This Carnitas Recipe method by Diana Kennedy, requiring only pork, water, and salt, is the simplest and most delicious carnitas recipe I’ve ever had. These carnitas are not made in the slow cooker, which is a good thing. I carnitas bowl my slow cooker as much as the next person, but so many of the carnitas recipes online are slow cooker versions, with results that are a far cry from the truly crispy chunks of tender pork that you normally get at Mexican restaurants and taco joints.
It will give you perfect carnitas at home. It’s basically crispy, savory chunks of tender pork. They are particularly great for filling tacos and burritos. I’ve only discovered her work recently after coming across this recipe in the Genius Recipes cookbook, and I’m excited to look at some of her own cookbooks because so far I’m pretty enamored with her, hah!
You may have noticed that a lot of carnitas recipes call for orange juice, lime juice, oregano, and so on. But here all we’ll need is pork, salt, and water, which is traditional. Simmer the pork for about an hour and a half until the water eventually all cooks off. Beware that it will look like there’s more water than there actually is, because a fair amount of rendered fat will be left over in the pan.