Spinaker's Dutch Oven Máquina De Carnitas

[texastweeter]

Think I am going to make these tomorrow. Thawed a feral piglet out over the weekend, will toss them in the marinade tonight. What's better, OJ or Margarita mix?

[Spinaker]

I have it both ways. I like the marg mix better cause it infuses some lime taste into the background.

[texastweeter]

Didn't have any margaritas mix, so OJ it is.

[SheilaAnn]

OJand add limes! I have oranges from the tree and add lime.

[fzxdoc]

You'll want the lime, believe me, texastweeter . This is SUCH a great recipe. Our family loves it.

K.

[texastweeter]

They were out of margaritas mix.

[58limited]

I missed this post somehow, might have to make it this weekend. Now I have to decide: Dutch oven in the oven or set up a live fire? I love outdoor cooking so if the weather is good live fire it is.

[Spinaker]

Live fire wins every time!

[texastweeter]

Well tomorrow it's gonna be 103° and I'll be in and out of my office, so it will get smoke early in the morning, then in the oven it will go.

[58limited]

I've got a 6.8 lb boneless pork butt thawing. I'll use a 48 oz. bottle of OJ and a bottle of Realemon brand lime juice for the marinade.

[Spinaker]

texastweeter Let me know how it goes today.

[texastweeter]

Getting a later start than I wanted due to work, but that piglet was small so I think it will be fine.

[Spinaker]

No worries, brother. Work before play.

[texastweeter]

Gotta bay dem gubbernment taxes somehow.

[58limited]

Spinaker Have you ever used the meat marinade as all or part of the braising liquid?

[58limited]

I'm going to try it. Maybe add some tequila to it too.

[Spinaker]

Thank you for this suggestion! I have edited and added this to the recipe above.

[Michael_in_TX]

Spinaker Well, I certainly did. I ended up using about 50-60% of the leftover marinade, coupled with stock. I didn't use all of the leftover orange juice as I thought it might have been too acidic.

[texastweeter]

Fantabulous. Can't wait to try it with margarita mix.

[Michael_in_TX]

Why do I even walk this earth.....

[Spinaker]

Ooooooh yeah!!

[Spinaker]

That’s barkyness is on point brother!!

[58limited]

And the race is on...

SnSK is set up for two zone smoking. I've been waking up a lot in the wee hours, if I do so tonight I'll go ahead and fire it up and try to smoke the meat before work. I'm off 1/2 day and will finish when I get home.

For the rub the only addition was 1 tsp Annatto powder for a little color - both batches. Pork is marinating. I used 48 oz. OJ and 12 oz Lime juice. I zested one lime and added the zest and squeezed the juice into the marinade. No pork belly, all I have is 4-5 lb bellies and one 9.5 lb belly from Costco, I want to keep them whole for bacon.



Veggies - I added two shallots that I needed to use up and one red jalapeno in addition to the two green ones. Dusted and into the fridge.



Some thoughts I had as I was putting this together: After trying KG BBQ in Austin and the Persian Koobideh sausage at Redbird BBQ I'm thinking a Middle Eastern version would be good: cumin, coriander powder, fenugreek powder, maybe some sumac powder. Marinade in citrus and pomegranate juice. I'm going to have to explore this idea in the coming months. Whipped feta, tzadziki, etc....

[Spinaker]

So glad you’re giving this a shot. Looking forward to your results. Also, I developed this kinda using whatever I had around. So in the spirit of that….i love that you are adding your own twist!

[texastweeter]

Yes it is a good hurt. I THOUGHT I had a good carnita recipe for feral hogs, this changes everything. For sure this needs to be on the free site.

[Sweaty Paul]

Looking forward to seeing what you do including the Middle Eastern version pending!

[58limited]

OMG! These are so good! I braised with some of the marinade (do this!) and some pork stock. I'm at the brewery sharing them right now, Redbird BBQ next door is coming to get some.

Fire roasted corn Pico de Gallo and cotija cheese with purple corn tortillas.

[58limited]

On a whim I sprinkled some Za'atar seasoning on the taco for a little Middle East fusion vibe. Damn it was good.

[Spinaker]

Like I said......"Anything you have on hand!"

Love this!

[58limited]

Spinaker How did you come up with the name for this recipe? I googled it and asked my Mexican receptionist, both say it means "Machine Carnitas"

[Spinaker]

58limited Here she is in all her glory! There is a little tiny road side spot outside of Todos Santos, Baja Sur, Mexico. It’s called “Carnitas machin”. As I was on my three week Baja road trip, I went to a ton of road side spots, this was my favorite. So I named the recipe in honor of this wonderful road side restaurant. I felt like family every time we went there. It’s a true authentic gem of a place.

[58limited]

Cool!

[texastweeter]

Bout to make a batch of this again, but with cubed venison. Does great with wild hog, let's see how it plays with venison.

[Mosca]

Spinaker I notice you have orange juice and lime in the marinade; is that to simulate sour oranges? Because I can get those locally.

[Spinaker]

It is too add acid to the mix. It helps to tenderize the meat!

[texastweeter]

Venison marinated 1/2 a day yesterday, and all night. Was strained out, rubbed and now in the pit. Using chunks of shoulder shank, and breast. Stuff with a lot of connective tissue to help render and keep a usually dry type of meat moist.

[Jerod Broussard]

This has to be one of the best 3rd person recipes on the net.

[texastweeter]

Decided to use the crock pot for the braise as I have to run to town, and can't be here to turn it off, down or add more liquid.

[texastweeter]

Came out really good. A touch dry, probably due to being such small chunks. I think next time for venison I will use OJ instead of the margaritas mix (which is great for wild hog), also use a venison shoulder or top round. If top round, I'll inject also. All in all it was REALLY REALLY good.

[Spinaker]

Dude! This looks killer! I love the use of wild game!