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GoodtoKnow
  • 24/05/2025
Here's how to make carnitas, a delicious braised pork, as demonstrated by Elias Silva Resinas, head chef of Mexican restaurant Ella Canta.
Transcript
00:00Hello everyone, my name is Elias, I'm the head chef of Bellacanta, and today I'm going
00:03to show you how to make carnitas.
00:05Carnitas is just braised pork, super delicious.
00:09So we're going to start with the pork carnitas.
00:16To begin cooking the carnitas, we need to melt the fat.
00:21So we're just going to pour the solid fat on a pot.
00:25Don't be intimidated by the amount of fat, it's super tasty and delicious.
00:29If you don't want to use olfa, you can use half fat, half lard, and half oil.
00:35After you have the lard on the pan, we're just going to add half of garlic, just cut it in
00:40half, just put all of it.
00:46Cut an onion, just cut it in four.
00:53We're going to add some bay leaves, about three, and we're going to add ancho chiles.
00:59Ancho chile is a dry chile, it's from Mexico.
01:02This chile is not as spicy, it's just going to give a lot of flavor and smokiness to the
01:07taste of the carnitas.
01:10Next, we're going to put Coca-Cola, the Coca-Cola is just to give that caramelized flavor.
01:19If you can find Mexican Coca-Cola, that would be better.
01:21Yes, there's a difference between Mexican and European.
01:25Mexicans are made out of like actual sugar, canned sugar, so they're going to tend to be
01:28more sweet.
01:30So we just open once, just pour it over, don't be shy.
01:49So once the lard melts, we're just going to season the meat.
01:53Just put a little salt on top, and in the bottom, and just place it inside.
02:04Make sure the lard is covering the entire pork.
02:08Once it's done, let's just put the lid on.
02:10So now put it in the oven, 90 degrees Celsius, for about six to eight hours, or until the meat
02:15is tender.
02:16This is the perfect time for you to start making the salsa verde, pico de gallo, and your tortillas.
02:23So once it's ready, and the cooked its meat is nice and tender, I'm just going to pull
02:28it out.
02:29Just be gentle.
02:30It's going to break, because it's been cooking for six to eight hours.
02:35Just drain it, and just place all the meat on the bowl.
02:40Once it's ready, just shred it.
02:42This is like the most common tacos that we will eat in Mexico on a Sunday for brunch.
02:48We'll get all together as a family, get four or five kilos of meat, and invite all families,
02:54from mom to parents, everyone.
02:58We'll get together about like 40 people in the house.
03:02Everyone will make salsa, some of them will make the meat.
03:05Don't be shy shredding the fat.
03:07It's going to give a nice flavor to the meat.
03:11So just shred it a little bit.
03:12If the skinny gets a little bit tough, just put it on a cutting board, chop it, and mix
03:16it with everything.
03:17It's going to give a nice flavor to the meat.
03:20So once it's all shredded, you can just make yourself some tacos with the salsas and everything
03:24ready, or you can mix it with rice, unos frijoles charros, just ready to go.
03:29And with your lard, you can just keep it in the fridge for three to five months, and you
03:32can keep reusing it to make more carnitas.