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    🏠Home » Recipes » Mexican Recipes

    Healthier Pork Tenderloin Carnitas

    Feb 16, 2020 | Last Updated Apr 15, 2021 by Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

    Recipe Table of Contents    
    4.38 from 8 votes

    This "skinny" version of Pork Carnitas while low-fat is still juicy and fall-apart tender.  Starting with pork tenderloin and braised in a spicy fluid just like traditional carnitas. Now you can have it all, great-tasting pork carnitas that are healthy, also.

    pork tenderloiin carnitas meat on red plate

    Table of Contents
    • 🐖Pork Tenderloin
    • ♨️Cooking
    • 📖Carnitas Recipes
    • 🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
    • 📖Recipe
    • 💬 Comments

    Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

    Introduction

    Carnitas are a classic Mexican restaurant dish. They are basically chunks of pork butt braised or simmered in oil or preferably lard until tender.

    Also known as "little meats," they can be found on the street in Mexico cooking in large vats of lard. Not a good option for us home cooking Yankees nor if you value cardiac health.

    If your ideas of carnitas revolves around the rendered fat, this is not your carnitas. If you want healthier, tasty goodness, this is for you.

    The traditional carnitas are chicks of fatty spiced up pork shoulder rendered in it owns fat or lard. Many versions use some citrus for taste, and spicing is variable.

    I'm taking away the fat and using pork tenderloin to keep things tender and tasty.

    Start with the tenderloin, trim, cut in cubes, and spice it up. Brown on the stovetop and then braise in the oven with a citrus-infused liquid. Finish with some browning, and you will be the kitchen hero.

    My Rating

    Rating 5 per 5

    A solid 5.

    🐖Pork Tenderloin

    The tenderloin refers to the psoas muscle along the lower back. The psoas is generally most tender cut since it is not used for movement. It is chicken tenders in the chicken or beef tenderloin (filet mignon) in cattle.

    graph showing pork loin vs tenderloin- licensed from Fotolia May 16,2017. Copyright foxysgraphic - Fotolia. Modified per allow by licensed.
    Showing pork loin vs tenderloin- licensed from Fotolia May 16,2017. Copyright foxysgraphic - Fotolia. Modified per allow by licensed.

    A Pork Loin is NOT a Pork Tenderloin!

    Over the years on this blog, many commenters seem to get pork loin and tenderloin confused. It is obvious when they have a “4-pound pork tenderloin”. No, they do not.

    The tenderloin usually weighs about 1 to 1 ½ pounds. A very large one could push towards 2 pounds.

    ♨️Cooking

    The Pan

    You must have a pan of some type that is stovetop and oven safe to do this. Also, it must clean easily, or you will not be able to clean it after this cooking technique.

    A Dutch oven with a baked-on porcelain coating is ideal. To clean it after this, all I needed to do is soak it with dish soap for a few hours.

    The Braising Solution

    I love some citrus flavors added to carnitas. What you use is a personal choice, but the tenderloin absorbs flavor well.

    You can simmer the fluid off on the stovetop or use my much easier oven method. As the fluid goes away, the flavors concentrate and produce a wonderful fond in addition to the concentrated flavor in the pork.

    I use that fond to flavor the vegetables. You should never waste a good fond.

    📖Carnitas Recipes

    Oven Carnitas

    Crock Pot Carnitas

    Chicken Carnitas AKA Carnitas de Pollo

    This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.

    Healthy Recipes, Low Fat Recipes, Mexican Recipes, Pork Tenderloin Recipes
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    🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

    pork tenderloin and carnita ingredients

    Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.

    pork tenderloin trimed and cut into chunks

    Start with about 1 ½ to 2 pounds of pork tenderloin. I used one large, but two smaller ones would be okay. Just a few more leftovers. Rinse and pat dry. Remove silverskin and extra fat. Cut into 1 ½ inch cubes.

    dicing jalapino on black board

    Mince one jalapeno without seeds and two cloves of garlic.

    Mixing chunks of tenderlion with spices in clear bowl

    Mixed pork, jalapeno, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, and paprika. Mix well until pork is covered.

    browning tenderloin in Dutch oven

    Add 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil to a porcelain coated Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, saute the pork until well browned — about 10 minutes.

    adding orange juice to browned meat

    When pork is browned well, remove from heat. Add 1 ½ cup chicken broth along with the juice of one orange and one lime. Scrap the bottom of the pan to loosen up the built-up fond (browned bits and caramelized drippings on the bottom of the pan).

    red Dutch oven in the oven

    Place covered in a 325° oven (no need to preheat) for 2 hours undisturbed.

    cooking pork in Dutch oven uncoverd in oven

    After 2 hours, increase the oven temperature to 425° and remove the lid. Cook another 20 minutes or so until all fluid is gone.

    cook peppers and onion in fry pan

    While the carnitas are finishing in the oven, cut up one green pepper, one red pepper, and one large onion and saute with 2 teaspoons oil over medium-high heat until tender and browning.

    added cooked veggies to dirty Dutch oven

    Remove the carnitas and if there is any fond in the pan, add the veggies and scrape the fond loss with a wooden spoon to get that taste.

    pork carnitas with veggies on tortilla and white plate

    Serve on tortillas with toppings of your choice.

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    📖Recipe

    pork tenderloiin carnitas meat on red plate

    Healthier Pork Carnitas with Pork Tenderloin

    From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
    This "skinny" version of Pork Carnitas while low-fat is still juicy and fall-apart tender. Starting with pork tenderloin and braised in a spicy fluid just like traditional carnitas. Now you can have it all, great-tasting pork carnitas that are healthy, also.
    Tap to leave a Rating
    4.38 from 8 votes
    Print Email CollectionCollected
    Prep Time: 5 minutes
    Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
    Total Time: 2 hours 35 minutes
    Servings #/Adjust if desired 4 servings

    Ingredients

    US Customary - Convert to Metric
    • 1 ½ pound pork tenderloin
    • 1 jalapeno - cored and seeded chopped
    • 2 cloves garlic - minced or crushed
    • 1 teaspoon cumin
    • 1 teaspoon paprika
    • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
    • ½ teaspoon pepper
    • 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
    • 1 ½ cup chicken broth
    • 1 orange
    • 1 lime

    Vegetables

    • 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
    • 1 red pepper
    • 1 green pepper
    • 1 onion - large

    Serving

    • tortillas and topping

    Instructions

    • Start with about 1 ½ to 2 pounds of pork tenderloin. I used one large but two smaller ones would be okay. Just a few more leftovers. Rinse and pat dry. Remove silverskin and extra fat. Cut into 1 ½ inch cubes.
    • Mince one jalapeno without seeds and two cloves of garlic.
    • Mixed pork, the jalapeno, the garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, and paprika. Mix well until pork is covered.
    • Add 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil to a porcelain coated Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, saute the pork until well browned. About 10 minutes.
    • When pork is browned well, remove from heat. Add 1 ½ cup chicken broth along with the juice of one orange and one lime. Scrap the bottom of the pan to loosen up the built-up fond (browned bits and caramelized drippings on the bottom of the pan).
    • Place the Dutch oven covered in a 325° oven (no need to preheat) for 2 hours undisturbed.
    • After 2 hours, increase the oven temperature to 425° and remove the lid. Cook another 20 minutes or so until all fluid is gone.
    • While the carnitas are finishing in the oven, cut up one green pepper, one red pepper, and one large onion and saute with 2 teaspoons oil over medium-high heat until tender and browning.
    • Remove the carnitas and if there is any fond in the pan, add the veggies and scrape the fond loss with a wooden spoon to get that taste.
    • Serve on tortillas with toppings of your choice.
    See the step-by-step photos in the post. Some recipes have an option to display the photos here with a switch above these instructions but the photos DO NOT print.

    My Private Notes

    Click here to save your own private notes only you will see. These will print and be saved for your next visit.
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    Recipe Notes

    Pro Tips

    1. Remember that a pork tenderloin is not a pork loin.
    2. I suggest a good porcelain coated Dutch oven or you may well ruin your pan.
    3. Vary the spices as you want.
    4. Good refrigerated or 3-4 days. You can freeze the meat for a 3-4
    5. Nutritional information is for meat, seasoning, and vegetables, but does not include tortillas or other serving options.

    To adjust the recipe size:

    You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.

    Nutrition Estimate

    Calories : 307 kcal (15%) | Carbohydrates : 14 g (5%) | Protein : 38 g (76%) | Fat : 11 g (17%) | Saturated Fat : 5 g (25%) | Cholesterol : 111 mg (37%) | Sodium : 701 mg (29%) | Potassium : 996 mg (28%) | Fiber : 3 g (12%) | Sugar : 7 g (8%) | Vitamin A : 1399 IU (28%) | Vitamin C : 91 mg (110%) | Calcium : 49 mg (5%) | Iron : 3 mg (17%)
    Serving size is my estimate of a normal size unless stated otherwise. The number of servings per recipe is stated above. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.
    Course : Main Course
    Cuisine : Mexican

    © 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors. While we appreciate your sharing our recipes, please realize copying, pasting, or duplicating full recipes to any social media, website, or electronic/printed media is strictly prohibited and a violation of our copyrights.

    Originally Published July 7, 2013. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jane

      April 09, 2017 at 6:10 pm

      So I am using a tenderloin that is 1.15 ounces. How long do you think I should cook it in the oven?
      Love your site!!

      Reply
      • DrDan

        April 09, 2017 at 8:10 pm

        Hi Jane,
        I would probable cut back the cumin and paprika a bit but otherwise not change anything. Even that is optional. No change in cooking time.

        Dan

    2. Debbie and Emily

      October 02, 2016 at 4:49 pm

      My daughter and I made this last night. We felt like we were having dinner in a restaurant! Was delicious! We are very excited to have found your recepies and will be trying more. THANK YOU!!!!

      Reply
      • DrDan

        October 04, 2016 at 7:48 am

        I love carnitas and this way I allow myself that more often.
        Thanks so much for the note.
        Dan

    3. Megan

      March 30, 2016 at 8:42 pm

      5 stars
      Seriously one of the best things I've ever made! And I never comment on recipes. The flavor and moist-fall-apartness is awesome! and very healthy too:) my husband and 2 year old loved it (I left off jalapenos because of my kid) Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
    4. James Dunn

      March 02, 2014 at 12:03 pm

      Nice. Really works for me. Yum!

      Reply
      • DrDan

        March 02, 2014 at 12:08 pm

        Thanks for the comment, I really REALLY like this one and its very healthy.
        DrDan

    5. Tiago

      December 05, 2013 at 10:24 pm

      Can you convert this to a slow cooker recipe?

      Reply
      • DrDan

        December 06, 2013 at 7:07 am

        No, not a good conversion. You all the browning that is most of the flavor. You can't get that in a crockpot.

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