Sous Vide Crispy Carnitas

Ingredients

Crispy Carnitas:

2 tablespoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons garlic powder

2 tablespoons onion powder

1 tablespoon dried oregano

4 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into 2” thick slabs

1 medium onion, roughly chopped

8 medium garlic cloves

1 cinnamon stick, broken into 3 pieces

4 bay leaves

1 medium orange, with peel

Spanish Rice:

1 (14.5 oz) can diced fire roasted tomatoes

1 (4 oz) can diced green chiles

1½ cups chicken stock

1¼ cups rice

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon butter

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon oregano

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon cumin

Preparation

In a small bowl, combine the salt, pepper, paprika, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder and oregano. Mix well.

Place the pork pieces into a large bowl and then rub the mixture evenly all over the pork shoulder pieces, pressing it in until it adheres. Then, add in the onion, garlic, cinnamon stick and bay leaves. Cut the orange into quarters and squeeze the juice into the bowl before adding the orange pieces in also. Toss to combine.

Place the pork into a sous vide safe vacuum sealer bag and seal. If you don’t have a vacuum sealer, you can use a freezer Ziploc gallon size bag, making sure to get all of the air out of the bag (instructions below).

Put the water in the pot (according to your sous vide cooker instructions) and set the temperature to 165°F. Add bag to the sous vide bath, add the ping pong balls on top and cook for 12 to 24 hours (make sure to occasionally add water as it evaporates, if needed*).

When meat is cooked, remove carefully (it’s heavy) from the water bath and transfer the contents of the bag to a large bowl. Pick out the chunks of meat with tongs (or fingers if you let it cool down) and transfer them to a rimmed baking sheet. Discard everything else left in the bowl. Let the meat cool a little bit until you can shred it using 2 forks or your fingers. Spread the meat evenly over the baking sheet. Now, I like to sprinkle a little bit of salt on top before I broil it…up to you though…Just do it.

Adjust your oven rack to 3 inches below the broiler element and preheat broiler to high. Place the pork under the broiler and cook for 10 minutes, flipping the meat over halfway through. Watch carefully so it doesn’t burn. Serve the meat on top of the Spanish rice (recipe below).

To Make the Spanish Rice while the pork is cooking:

Place the tomatoes and green chiles in a food processor, blender, or use a potato masher to smash them into a puree.

In a medium saucepan, combine all the ingredients. Bring to a boil and then cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 25 minutes or until rice is done. Garnish with green onions, if desired.