Carnitas — Michoacán copper pot confit

Michoacán, Mexico — specifically the region around Quiroga, which is regarded as the carnitas capital of Mexico. The preparation is associated with the cuisine of the Purépecha people.

Carnitas (literally little meats) is Michoacáns supreme contribution to Mexican cuisine — pork cooked slowly in its own lard in a copper cazuela (cazo de cobre) over a wood fire, beginning with a long confit at approximately 100°C that renders and tenderises every cut of the pig, finishing with a high-temperature blast that crisps the exterior while the interior remains moist. The traditional Michoacán carnitas process: a whole pig (or a combination of butt, belly, ribs, shoulder, organ meats, and skin) is cut into large pieces and submerged in hot lard with water, milk, salt, orange juice, lard, and Coca-Cola (yes — the caramel and acid in Coca-Cola contributes to the characteristic golden colour and slight sweetness of Michoacán carnitas). The mixture cooks for 2–3 hours at 100°C until the meat is completely tender. The temperature is then raised to approximately 190°C for a final 15–30 minute crisping stage. The result is pork that is simultaneously tender (confit cooked), caramelised (milk sugars and Coca-Cola caramelise on the exterior), and crisp (high-heat finish). Served chopped with tortillas, salsa, lime, and cilantro.

• Confit de canard (France — duck confit in fat)
• Slow-roast belly (Chinese — dong po rou)
• Kalua pig (Hawaii — whole pig slow roast)

Perfect carnitas has four simultaneous textures: crisp exterior crust, yielding tender meat, collagen-rich gelatinous sections, and moist interior — a contrast that makes it one of the most complex-textured pork preparations in world cuisine.