Stovetop carnitas rice bowls
Pork shoulder simmers until it’s meltingly tender, then crisps in its own juices, piled over rice with quick pickled onions and lime.
- 150 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $3.22 a serving
- 810 calories
- Good the next day
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 2 lb pork shoulder, boneless, cut into 2-inch chunks
- 1 orange, halved
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- ½ red onion, thinly sliced
- 2 limes
- 2 packages microwave rice pouches, 8.8 oz pouches
- 1 avocado, sliced
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
- ½ cup salsa (optional)
From your pantry
- 2 tsp salt, divided
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 cups water
Each serving has about 810 calories, 44 g protein, 55 g carbs and 46 g fat, and costs about $3.22 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No red onions? White onions or yellow onions work.
- No limes? Lemons work.
- No avocados? Guacamole works.
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
- No salsa? Pico de gallo works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Mix 1½ tsp of the salt with the cumin, oregano and pepper, and rub it all over the pork chunks.
Dolly’s tip: Pork shoulder is a big, rich cut and needs plenty of salt. This is not the place to be shy.Put the pork in a or large heavy pot in a single layer, squeeze in the orange juice, and drop in the squeezed halves, garlic and bay leaves.
Dutch oven. A Dutch oven is a heavy pot, usually enameled cast iron, with a tight-fitting lid. It holds heat evenly, so it’s great for soups, stews and anything that simmers a long time.
How you’ll know: Any large, heavy pot with a lid does the same job if you don’t have one.
Pour in the water, which should come about halfway up the pork, and over high heat.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
to low and uncovered for 1½ to 2 hours, turning the pork every 30 minutes, until the liquid has mostly cooked off and the pork is .
Reduce the heat. It means turning the burner down, usually to medium-low or low, so food cooks gently instead of hard. Electric burners cool slowly, so lift the pan off for a moment if it’s bubbling hard.
How you’ll know: Within a minute the bubbling calms to a gentle simmer, or the sizzle turns quiet.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Fork-tender. Fork-tender means cooked until a fork slides in with almost no push. It’s how you know potatoes, carrots or slow-cooked meat are soft all the way through.
How you’ll know: The fork slides in and out easily, and meat pulls apart with very little effort.
Low heatTimer: 100 min
Dolly’s tip: If it bubbles hard, turn it down. If the pot runs dry before the pork is tender, add a splash of water.Food safety: Steak, pork chops and other whole cuts are safe at 145°F in the middle, then let them rest for 3 minutes before cutting.
While it simmers, the sliced red onion with the juice of 1 lime and the rest of the salt in a small bowl and let it sit.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Dolly’s tip: In half an hour the onion turns bright pink, tangy and much milder.Pick out the orange halves and bay leaves, turn the heat to medium, and let the pork fry in its own fat for 8 to 10 minutes, turning now and then, until and at the edges.
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Crispy. Crispy means the outside is dry, firm and crunchy. It comes from high heat, a little oil and room in the pan, because crowded food steams and goes soft.
How you’ll know: It sounds crunchy when you tap or bite it, and it doesn’t flop when you lift it.
Medium heatTimer: 9 min
Dolly’s tip: That sizzle is the fat the pork gave off as it simmered. It’s what makes carnitas crispy.the pork into chunky pieces with two forks right in the pot, then taste a piece and add of salt if it needs it.
Shred. Shredding means making thin strips, either on the big holes of a grater or by pulling cooked meat apart with two forks. Shreds soak up sauce and mix evenly through a dish.
How you’ll know: Cooked chicken pulls apart into strands with little effort, and cheese comes off in long, loose strips.
Pinch. A pinch is what you can hold between your thumb and two fingers, less than an eighth of a teaspoon. It’s a small, forgiving amount, so there’s no need to measure.
How you’ll know: It’s a light sprinkle you can barely see on the food, not a little pile.
Low heat
Heat the rice pouches in the microwave as the packages say.
Timer: 1 min 30 sec
Divide the rice among four bowls and top with the carnitas, pickled onions, avocado, cilantro and salsa, with the second lime in wedges.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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