I enjoyed eating at Chicheria Mexican Kitchen and I really liked their menu. The pork carnitas fajitas were particularly memorable. Are they willing to share the recipe?
— Susan Dugan, Decatur
Executive chef Juan Hormiga provided the recipe for these pork carnitas, which are served as fajitas with roasted peppers, charred green onions, guacamole, chipotle crema, rice sofrito, black beans and the restaurant’s foil-wrapped signature blue corn tortillas. The carnitas are also offered as tacos.
One ingredient you may not have in your pantry is dried avocado leaf. These are available in stores that stock Mexican groceries. Hormiga suggests it can be omitted, or readers can substitute a few sprigs of thyme and one star anise pod to approximate the flavor added by the avocado leaf.
The flavorful reserved cooking liquid can be refrigerated in a covered container and used to cook beans or make a bean soup.
Chicheria Mexican Kitchen’s Pork Carnitas
- 3 tablespoons Morton kosher salt
- 1 dried avocado leaf, crumbled (optional)
- 1 dried bay leaf, crumbled
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 5-pound boneless pork shoulder, cut into 4-inch-wide pieces
- Vegetable oil, if needed
- 1 white onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice
- 1 orange with peel, sliced, seeds removed
- 1 poblano pepper, stem and seeds removed, cut into 1/2-inch dice
- 1 Roma tomato, cored, cut in half
- 5 cloves garlic, peeled
- 7 cups low-sodium chicken stock
- 1 (13.5-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
- In a small bowl, combine salt, avocado leaf (if using), bay leaf, allspice, pepper, cloves and cinnamon.
- Put pork in a large bowl and toss with salt mixture. Let sit at least 10 minutes or cover bowl and refrigerate overnight.
- Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Place a baking sheet next to the cooktop.
- Working in batches, add pork and brown on all sides, about 5 minutes total. Do not crowd Dutch oven. As meat is browned, use tongs to transfer pork to baking sheet. Continue until all pork is browned.
- Heat oven to 325 degrees.
- Dutch oven should have a thin layer of rendered fat in the bottom. If not, add enough vegetable oil to film the bottom. Lower heat to medium and add onion, orange, poblano pepper, tomato and garlic. Cook until everything is soft and lightly caramelized, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add chicken broth and coconut milk. Cook 3 minutes or until broth and coconut milk are hot. Return pork and any juices that have accumulated to Dutch oven.
- Carefully transfer Dutch oven to oven and cook 3 hours or until pork is fork tender. Remove from oven, uncover and cool 5 minutes. Use tongs to transfer pork to a baking sheet to cool.
- Pour the cooking liquid through a strainer into a large bowl. Discard solids. Let liquid sit 5 minutes and spoon off fat that rises to the top. While cooking liquid rests, use your hands to break pork down into bite-size pieces, discarding any fat or gristle. Return strained cooking liquid and pork to Dutch oven. Set Dutch oven over low heat to keep pork warm until serving. If making carnitas ahead, refrigerate them in a covered container for up to 2 days before serving.
- To serve, remove pork from liquid and warm 1-cup portions in a dry skillet over medium heat until the pork begins to crisp.
- If desired, reserve cooking liquid for another use (see note).
Makes 8 cups carnitas.
Per 1-cup serving: 403 calories (percent of calories from fat, 40), 51 grams protein, 9 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams total sugars, 2 grams fiber, 18 grams total fat (11 grams saturated), 141 milligrams cholesterol, 1,287 milligrams sodium.
From the menu of ... Chicheria Mexican Kitchen, 202 Chattahoochee Row, Atlanta; 404-343-0134, chicheriamx.com.
Is there a recipe from a metro Atlanta restaurant you’d like to make at home? Tell us and we’ll try to get it. We’ll also test it and adapt it for the home kitchen. Because of volume, we can’t answer all inquiries. Send your request, your address and phone number to fromthemenu@gmail.com and put “From the menu of” and the name of the restaurant in the subject line.
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