Sous Vide Carnitas for Tacos

• servings: 12 servings
• active time: 5 minutes
• total time: 8 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 pound (450g) boneless pork shoulder, cut into 2-inch-thick slabs

¼ medium onion, roughly chopped

2 medium cloves garlic

¼ stick cinnamon, broken into 3 to 4 pieces

1 bay leaf

¼ medium orange, peel intact

1/2 tsp kosher salt

To Serve:

Warm corn tortillas

Lime wedges

Chopped white onion and fresh cilantro leaves

Charred Salsa Verde or other salsa

Directions

Combine pork, onion, garlic, cinnamon stick, and bay leaves in a large bowl. Split orange into quarters and squeeze juice into bowl before adding rest of orange. Season generously with kosher salt and toss to combine.

Sous vide 16 hours. When ready to cook, use a sous vide immersion circulator to preheat a water bath to the desired temperature 74°C. Add bag to water bath and cook for 12-20 hours at 74°C. (Make sure to top water up occasionally as it evaporates, and keep bag completely submerged. If bag floats, weigh it down by placing a wet kitchen towel on top of it. Alternatively, use a heavy-duty binder clip to attach a metal spoon or knife to bottom of bag as a weight.)

When meat is cooked, remove from water bath, transfer contents of bag to a large bowl.

Pick out chunks of meat with a set of tongs and transfer them to a rimmed baking sheet. (Discard aromatics and excess liquid, or reserve liquid and blend it in with your salsa.) When it is cool enough to handle, shred meat roughly using 2 forks or your fingers. Spread evenly over baking sheet.

Broil to crisp. When ready to serve, adjust an oven rack to 3 inches below the broiler element and preheat broiler to high. Place pork under broiler and cook, using a spoon to flip pieces occasionally, until meat is browned and crisp on most sides, about 10 minutes total.

Alternatively, working in batches, heat carnitas in a cast iron or nonstick skillet over medium heat, turning occasionally, until crisp, about 10 minutes.

Serve carnitas with warm tortillas, lime wedges, chopped onion and cilantro, and salsa.

Notes

Adjusted for family dinner.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: Serves 8 to 12
• Calories: 329 kcal
• Total Fat: 24 g
• Saturated Fat: 9 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 0 g
• Cholesterol: 101 mg
• Sodium: 286 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 0 g
• Dietary Fiber: 0 g
• Total Sugars: 0 g
• Protein: 26 g