Shredded carnitas, or your leftover pulled pork of any kind, crisp up with potato cubes until lacy and golden. Big pork flavor, crackly edges, and a squeeze of lime to wake it all up.←Back to Taco Base Recipes
1 lb russet potatoes, 1/2 in (1.3 cm) dice
2 cup cooked carnitas, shredded
1.5 tbsp avocado oil
0.5 tsp garlic powder
0.5 tsp smoked paprika
1 lime lime, cut into wedges
1 tsp kosher salt
0.5 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Parcook potatoes: Microwave diced potatoes with a splash of water 4–5 minutes until just tender. Drain and steam‑dry 2 minutes.
Start the crust: Heat oil in a large skillet over medium‑high. Add potatoes, season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and smoked paprika. Press into an even layer and cook 3–4 minutes without stirring.
Add carnitas: Scatter carnitas on top and press again. Cook 3–4 minutes until the bottom is deeply browned.
Flip in slabs and cook 2–3 minutes more to crisp the other side. Break up lightly.
Finish: Squeeze lime over the hash and toss once. Taste and adjust salt.
Mild by default; for heat, add minced jalapeño when you add carnitas.
Chef's Notes
This recipe is secretly a leftover transformation spell. Any shredded pork works: carnitas, pulled pork, that pork shoulder you made Sunday, even rotisserie chicken in a pinch. The hash technique turns yesterday's protein into this morning's crispy treasure. The potato situation matters: cut them small (half-inch cubes), and either par-boil them for 5 minutes or microwave them until just tender before adding to the pan. Raw potatoes take forever to crisp and you'll overcook everything else waiting for them. Cast iron is the correct pan here. Its heat retention creates the crust that makes hash worth eating. Get it hot, add fat (the rendered pork fat is ideal, but oil works), then spread your hash in an even layer and leave it alone. This is the hard part. Your instinct will be to stir. Fight that instinct. Press the hash gently with a spatula and let it sit for 3-4 minutes until the bottom develops a golden, lacy crust (like frico, that crispy cheese situation). Then flip it in sections and repeat. The goal is maximum crispy surface area. A squeeze of lime at the end wakes everything up and cuts through the richness. This is peak breakfast taco energy, the kind of thing that makes mornings worth experiencing. Some say the perfect hash speaks to you when it's ready to flip. If your hash starts actually speaking, you may have added something that wasn't in the recipe.
Into This Base? Remix It!
Take Carnitas Breakfast Hash into the Summoning Circle and shuffle it with hundreds of other taco components to create your perfect taco.
Community Ratings
No ratings yet
No reviews yet. Be the first to review this recipe!
