Back-to-school Carnitas
As the first day of school looms for us Monday, I'm thinking about how Dinner Together will fit into the extra-hectic weeknights that are to come. One solution: Make it ahead.
The hardest thing about these carnitas is cubing the meat from a pork shoulder, which can be slippery work. Make sure your knives are sharp, then cut up a big hunk of meat and slow-roast it in your oven on Sunday. You'll have meals in the bag for the first couple of days of school.
The following technique should work with any amount of meat. To get two pounds of meat, you'll probably need to buy a 4-5 pound pork shoulder, since most of the weight is bone and fat...
These got a good response from my family.
Carnitas
Serves 8
2 pounds cubed pork shoulder (off the bone)
Salt and pepper to taste
For garnish: Corn tortillas, minced onion, chopped avocado, salsa, cilantro (Jodie; don't need to include these. I'll note that it's just the pork being analyzed.)
Heat the oven to 200 degrees. Toss pork cubes with salt and pepper and spread onto two baking pans that are coated with cooking spray. Roast about 2 hours, or until cubes are cooked through and slightly crisp at the edges. Serve with tortillas and other accompaniments.
Adapted from "The New York Times Cookbook" by Craig Claiborne, which received the recipe from Mexican cookbook author Elena Zelayeta
Per serving (pork only): 180 calories, 25 grams protein, 8 grams fat, 3 grams saturated fat, 0 grams carbohydrate, 0 grams fiber, 73 milligrams cholesterol, 50 milligrams sodium
(Photo by me)
