Carnitas is a Mexican pork dish so delicious that Mexicans reserve it for Sundays or special occasions such as weddings or local festivities. In this post, we discuss the history of carnitas and explain how carnitas are made.
When Were Carnitas Invented?
As is often the case with popular dishes, sketching out a history of carnitas is no easy task because mentions of food in historical documents can be vague or scarce.
However, we can make some educated deductions. For example, we know pigs were introduced to Mexico by Cortes in the early 1500s. This means that carnitas were invented sometime after that date.
In fact, some believe that a fragment of the famous book “The True History of the Conquest of New Spain,” written by conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo, may be the birth certificate of carnitas.
In his memoirs, Diaz del Castillo relates how Cortes organized a feast to celebrate one of his military victories and ordered his army to bring copious amounts of wine as well as pigs from Cuba.
However, the document doesn’t explain how the pigs were cooked, so it’s impossible to say with certainty if Diaz del Castillo was referring to carnitas.
The most plausible theories point to states like Michoacan, Jalisco, Hidalgo, or Queretaro as the birthplace of carnitas, with Michoacan being the most likely option.
One thing is for sure: Michoacanos (people from Michoacan) have mastered the art of carnitas. Michoacan towns like Quiroga or Santa Clara del Cobre have become famous in Mexico for their delicious carnitas.
How Are Carnitas Made?
After our excursion into the history of carnitas, let’s take a look at how carnitas are made.
As mentioned earlier, carnitas wouldn’t have happened without Spanish conquistadors like Hernan Cortes or Bernal Diaz del Castillo himself.
The most important reason is, of course, that the Spaniards introduced pigs into Mexico. However, the cooking technique used to make carnitas was also unknown to the Aztecs, which means that this was also a contribution of the conquistadors
This method, known as confit cooking, was used in Europe to preserve meat before refrigeration was invented.
Confit cooking involves the use of fat and salt to preserve food. This is what the process looks like with carnitas:
- First, place the pork meat in a big saucepan. Fill the saucepan with a mixture of orange juice, lard, water, and spices until the meat is completely covered.
- Put the saucepan on a moderate fire until the liquid mixture reaches boiling point. Then lower the fire and let the meat cook, stirring it regularly for about 1 ½ hours or until the liquid ingredients evaporate.
- Let the meat fry in its own fat for a while.
- Serve with tortillas, guacamole, and your favorite salsas.
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