Citrus Pork "Carnitas" With Salsa Roja
Plus a shredded tofu version that I devoured in approx three minutes
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I feel a bit dirty calling this dish carnitas.
Authentic Mexican carnitas is pork cooked — more like confited — in lard or oil for hours until its breaks down into a glorious (but not exactly dietician-friendly) mess of delicious, delicious meat.
But scour the internet for carnitas and you’ll find domestic-kitchen-friendly versions all over the joint. Something a little less oily and far less authentic, but honestly no less worthy of making.
So I’ll stick with the name. At least it gives some reference as to what to expect here.
And what you should expect here is an incredibly versatile pulled pork-style recipe using Mexican dried chillies, garlic, oregano, cumin and of course, pork.
I had a block of tofu in the fridge destined to become salt and Szechuan pepper shallow-fried tofu (recipe incoming in the next few weeks) and I’d just read about
’s shredded tofu technique and thought hey, that could work here.Man, did it work. Crispy bits of tofu covered in a citrus marinade, finished with a squeeze of fresh lime wedge. Textured, fresh and my new favourite taco filling.
So it’s two recipes in one this week.
In fact, it’s three because I also want to share a Salsa Roja — grilled then blended tomato, chillies and onion — recipe that I stuffed into my tacos alongside the shredded pork. One of those so-simple-it-shouldn’t-taste-this-good recipe that originally came from one of the most comprehensive Mexican cookbooks I’ve come across, Mi Casa Tu Casa.
As always, there are a slew of variations for how to make this dish your own.
All recipes serve 4 people.
Citrus pork “Carnitas”
500g / 1lb pork shoulder / loin / butt chopped into one-inch dice
1 medium brown onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chilli flakes
The juice of 1 lime
The juice of half a juicy orange (around 2 tbsp)
Roughly 300ml stock (I used chicken but you could also use beef or vegetable)
Sea salt
Heat a glug of olive oil in a frying pan. Brown the pork in batches. Set aside.
Heat another glug of oil in a large saucepan. Fry the onion until softened and translucent. Add the garlic cloves for the last few minutes.
Tip the pork into the onion. Add the cumin and cook it out for a minute or so. Add the chilli flakes and oregano, citrus juice, and stock. Ensure there is enough stock to cover the meat, topping up with water if necessary. Season with sea salt.
Turn down the heat and simmer on low until the meat is falling apart. Add more stock or water to the pan if it gets dry. This should take around 2 hours.
Once the pork is tender, break it apart with a wooden spoon. Simmer the last of the liquid.
Shredded crispy citrus tofu
One 400g / 16oz block tofu
Marinade:
Juice of half an orange
Juice of a lime
1 garlic clove finely chopped
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
Sea salt for seasoning
Press the tofu between two plates with something heavy on top for around 30 minutes. I used a pan filled with water to weigh it down.
Once the excess water has been pressed out of the tofu, shred it using the coarse side of a cheese grater.
Mix the marinade ingredients and add to the tofu. Leave to marinade for as long as you have (an hour is perfect).
Heat your oven to 200C / 390F. Oil a baking sheet.
Spoon the tofu out of the marinade. Reserve. Place it onto the sheet. Spread into one layer.
Cook in the oven for around 10 minutes. Take out and spoon more of the marinade on top. Mix. Put it back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes. Keep an eye on the tofu, it should colour up and start to blacken around the edges. It may take a little more time, it may take a little less.
Take out, squeeze a fresh lime wedge over the tofu and serve.
Salsa roja
3 medium-sized tomatoes
1/2 medium sized-onion cut into thick wedges
The equivalent of 1 dried Mexican chilli. I used Chipotle and Guajillo
Sea salt for seasoning
Broil / grill the tomatoes and onion wedges until the onion is blackened around the edges and the tomato skins are black. Take off the tomato skins once they’re cool enough to handle.
Soak the dried Mexican chillies in boiling water for around 5 minutes. Take out and chop. Reserve the water.
Add the tomatoes, onions and chillies to a blender. Season with sea salt. Blend until smooth. Add the reserved chilli water if the mixture is too thick.
Dietary restrictions
All dishes are nut free, dairy-free and gluten-free.
The Salsa Roja and crispy shredded tofu are vegan.
Variations for the citrus pork
You could replace the pork with chicken.
No garlic? Use garlic powder instead.
If you have them, use fresh chillies instead of chilli flakes.
Experiment with the balance of citrus fruit (orange, lemon, lime). If you use lemon, you may want to add a teaspoon of sugar. Taste as it cooks and balance accordingly.
No stock? Use water instead.
Variations for the salsa roja
Swap dried Mexican chillies for fresh chillies. Grill them with the tomatoes and onions.
If you have them, you could include red bell peppers.
If you don’t have a grill you can either use a BBQ or roast the vegetables in a hot oven until they’re blackened.
Serve with…
Although I love making my own tacos when I have time, this week I did not. So I heated up some store-bought in a dry frying pan.
You could use the filling in a burrito.
Want gluten-free? Use corn tacos or cook up some rice and pile the carnitas on top.
Don’t forget your extras like guacamole, cheese, shredded lettuce, refried beans, and soured cream.
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