From the Food 52 cookbook: A New Way to Dinner, by Amanda Hesser & Merrill Stubbs. Use this recipe for the Carnitas Tacos recipe also on Edible Queens.
Ingredients
- 1 (5-pound/2.3kg) boneless pork butt
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup (75g) firmly packed light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 ½ teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 3 large cloves garlic, minced
- 1/8-1/4 teaspoons ground chipotle (or use chili powder in a pinch)
Instructions
Tie pork with twine in several places so that it’s nice and compact. Place it on a plate or small baking sheet and season liberally with salt. Let it sit at room temperature for about an hour.
Combine the brown sugar, maple syrup, mustard, thyme, garlic, and ground chipotle in a small bowl. Add a couple of pinches of salt and several grinds of pepper. Set aside.
Heat the oven to 475°F (245°C). Smear the sugar, mustard, and garlic mixture all over the pork, concentrating a good amount on the top of the roast, where the fat is. Nestle the pork (fat side up) into a roasting pan or cast iron baking dish just big enough to hold it. Put it in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until you start to smell garlic and sugar. Remove the pork from the oven and cover the pan tightly with foil. Return the pork to the oven and turn the heat down to 200°F (95°C).
Leave the pork in the oven to cook for at least 8 hours and up to 10 hours. Your house will smell amazing and the pork will be tender. Cover the roast with foil and keep it in the fridge for up to 5 days.
The day of: Slice or shred what you think you’ll need, put it in a covered baking dish, and reheat in a 200°F to 250°F (95°C to 120°C) oven.
