ArticleSources

Tacos de carnitas

From WikiTacos, the taco encyclopedia · Taco type
Also known as: Carnitas, Carnitas estilo Michoacán, Carnitas de Quiroga

Carnitas are pieces of pork slowly cooked in their own lard, traditionally in a copper cauldron, until tender inside and browned outside; served on corn tortillas they make one of the most widespread tacos in Mexico. The dish is most closely associated with the state of Michoacán, and above all with the town of Quiroga.

Contents
  1. History
  2. Preparation
  3. Serving and customs
  4. Recipe
  5. Where to try it
  6. Reviews
  7. See also
  8. References

History

Pigs reached Mexico with the Spanish conquest, and Hernán Cortés is recorded as keeping pigs in the Toluca valley by 1525. A frequently repeated story holds that Cortés hosted a meal of pork with tortillas in Coyoacán after the fall of Tenochtitlan, and Food and Pleasure, among others, uses that tale to argue that carnitas are the oldest Mexican taco. Mexico News Daily notes that the banquet is better treated as legend than documented history.

In Michoacán the dish became a regional emblem. Quiroga, on the shores of Lake Pátzcuaro, is the town most often named as its birthplace, though no founding date can be fixed and the technique has passed between generations of cooks. Santa Clara del Cobre, a town with a copper-working tradition going back to the Purépecha, supplied the hammered copper cazos in which carnitas are classically cooked. In September 2025 the government of Michoacán announced that it had registered Michoacán carnitas with Mexico's industrial property institute, IMPI, creating a collective quality mark that producers can apply to use.

Preparation

Pork is cut into large pieces, salted and lowered into a cazo of hot lard. Cooks typically first fry the meat to seal it and then let it cook gently for several hours in the fat, keeping the temperature below a hard boil, a process close to French confit. Some cooks add water, orange juice, milk, garlic or even cola, which change the flavor and color of the finished meat. Toward the end the heat is raised so the outside browns and crisps.

Nearly every part of the animal is used. Vendors sell carnitas by weight or in tacos and let customers choose pieces such as maciza (lean meat), cuerito (skin), buche (stomach), costilla (rib), trompa (snout), oreja (ear) and lengua (tongue), or a mixture of cuts. The Michoacán quality mark specifies pigs of 100 to 130 kg live weight, coarse salt, purified water and additive-free lard, cooked in copper or stainless steel pots.

Serving and customs

Carnitas are chopped on a wooden block and served on warm corn tortillas with chopped onion and cilantro, salsa and lime. In much of central and western Mexico they are a weekend dish, bought by the kilo for Sunday family meals. The meat also fills tortas, including the torta ahogada of Guadalajara. Michoacán hosts carnitas fairs, including one held each November in Tacámbaro.

Recipe

Makes About 30 tacos · Time: 3 to 3 1/2 hours

Ingredients

  • 2 kg pork shoulder, cut into 6 cm chunks
  • 500 g pork ribs, cut into pieces (optional)
  • 1.5 kg pork lard
  • 1 tbsp coarse salt
  • 1 orange, halved
  • 1/2 cup milk (optional, for color)
  • 1 head garlic, halved crosswise
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 30 corn tortillas
  • Chopped onion, cilantro, lime and salsa verde to serve

Steps

  1. Melt the lard in a heavy wide pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
  2. Season the pork with salt and add it to the hot lard; fry for 10 minutes, turning, until the surface is sealed.
  3. Lower the heat so the fat barely bubbles. Squeeze in the orange juice and add the spent halves, the garlic and bay leaves.
  4. Cook gently for about 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the meat is very tender.
  5. Add the milk if using and raise the heat for the last 15 to 20 minutes so the pieces turn deep golden.
  6. Lift the pork out with a slotted spoon, drain briefly and chop on a board.
  7. Serve on warm tortillas with onion, cilantro, lime and salsa.

Strain and refrigerate the lard; it can be reused for the next batch.

Where to try it

Reviews

Reviews and tips open at launch. Readers will be able to share where they found the best version of this and how they make it at home.

See also

References

  1. "State by Plate: Carnitas Michoacán". Mexico News Daily. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
  2. "¿Cenarás carnitas hoy? ¡Que sean certificadas! Paso a paso para lograr la distinción". Excélsior. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
  3. "Se dice que este es el taco más antiguo de la historia, y te decimos dónde probarlo en la CDMX". Food and Pleasure. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
Categories: Confit dishes Michoacán cuisine Pork tacos Street food Taco types