Carnitas: Braised and Fried Pork

Ingredients

• 3  bay leaves 
• 8  garlic clove peeled
• 0.5  cranberry-orange relish cut into 2 pieces
• 2 teaspoons oregano dried crumbled
• 4 pounds boston butt pork shoulder cut into 2-inch pieces
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt fine
• 1 tablespoon condensed milk sweetened
• 0.3 cup vegetable oil 
• 3 cups water 
• 1 medium onion white thinly sliced

Equipment

• bowl
• oven
• pot

Directions

1. Put all the ingredients in a wide 6-to 7-quart heavy pot (don't worry if the pork is not completely covered) and bring the water to a boil, skimming the surface as necessary. Lower the heat and simmer vigorously, stirring occasionally, until the pork is fork-tender and the liquid has completely evaporated, 1½ to 2 hours. Discard the orange pieces and bay leaves. If the liquid hasn't evaporated after 2 hours, transfer the pork pieces to a bowl and let the liquid continue to bubble away, stirring often, until it has.
2. Preheat the oven to 450°F.
3. Transfer the pork and fat to an ovenproof dish, if necessary, and brown the pork, uncovered, in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes. There's no need to stir.
4. Carnitas keeps in the refrigerator for up to three days.
5. If you want to make half a batch, cut the amount of pork, salt, and oregano in half, but use the same amount of the remaining ingredients and water. You will need to use a slightly smaller pot.
6. Reprinted with permission from Truly Mexican by Roberto Santibañez with JJ Goode, © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.