Carnitas appears as a signature dish in 1 Mexico cities. See each city's local variant and where to eat it.
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