Mexican · Authentic-ish Mexican
Carnitas
328 kcal a serving, against 702 for the traditional version. That is 374 kcal off, or 53%, with 40.6g of protein. Serves 6. 3 hours.
What the traditional version is
Pork shoulder chopped into large chunks and slowly confited in melted lard with orange juice, garlic and oregano until tender, then fried in its own fat to crisp the edges.
What changed, and what each change costs
144g of absorbed lard down to 0g
Cooking meat in pure fat is beautiful, but it drives the calories through the roof. Dropping the lard removes a massive amount of fat while holding onto all the protein from the meat.
What it costs you. You lose the confit texture entirely. Braised meat shreds perfectly well, but it doesn't have that silky, coated finish that traditional carnitas has. It feels leaner because it is leaner.
Fatty pork shoulder for lean pork shoulder
Without the lard to insulate the meat, you have to braise it in liquid. Using a leaner cut means you don't end up with a greasy braising liquor, and the finished meat carries less fat.
What it costs you. Lean pork dries out much faster. You have to watch the braise carefully and keep a tight lid on the pot so it steams in its own juices. Overcook it, and it turns to sawdust.
Frying the cooked meat in lard for blasting it under a hot grill
You still need those dark, crispy edges to make it feel like carnitas, but doing it under a grill uses no extra fat at all.
What it costs you. The intense heat of the grill dries the meat out slightly more than frying does. You have to toss the shredded pork with the leftover braising juices to keep it moist.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 702 | 328 |
| Protein | 34.7g | 40.6g |
| Fat | 60.1g | 14.9g |
| Saturated fat | 21.9g | 5.1g |
| Carbohydrate | 3.1g | 5.5g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 4.9g | 12.4g |
Every figure is computed from the recipe's own weighed ingredient list against public food composition databases. The appendix in Authentic-ish Mexican prints the exact database row used for each ingredient, so any number here can be checked.
Allergens. celery.
The method is in the book
What you've got is a braise. Confit is a different dish and you know where to find it. If you expect the exact melting texture of a Mexican street cart taco, you will be disappointed. But as a pile of deeply flavoured, crispy, shredded meat, it punches hard. You drop a staggering amount of fat from the plate and end up with a dish packed with protein. The crisp edges and the sharp hit of orange make it a massive win.
The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Mexican, along with 56 more. Buy the paperback