sear the pork in a pan on high heat, then add the coke, the OJ (you can also create interesting flavor combinations with other juices, like pineapple), some orange peel, a little lime and a stick of cinnamon. Then reduce the heat and let it simmer down until the pork shreds easily and the liquid is reduced and caramelized. Yummy.

• BadFluff

• Paris, France

• 6/1/2013

Came across this whilst looking for a recipe for a piece of boneless pork leg (rather than just plain roasting it.) Sounds delicious but I don't like the idea of the deep frying. How about if I dry roasted it then add the coke and OJ as per recipe? Or maybe pot roast it in the coke and OJ for a couple of hours?

• bevamery

• London. England

• 3/13/2012

Wow! This is one of two carnitas recipes that come close to the real deal. Personally, I use lard (go ahead, yuk it up....) but really. it imparts a totally different flavor, and, amazingly, is,t really greazy. Also like to add about a TBSP of salt, couple of dried guajillos or New Mexi's, handful of De Arbols, 1 or 2 oranges (squeezed - chuck the peel in) and a Negro Modelo beer. Trick seems to be, you have to wait for the coke to "flash", and give you the beautify caramelized coating. Mmmmmmm! I don't always eat carnitas, but when I do, I prefer Edward Mendoza's method.....

• waky66e

• 5/5/2010

I didn't fry the pork for the hour and a half. I only did it until all the pork was a dark brown. I then removed it from the oil and put in a pan with 1 can of frozen orange juice, 1 tsp of ground cinnamon and a 20 oz bottle of coke (don't add water to the OJ!). I brought that to a boil and then reduced to an uncovered simmer until the liquid was absorbed (more or less). Talk about some SERIOUS flavor infusion! the kitchen smelled fantastic and the pork was incredible!!! Put that in your tortillas and eat it.

• mcrenshaw

• Portland, OR

• 4/18/2010

After eating this dish with homemade tortillas, homemade salsa, chopped red onion and avacado I must say it is truly enjoyable. Chef Edward Mendoza has somethng good on his hands here. Great recipe from a great chef and teacher. Thank you.

• rkbsquared

• Fort Worth

• 3/3/2008

This dish was just OK for me. After the pork had been deep fried it was very tender and pulled apart easily. If I had known that the coke, OJ step would not add much I would have stopped there. Yes, it infused a slightly tangy citrus taste into the meat, which was fine, but it did not make this dish "sing". Of course, I served it at a Mexican-themed b'day party and it disappeared quickly into tortillas, but I think it was the accompaniments that made the tacos, not the carnitas. There was a delicious slaw that when paired with the carnitas, was really excellent. My advice is to cook this dish through the deep frying stage, salt and pepper generously then just serve it up. No need to waste time and money with the coke and orange juice step.

• andrea190

• Alameda, CA

• 10/15/2007

This is amazing. Shreds apart perfectly. The only issue I found was that the recipe seems to be flawed in the amount of orange juice it calls for. I had a ton left in the pot after the cooking time. Next time I would cut the OJ in half. I used fresh squeezed. Go to your local Asian market for the peanut oil. You can get a huge amount for a fraction of the grocery store.

• drositano

• Los Gatos, CA

• 3/29/2007

This is a great recipe! It is comparably cheap and leaves many leftovers. I serve it as fajitas or simmer with barbeque sauce for yummy barbeque pork. For my leftover peanut oil, I filter through cheese cloth using a funnel and put back into the bottle. Then I freeze it, and I can use it next time.

• Anonymous

• Bozeman, MT

• 2/11/2007

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• Anonymous

• San Francisco

• 9/12/2006