Mexican Torta de Carnitas

What is a Mexican Torta?

"Mexican torta" is an umbrella term to describe a wide variety of sandwiches that you may find while walking the streets in Mexico. Tortas are made with a crusty roll called a bolillo or a telera. Bolillo rolls can be compared to a kaiser roll or a French baguette and in fact, if you can’t find a bolillo, feel free to use either of these—the taste and texture will be almost identical. Telera rolls are a little softer and have a round or slightly oblong shape with two indentations running the length of the roll. 

What is Typically in a Torta?

There is great variety in the world of tortas. There's the torta Cubana, an "everything torta" with beans, cheese, fried beef or pork cutlet, sausage, Spanish ham, egg, and toppings; torta milanesa features a fried meat cutlet, beans, cheese, and toppings; and a torta ahogada is "drowned" in a thin, spicy sauce.

What’s more, the kind of torta you’ll encounter most depends on the region you’re traveling—in Mexico City, it’s the pambazo, in Guadalajara, it’s the torta ahogada, and in the Yucatán, it’s the torta de cochinita pibil (suckling pig marinated achiote and sour orange and cooked wrapped in banana leaves). 

Tortas de carnitas are seen throughout Mexico and are, of course, incredibly delicious. The main trick to this recipe is to slow-cook the pork in its own lard, or manteca, until very tender and deeply browned.  

How to Top Your Torta

Once you have the carnitas prepared, you can assemble your torta in just about any way that fits your fancy. That said, typical toppings include sliced onion, avocado, tomato, and salsa, which you can make spicy or mild.

Recipe Tips

• When cooking the carnitas, don't rush the process. The meat should cook at a very slow simmer in order to cook and become crisp on the outside and tender, not dry, on the inside.
• Blackening the tomatoes in the skillet not only adds a subtle smokiness to the finished salsa, it also takes the raw edge off the tomatoes, deepening their flavor.
• The lard from making the carnitas can be saved and reused to make more carnitas, or use it in refried beans, cornbread, or anywhere you want a rich pork flavor. Allow the lard to cool slightly until no longer hot but still liquid. Strain it through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth to remove any particles. Then transfer the lard to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 1 month or freeze for up to 6 months.