Colombian Carnitas Marinade

Grilling the pork with carnitas marinade on the grill, taken by Allspice Photography, LLC.

Slicing into the marinaded pork, taken by Allspice Photography, LLC.

The Colombian Carnitas marinaded pork off the grill, taken by Allspice Photography, LLC.

Y’all know I love anything that can start as a base for tacos, & this Colombian carnitas marinade recipe is no exception! My goal was to adapt a marinade to include the Naranjilla (Colombian citrus) puree sent from our friends at Wislla Distribution. Check out more information about the project that inspired this and other recipes from our blog here later on!

Colombian Carnitas Marinade

Servings 4 people

Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 35 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 35 minutes mins

Ingredients

• ½ cup Pineapple juice 5 fl. oz.
• ½ cup Naranjilla puree See notes for substitutions.
• ⅓ cup Lime juice
• 2 tbsp Olive or Avocado oil
• 2 tbsp Honey
• 1 tsp Chili powder
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Pepper
• ½ tsp Garlic powder
• 2 lb Pork tenderloin You could use any meat here (chicken, fish, etc.).

Instructions

To Make Marinade:

• In a plastic gallon-sized Ziploc bag, combine all ingredients above (except the pork) and mix well, shaking or stirring well to make sure wet ingredients have combined with the dry
• Add the pork to the bag and marinade for an hour (minimum) to overnight (24 hours maximum) before grilling.*

To Cook Tenderloin:

• Remove pork tenderloin from marinade and grill on high for 5-10 minutes, then reduce heat to medium and cooking for another 25-30 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 145*F.
• Let the pork rest ~10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Notes

• You can very easily sub out the naranjilla puree if you can’t find it at your local Mexican grocery store. Try 1/2 of a pureed lemon/orange/grapefruit instead. Generally, any citrus would do!
• This recipe is super easy to adapt to be sweeter or spicier.
• It’s a great marinade for a quick recipe or if you want to let the meat marinate in the fridge for longer (24-48 hours).
• *To ensure the marinade really seeps into your meat of choice, poke holes into the meat before adding it to the bag with the marinade.

Course: Meal Prep