Carnitas

Ingredients

• 1 3 1/2 to 4 pount boneless pork butt, fat cap trimmed to 1/8” thick, cut into 2 inch chunks
• 1 small onion peeled and halved
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• table salt and ground pepper
• 2 cups water
• 2 tbsp juice from 1 lime
• 1 large orange, halved

Steps

1. Adjust oven rack to lower middle and preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Combine the pork, onion, bay leaves, oregano, cumin, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, water and lime juice in a large dutch oven. The liquids should barely cover the meat. Juice the orange into a medium bowl and remove the seeds to give you 1/3 cup juice. Add the juice and orange halves to the pot.
3. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium high heat, stirring occasionally. Cover the pot and transfer to the oven. Cook until the pork is soft and falls apart when prodded with a fork, about 2 hours, flipping the meat once during cooking.
4. Remove the pot from the oven and turn the oven to broil. Using a slotted spoon transfer the pork to a bowl. Remove the orange halves, onion and bay leaves from the cooking liquid and discard.
5. Put the pot over high heat and and simmer until thick and syrupy, about 8 to 12 minutes. A heat proof spatula should leave a wide trail when dragged thru the glaze.
6. Using two forks, pull each piece of pork in half. Fold in the reduced liquid; season with salt and pepper to taste. Spread the pork in an even layer over a rimmed baking sheet or a broiler pan. Broil until browned (not charred) (5 to 8 minutes). Flip the pieces and continue to broil (another 5 to 8 minutes).