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1
If the roast has skin or bone, leave them on. Rinse the roast and place in a large pot. Add enough water to barely cover.
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2
Chop the onion into large pieces (about 8) and add to the pot. Add the salt.
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3
Bring the water to a boil, then cover and simmer until the roast is tender, but not quite falling apart, about 2 hours.
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4
Remove the roast and drain, discarding the onion. Remove any skin or bones. Cut or separate into large cubes of about 4 inches.
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5
Put the lard in a heavy pot, melt and raise to a medium-high temperature. Test the temperature by dropping in a slice of bacon. It should boil immediately and take about 2 minutes to cook.
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6
Cook all of the bacon in the lard, remove it and set it aside for another use. (This step is to flavor the lard).
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7
Add the pork cubes a few at a time to the lard. Cook until they are starting to get crispy on the outside. I prefer to remove them when they are roughly halfway between totally crispy and not crispy at all, but that's a matter of personal preference.
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8
Drain the pork, and salt if desired.
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9
Use the carnitas for tacos, burritos or by itself with sides of rice and beans.
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10
The lard can be cooled and reused. Store it in the refrigerator and smell before reusing. If stored too long, even in the refrigerator, it will go rancid.
