Authentic Michoacán Carnitas using a Pellet Grill

I come in peace my friends. Carnitas and Pulled Pork are just not the same thing. The presence of a tortilla does not magically turn your pulled pork into carnitas. You need to cook that baby in lard for the magic to happen. It is a confit, a very different process and result than insta-pot, sous vide or traditional smoker recipes will have you believe. Fact: 95% of the recipes online will mislead you! Bbq pulled pork with some Mexican flair is not carnitas. Do not be fooled. True carnitas is its own thing. Don’t feed me rotisserie and call it fried chicken. Don’t serve me corned beef calling it pastrami… and while I love pulled pork… don’t fool yourself into thinking it’s carnitas. Fact: You can make authentic carnitas on your pellet grill… here is how:
8LBS Pork Shoulder/Butt
2 Pints Manteca Lard
1 Pint Bottle MEXICAN Coke
1 can evaporated Milk
2 Spanish Onions
3 Oranges
4 Heads of Garlic
10 Whole cloves
10 Bay Leafs
4 tsp Mexican Oregano
2 tsp cumin
1TBS black pepper

Slice up 8lbs of pork shoulder or butt or mix them both… Authentic Michoacán recipes will use the above mixed with belly and even organ meat. But I just go with shoulder and butt. Cut into roughly 1/2 LB chunks. Place on a large baking sheet and salt generously with kosher salt (1/2 a teaspoon per lb is the rule of thumb here). Put in refrigerator for at least an hour. I go with overnight or 24 hours for a true dry brine. The salt draws out the meats moisture which will dissolve the salt and osmosis will draw the salt and liquid into the meat. Science!
The following step is not essential. I personally then do a cold smoke of the meat to add some depth. Using a smoke tube, I place the pork on my pellet grill and smoke for 1 hour.
Then using a Dutch oven on the stove heat 2 quarts of lard to 250-270. I recommend using Manteca Lard from a Mexican grocery. This is a Carmel colored lard which is much more flavorful than the heavily rendered white lard which is commercially produced. If manteca is not available, the white stuff works great too. Fry your pork in batches so not to over crowd. Gently tend to the pieces as they will try to stick to the bottom of the pot. If your pork is fully submerged then 20 minutes should do it. Remove all the meat. Turn off the heat on the stove and fire up the Traeger to 225%.
Back to the Dutch oven and add the following ingredients.
Cut the tops off your garlic and add whole heads to the lard. Quarter onions and add. Juice oranges and add the juice and rinds. Add bay leaf, cloves, cumin, oregano and pepper. Pour in the evaporated milk. If the oil is still really hot it will curdle. Which is not an issue and will not negatively affect the final product. But it will look like a train wreck! Don’t worry. You are doing fine. Don’t add the coke yet, that will come later. Stir and add the pork back in. Heat to 200* and place the pot in the traeger uncovered. It should maintain roughly 200* monitor and adjust your traeger temp as needed. Let it stew for 3 hours. Add the Mexican coke but save a pull for yourself, yum. Cook for another 45 mins and pull the pot from the grill.
Voila!
Coarsely chop. Don’t shred like pulled pork. You don’t want stringy meat. Crisp up in your oven, air fryer or my personal fav on the blackstone. Serve with some lime and salsa with a little kick to cut thru the fat and of course… some warm corn tortillas, cilantro and onion.