August 15, 2016
By David Draper
Print Recipe
On typical big-game hunts, it's not often your guide wants you to keep shooting additional animals, but that's just what Hugo, my barrel-chested, bandito-'stached guide, was encouraging me to do on a hog hunt last summer.

"Let's go find you another peeeg," he said as we were loading up two meat hogs I'd just put down with well-placed shots of Winchester Razorback XTs to their respective ear holes.
When I told him I had all the carne I could handle, he replied, "That's okay. I'll call some amigos over, and we'll have a barbecue in the backyard and drink some cervezas."
Advertisement
That was a plan I couldn't argue with, so we hopped in Hugo's old Ford, the one with the broken door handle and cracked windshield, and rattled around the South Texas ranch looking for another peeeg, preferably a belted one because Hugo insisted they made the best carnitas.
Ingredients:
2 Hatch green chiles
Advertisement
3 lbs. pork roast, cut into chunks
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. cumin
½ tsp. cinnamon
Juice from four oranges (about ½ cup)
Juice from two limes (a little less than ¼ cup)
Water to cover
1 tbs. canola oil
Two red peppers, sliced
One medium onion, sliced
Fresh cilantro, chopped
Directions:
Roast green chiles over a hot grill until skin starts to blister and blacken. Transfer peppers to brown paper bag and let steam about 5 minutes. Remove chiles from bag and carefully peel away the skin. Destem, slice chiles in half, and remove the seeds.

In a Dutch oven or other heavy pot, toss pork with salt, cumin, and cinnamon.
Add sliced green chiles and stir in citrus juices.
Add just enough water to cover. Set heat to medium-high and bring liquid just to the boiling point.
Lower heat, cover, and simmer until pork shreds easily with a fork, about two hours.
When pork is tender, remove lid and raise heat to medium. Simmer until liquid evaporates.
The pork will start to fry in the remaining fat. Stir often, until exterior of the pork is crisp.
Meanwhile, heat canola oil in a skillet set over a medium-high burner. When oil is shimmering, add sliced onions and sauté.
When onions are soft, add red pepper slices and cook until crisp-tender, about five minutes.
Serve carnitas with onion-pepper mix and sprinkle with fresh cilantro. Best enjoyed with warm tortillas and cold cervezas.
David Draper
Editor-in-Chief
An avid hunter and accomplished writer, David Draper has traveled the globe in search of good stories and good food, yet his roots remain firmly planted in the soil of his family's farm on the High Plains of Nebraska. As a young man, his dreams were fueled by daily trips to the original Cabela's retail store, which stood a short four blocks from his childhood home. The ensuing years spent chasing his passions for adventure and the outdoors have taken him from the shores of Africa's Gambia River to Alaska's Brooks Range. He has hunted birds and big-game on five of the seven continents.
A 20-year industry veteran, Draper has worked in communications, writing and editing roles for the biggest names in the industry. In addition to bylines in scores of publications, he also served as the editor for the hunting journals of Dick and Mary Cabela and contributed to several books on the outdoors. Draper is Editor-in-Chief of Petersen's Hunting magazine, where he also writes the Fare Game column covering all aspects of processing and cooking wild game.
Full Bio + |
See more articles from David Draper