Carnitas, or something like that.

Eggcelsior

Firstly, sorry about the crappy cell phone pics.

On Sunday morning I picked up a shoulder pack at Costco and decided to throw together some stuff to make a seasoning paste and cook this for a few hours until it fell apart.

I dried off the butt after lighting the egg:


I then tossed lots of garlic cloves, cilantro, oregano, paprika, sazon, salt, pepper and maybe some other stuff into the food processor.



I then rubbed my butt:


I smoked the butt for 1.5 hours with a little oak, then put it into my Dutch oven on top of onion and green pepper with a little bit of mojo.

Back onto the egg for a couple more hours:


All done:


Pulled:


Good stuff.

nolaegghead

That looks like some sweet butt. 
=D>

texaswig

That looks killer.

ChicagoEgghead20

@eggcelsior looks spicy good, what temp did you put it on when you used the dutch oven?

Eggcelsior

Oops. I went at 350 for the whole cook.

JohnInCarolina

Nice cook!

SGH

You have my attention sir. Please allow me to:

GeorgeS

Wow that looks very nice!

Mickey

What! No plated pics! Good God man................................ Nice

Griffin

I like looking at your butt. "> Nicely done.

Mickey

Griffin said:

I like looking at your butt. "> Nicely done.

:-O L-)

Legume

That looks fantastic, great idea.

tulocay

Nice butt. What was the final internal temp? Total cook time?

JRWhitee

Nicely done.

Eggcelsior

@tulocay The butt was around 6 lbs and I cooked it until it probed like butter. I didn't pay too much attention to the temp but it was between 195-200°. Total time was a little more than 3.5 hours.

KiterTodd

That is an interesting approach and a great way to cook a butt quickly.  I just so happen to have a 6 pounder in my freezer and have a couple questions...

Did you get smoke flavor out of the 1.5 hour exposed cook time?
Did you retain all the drippings in the dutch oven after you pulled it or pour some off?  Wasn't sure if it would be too much fat or not.  
It does look good, though and I like the home made fresh rub!

Eggcelsior

@KiterTodd There was some flavor, but I should have used more wood(I only used 1 large chunk). It didn't really matter as I usually don't add any when making this, lechon asado, or ropa vieja.

I kept all the drippings in the pan. That's a 7.5 qt oval so it only filled about halfway. As is typical with most stewed/braised meals, it tastes better the second day so I will skim off the congealed fat after refrigerating. When I first pull, I take off what ever I'm eating for that night and set it aside to keep it from being too greasy, adding some drippings on the top when serving.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

save a little of that fat and melt it in a cast iron pan and use that to warm up your next batch. That is how real Carnitas get that crispy outer layer. Mmmmm... pan fried in pig fat. 

KiterTodd

Eggcelsior, you had me at Ropa Vieja.  That's a common restaurant item now but I've never made it.  I assume you use a similar method but a cut of beef?  (which?)

Good point about taking out the congealed fat the next day. 
I think you called my weekend cook....  I'll make it Friday, and maybe serve it Saturday.

How do you reheat it without the meat getting tough?   I find that happens sometimes.  I'm guessing you can slow heat it on the stove right in that pot.

Photo Egg

Buddy...That looks fantastic. Would look even better on a fresh tortilla...

Eggcelsior

KiterTodd said:

Eggcelsior, you had me at Ropa Vieja.  That's a common restaurant item now but I've never made it.  I assume you use a similar method but a cut of beef?  (which?)

Good point about taking out the congealed fat the next day. 
I think you called my weekend cook....  I'll make it Friday, and maybe serve it Saturday.

How do you reheat it without the meat getting tough?   I find that happens sometimes.  I'm guessing you can slow heat it on the stove right in that pot.

Reheat in the liquid. No issues with drying out.

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

save a little of that fat and melt it in a cast iron pan and use that to warm up your next batch. That is how real Carnitas get that crispy outer layer. Mmmmm... pan fried in pig fat. 

Indeed. That is what my container of lard is for.

TTC

Man, that is AWESOME

Coastalcooker

Tried something similar this week. It was good, but probably not recognizable as carnitas by anyone from Mexico.
I cut mine into 2 inch cubes and cooked in closed cast iron filled with water for about 1 1/2 hours and then uncovered for almost another hour until IT was over 180. I made a rub from tri-color pepper, Kosher salt, garlic and cumin. Also added bay leaves and half an orange to the water.
I would have done it your way, if only you had posted last week.
Bob

henapple

@Eggcelsior. ..I love your butt. :x

BRush00

This looks awesome and I totally wanna try it now... thanks a bunch @Eggcelsior!

I'm curious though, how was this plated/served? 

Eggcelsior

@BRush00 On Sunday, I just served it with some rice and black beans.

Monday, I heated a but up and put it in flour tortillas with some cheese and salsa verde. I might do nachos or put it on a pizza tonight. I like to make this and serve it through the week on a multitude of things. The flavor melds well with a lot of stuff.

caliking

Whatever you call it, it looks stellar. I was thinking of cooking beef tongue sometime, and I might just steal your idea.

Eggcelsior

caliking said:

Whatever you call it, it looks stellar. I was thinking of cooking beef tongue sometime, and I might just steal your idea.

Nice. I see that every once in a while at the grocer. I might try to sneak it past SWMBO by shaving it first. 

NDG

Looks amazing - like the idea of smoke then braise . . . but if I put our Le Creuset on the BGE my wife would snip off my balls and feed them to me !!!

caliking

@Eggcelsior - Found it . http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1157047/lengua-de-res

Most recipes I found started with boiling it. I think it would be amenable to braising, which is why your recipe may work with it.

Acn

NDG said:

Looks amazing - like the idea of smoke then braise . . . but if I put our Le Creuset on the BGE my wife would snip off my balls and feed them to me !!!

Add a 6 or 7 quart lodge enameled Dutch oven to your Xmas list. They're generally available at Walmart or target for $60-70. It can be dedicated for egg use only.