Carnitas Burrito
Slow-cooked shredded pork wrapped in a warm flour tortilla with beans, rice, and fresh toppings. Tender, savory, and deeply satisfying—ready in under an hour.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Servings
- 2
- Calories
- 785
- Protein
- 42g
Ingredients
- 1.5 lb pork shoulder, cut into 2-inch chunks
- 1 whole orange, zest and juice
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 3 whole garlic cloves, minced
- 2 whole flour tortillas, 10-inch
- 1 cup cooked rice
- ¾ cup black beans, drained and rinsed
- ¼ whole white onion, diced into 1/4-inch cubes
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
Instructions
- 1
Set the oven to 325°F and wait for the indicator light to turn off, about 10 minutes, so the oven reaches full temperature.
- 2
Pat the pork chunks dry on all sides using paper towels, removing excess moisture so they brown better when cooked.
- 3
Zest the orange by running a microplane across the peel until you have about 1 teaspoon of colored gratings in a small bowl.
- 4
Cut the zested orange in half and squeeze the juice into a measuring cup until you have 0.5 cup of liquid.
- 5
Mince the garlic cloves by rocking a knife over each clove until the pieces are smaller than a grain of rice—about pencil-tip dots.
- 6
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until the oil shimmers and slides quickly, about 2 minutes.
- 7
Add half the pork chunks to the hot oil and do not stir for 3 minutes, until the bottom side turns the color of warm caramel—a crust is forming.
- 8
Stir the meat once and cook for 2 more minutes until another side browns, then transfer to a clean plate.
- 9
Repeat steps 6 and 8 with the remaining pork chunks, then set them aside on the same plate.
- 10
Pour the orange juice into the Dutch oven and use a wooden spoon to scrape up the stuck-on brown bits from the bottom, stirring for 30 seconds.
- 11
Return all the browned pork to the Dutch oven along with any juices that have pooled on the plate.
- 12
Sprinkle the orange zest, oregano, cumin, and minced garlic over the pork, then stir for 15 seconds until the spices are evenly coated.
- 13
Cover the Dutch oven with a lid and place it in the 325°F oven for 35 minutes, until the pork is fork-tender and shreds easily.
- 14
Remove the pot from the oven and stir the pork with two forks, shredding it into bite-sized pieces that pull apart like pulled chicken.
- 15
Warm each flour tortilla by placing it directly over a medium flame on the stovetop for 10 seconds per side, turning with tongs, until it softens.
- 16
Lay the first warm tortilla flat on a cutting board and spread 0.5 cup of rice down the center in a horizontal line.
- 17
Top the rice with 3 tablespoons of shredded carnitas, layering them in a single pile over the rice.
- 18
Add 3 tablespoons of black beans in a line next to the meat, then top with 1 tablespoon of diced onion and 2 tablespoons of cilantro.
- 19
Fold the left and right edges of the tortilla inward over the filling, then fold the bottom edge up and roll tightly away from you until wrapped.
- 20
Repeat steps 16–19 with the remaining tortilla and filling ingredients.
Tools you’ll need
- 12-inch Dutch oven with lid
- paper towels
- microplane
- small bowl
- measuring cup
- chef's knife
- cutting board
- wooden spoon
- large plate
- tongs
- two forks
- measuring spoons
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