I’ve been making these carnitas for years inside on the stovetop, it was a nice cool day, so I decided to cook them burnt ends style on the Big Green Egg.  And I’m glad I did; the smoke flavor and the “bark” on the cubed pork shoulder took it up a notch.  These have a great Mexican flare due to the chipotle peppers, and the hidden star is the coriander. It really gives this dish a unique flavor.

Unlike most Mexican dishes, there’s no need for any sauces or cheese in this dish, and it does fine on its own with just a corn tortilla, some cilantro, and lime.

Burnt End Carnitas

Meat Church – Fajita

12oz – $10.25

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Carnitas come in many different styles, sometimes they’re more stewed and other times they’re cooked in lard that just makes them incredibly rich.  This is a halfway point between the two.  Once they get the color we’re looking for we add them to a flavorful broth to continue cooking until they are fall-apart tender.  I like to crisp them up on a griddle so you have pieces of crunchy and almost “burnt” pork.  These things are falling apart in your mouth good!

Ingredients:

Directions:

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Burnt End Carnitas

  • Author: RelaxedBBQ.com
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 3 hours
  • Total Time: 3.25 hours
  • Yield: 10 tacos 1x
  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: Braised
  • Cuisine: Mexican

Description

Enjoy these smoked then braised carnitas.  Cubed pork shoulder is smoked for 2 hours until tender then added to a braising sauce to finish off.  We like to keep it simple and only use cilantro and lime inside the soft corn tortilla taco.


Scale

Ingredients

45 lbs Pork Shoulder

32oz Chicken Broth

1 8oz. can Chopotles in adobo

1 Small White Onion (chopped)

1 Green Bell pepper (chopped)

3 Bay Leaves

1 Tbsp Cumin

5 Garlic Cloves (chopped)

1 Tbsp Coriander (whole seeds ground up preferred)

1 Tbsp Mexican Oregano

Cilantro & Lime for garnish


Instructions

  • Preheat BBQ pit to 275 indirect heat.
  • Cube pork shoulder into 1″ pieces.  Generously rub the pork cubes with Meat Church Fajita and Honey Hog seasoning.  Place onto pit and smoke for 2 hours, turning every hour, or until the cubes are cooked through.  They’ll be about half the size from when you started.
  • Combine the chicken broth, onion, bell pepper, bay leaves, cumin, garlic, coriander and oregano into an aluminum serving tray (or similar).  Stir to mix and add cooked pork cubes.
  • Continue cooking, uncovered at 275 for 1 hour or until you reach your desired consistency of the sauce.
  • Load pork into soft corn tortillas and serve hot with lime and cilantro.

Notes

When cooking your tortillas, also cook some of the pork, smashing it on a griddle to help break it apart and get the edges nice and crispy for a little crunch in the taco.