Pork carnitas bowls with sweet potato and slaw
Pork shoulder braised slowly with orange, lime, cumin and garlic until it falls apart, then crisped under the grill and soaked with its own reduced juices. It goes over roasted sweet potato with a sharp red cabbage and lime slaw and slices of avocado. A long simmer with very little to do, and the pork is even better the next day.
- Time
- 175 min (15 prep + 160 cook)
- Servings
- 4
- Per serving
- 611 kcal
- Protein
- 37 g
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb boneless shoulder, weighed after trimming pork shoulder, outside fat trimmed, cut in 5 cm (2-inch) chunks
- 1 1/4 tsp salt, divided
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp avocado oil
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 cup orange juice, from about 1 orange
- 2 tbsp lime juice, for the braise
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 1/2 tsp chili powder, a mild one
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 leaves bay leaf
- 2 large (about 1 1/4 lb) sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in 2 cm (3/4-inch) cubes
- 1 1/2 tsp olive oil
Lime slaw
- 1/2 large head (about 1 lb) red cabbage, finely shredded
- 1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 3 tbsp lime juice, for the slaw
- 1 medium avocado, sliced, on the day you eat it
Steps
- Pat the pork dry and season it with 3/4 teaspoon of the salt and the pepper.
- Heat the oil in a heavy pot over medium-high heat and brown the pork in two batches, 2–3 minutes a side, then lift it out. Soften the onion in the same pot for 3–4 minutes, add the garlic for a minute, then pour in the broth, orange juice and lime juice, scraping up the brown bits. Stir in the cumin, chili powder, oregano and bay. Return the pork, bring to a simmer, cover, turn the heat to low and simmer very gently for 2–2 1/4 hours, turning the pork once, until it falls apart when pressed with a fork, well past the 145°F safe minimum for pork.
- About 35 minutes before the pork is ready, heat the oven to 425°F. Toss the sweet potato with the olive oil and a pinch of salt on a lined baking sheet and roast for 25–30 minutes, turning once, until soft and browned at the edges.
- Toss the cabbage, red onion, cilantro, lime juice and the remaining salt together and leave it to soften while the pork finishes.
- Lift the pork onto a board and shred it with two forks. Strain the braising juices into a jug and stir the strained onion and garlic into the shredded pork. Skim the fat from the juices with a spoon, pour them back into the pot and boil for 5–6 minutes until reduced to about 1/2 cup. Spread the pork on a lined baking sheet, spoon half the juices over and grill (broil) on high for 4–5 minutes, until the tips are crisp. Pour over the rest of the juices.
- Divide the sweet potato among four bowls and top with the pork, slaw and avocado. Keep the pork, sweet potato and slaw in separate boxes for up to 3 days: reheat the pork and sweet potato and slice the avocado on the day. The pork freezes 3 months.
Good to know
Can I make the pork in a pressure cooker or slow cooker?
Yes. Under pressure, cook everything for 75 minutes and quick-release. In a slow cooker, give it 8 hours on low. Either way, strain, reduce the juices in a pan and crisp the pork under the grill as written.
Alternative
Per
- Calories
- 128
- Protein
- (25%)
- 8 g
- Fat
- (47%)
- 6 g
- Carbohydrates
- (28%)
- 10 g
- of which sugar
- 4 g
- Fiber
- 2 g
- Sodium
- 234 mg
More meals
Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How
As written, 2444 kcal goes into the pot and 2539 g of ingredients comes out as about 1910 g of food: 128 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.