Thursday, June 13, 2013

The Hawthornes Cook Butt. Two Ways.

Take one Boston butt.
Cut it in half.
Give Mr. Hawthorne one piece
and I'll take the other
and we'll see what happens.


Mr. Hawthorne sliced his half into chunks,
covered the meat with water,
added salt and pepper,
and a tablespoon or so of Mr. Stubb's Hickory Smoke.
Simmer until the meat falls apart.


Let cool.

 Pick away.



 
 Add your favorite barbecue sauce.
Toss to coat.
Done.

I'm making carnitas.
Literally "little meats,"
carnitas are traditionally made in a copper pot
and fried in lard.


I'm going to cut my Boston butt half into chunks,
leaving the fat on.
I'm seasoning with orange juice, lemon juice, lime juice,
garlic, and cumin.
Then I'm adding enough water to barely cover the meat.
Bring the pot to a boil,
then turn heat to low
and simmer uncovered for 2 hours.
Do not touch the meat.
After 2 hours,
turn the heat to medium-high
and cook about 45 minutes more,
stirring occasionally, until all the liquid has evaporated
and the pork fat has been rendered.
The rendered pork fat browns and crisps the outside,
leaving succulent, tender meat inside.





I'm using 12 whole cloves of garlic,
a tablespoon of cumin,
and the juice and zest of a lime, lemon, and orange.


Garlic and cumin in.


Add the zest.

I juiced a lime, orange, and lemon.


Add the citrus juices in.


Barely cover with water.

Bring to a boil.

Reduce to a simmer.
Bare-simmer for 2 hours.

Do not stir.

Junior and Beau like the smells
emanating from Nana's kitchen.



After two hours,
turn heat to medium-high
and let the fat render,
giving you crispy, caramelized pork.
Stir occasionally.
About 45 minutes.

Giada, chilling on the deck.

Junior dreaming sweet dreams.



Hmmm...
Why not?

Beer goes in.


Let all the liquid evaporate.




Hmmmm...
Why not?



Pineapple and juice go in.



Oh yes.









That's one tasty little morsel.

You really should give carnitas a try.

Excellent flavors.

6 comments:

zzzadig said...

Carnitas, the true test of a Mexican restaurant. Funny, I did a butt last night pretty much the Mr. H method, but slightly different.

Anonymous said...

Tell mister hawthorne theres two sides to that side

Rosie Hawthorne said...

I'm curious, Zzzadig. How do you make carnitas?

Rosie Hawthorne said...

Anony - heh. I know the reference, but trying to figger out who else does.

Marilyn said...

I need to make carnitas sometime soon.

Rosie Hawthorne said...

Yes, Mar. You need to.