Ingredients

  • 1 3 1/2 to 4 pount boneless pork butt, fat cap trimmed to 1/8” thick, cut into 2 inch chunks
  • 1 small onion peeled and halved
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • table salt and ground pepper
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 tbsp juice from 1 lime
  • 1 large orange, halved

Steps

  1. Adjust oven rack to lower middle and preheat oven to 300 degrees.
  2. Combine the pork, onion, bay leaves, oregano, cumin, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, water and lime juice in a large dutch oven. The liquids should barely cover the meat. Juice the orange into a medium bowl and remove the seeds to give you 1/3 cup juice. Add the juice and orange halves to the pot.
  3. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium high heat, stirring occasionally. Cover the pot and transfer to the oven. Cook until the pork is soft and falls apart when prodded with a fork, about 2 hours, flipping the meat once during cooking.
  4. Remove the pot from the oven and turn the oven to broil. Using a slotted spoon transfer the pork to a bowl. Remove the orange halves, onion and bay leaves from the cooking liquid and discard.
  5. Put the pot over high heat and and simmer until thick and syrupy, about 8 to 12 minutes. A heat proof spatula should leave a wide trail when dragged thru the glaze.
  6. Using two forks, pull each piece of pork in half. Fold in the reduced liquid; season with salt and pepper to taste. Spread the pork in an even layer over a rimmed baking sheet or a broiler pan. Broil until browned (not charred) (5 to 8 minutes). Flip the pieces and continue to broil (another 5 to 8 minutes).