Crazy Carnitas idea

I'm making carnitas this weekend for thing 2s birthday party. 

Until about an hour ago, it been planning traditional, ie marinated overnight, braised (200F)in lard until tender then fried (350F)in same lard.

But then it hit me, what if I marinated then SMOKED the pork before chunking it and finishing it in the lard? It'll still cook at 200 degrees until it's 200 degrees, by it might have the added flavor of the smoker to help it along. 

Anybody done it this way or have a reason other than "non traditional" that it shouldn't work?

Have not done that exactly, but similar and I am 100% onside

I had dinner 2 hours ago and my mouth is watering thinking about this idea. I say give it a shot.

I do something similar with a slow cooker. I make shredded pork and reserve some of the fat. Then, when it's Carnita Time, I fry it in the fat to crisp everything up and warm it up at the same time.

Note: I am not even a little bit Mexican, but it seems to hold up against the carnitas we get at our local Mexican restaurants.

Sounds awesome. I mean its not like its going to be bad. Im a fan of throwing some diced up (or blended up)cured chorizo into various recipes.  Toss a little into basic ground beef and you got some awesome burgers. So smokey and flavorful. 

Carnitas and smoke lover here- you are on the right track.  I find the texture is nails when I cook in 3 steps-  After marinade, indirect cold smoke uncovered for 4-6hrs,  once you get a nice smoke cap, braise to 200 internal, then chunk/pull and re-crisp. 

I find that smoking without a braising step leads to moisture loss in the final product and isn't as tasty IMHO.  That's why I do a short, partial braise in between.   It makes for a long ass day and a sink full of dishes, but it's the best pork  dish in my repertoire... 

In reply to golfduke :

Cold smoke then braise. Hmm. I've been thinking about rigging the pellet smoker to cold smoke. I don't have the time to set that up before the weekend, but that's something I'm going to keep in mind for the future. 

Moisture loss is a concern. I have had zero issues with it from smoking generally, but I've always just smoked, never tried a secondary cook afterward. 

I started doing marinade / smoke / crock pot for my pulled pork / carnitas a while back and will never go back. The flavor, the moisture, the everything. 

RevRico said:

In reply to golfduke :

Cold smoke then braise. Hmm. I've been thinking about rigging the pellet smoker to cold smoke. I don't have the time to set that up before the weekend, but that's something I'm going to keep in mind for the future. 

Moisture loss is a concern. I have had zero issues with it from smoking generally, but I've always just smoked, never tried a secondary cook afterward. 

I think you'll be able to get 99% there with indirect hot smoking.  Put it in an aluminum tray with some lard/beer/broth and let 'er eat...  Skip the braise, crisp it up, and see where that gets you.  Almost like a half-braise, half-smoke.  

I bet that's a pretty awesome effort:result ratio compromise. 

Brine it if smoking it. 

We usually take leftover smoked pork shoulder and then make carnitas tacos out of it one night.  We also make a green chili with it too and all are great.  A hawaiin style pineapple / pepper sauce is always great on smoked pork too.  So many things you can do with smoked pork shoulder. 

I am here drinking coffee having toast and now I am craving some of that.