Carnitas is a signature dish of Mexico; we have verified places to eat it in Mexico City. Pork shoulder, belly, ribs and offal slow-confit in lard with orange peel and bay until tender, then crisped in the same fat. Start with where to eat Carnitas in Mexico City.
Carnitas · Mexico City
Pork shoulder, belly, ribs and offal slow-confit in lard with orange peel and bay until tender, then crisped in the same fat. Hand-chopped on a wooden board into tacos.
Carnitas are a Michoacán dish dating to the colonial era, when Spanish pork-husbandry met Purepecha confit techniques. The home of carnitas is Quiroga, but Mexico City elevated the format through its Michoacano migrant taquerias from the 1950s onward. El Rincon Tarasco in Escandon (run by the Zapien family since 1978) and El Bajio (chef Carmen Titita, 1972) hold the city canon. The proper cut order from the chopping block: maciza (lean shoulder), costilla (rib), surtido (mixed), with offal options of buche, oreja, and cuero.
Where to eat in Mexico City:
- El Bajio
- El Bajio Polanco
Where to eat Carnitas in Mexico City: the editor picks