Pork Carnitas in Slow Cooker

Tomorrow I have a date night with my Mom for dinner, so I will be leaving my husband alone for dinner. Normally, I would say that he can fend for himself because he is truly capable of culinary genius. However, he has to work the midnight shift so and I feel like a bad partner when I leave him hanging.

Therefore, to get out of the sticky situation, I made a large meal so he could eat the leftovers tomorrow. Since I have been on a slow cooker kick, I thought that I would make pork carnitas. Carnitas are my favorite thing to order in my burrito at Chipotle. I am definitely a pork fan, and when it can be mixed into fresh Mexican food, I am all for it.

I googled many recipes for carnitas and took my favorite aspects out of them to create the recipe below. I chose the ingredients that were my favorite and I knew would not get lost in the cooking process. I also considered the cooking time. My slow cooker always seems to cook quicker than the recipes call for, yielding extremely dry meat. My cook time below is based on my slow cooker. Most recipes recommend cooking the meet on high for 4-6 hours or on low for 6-8 hours.

I was overly pleased with this recipe. The majority of the meat was tender and juicy, with shredded crisps to bring out smoky flavors. I am looking forward to using this recipe to eat standing alone, or adding it for other Mexican creations. Keep posted for new ideas!

Pork Carnitas Recipe

Yields 4 servings

Ingredients

1 14 oz can Chicken Broth

2 lbs boneless pork shoulder

1 Tbsp olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 tsp dired oregano

1 tsp cumin

1 onion, coarsely chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped

1 orange, cut in half

3 Tbsp. vegetable oil

Directions

1. Pour the chicken broth into the slow cooker.

2. Rinse and dry the pork shoulder. Trim any excess fat. Mix together the salt, pepper, oregano, and cumin. Brush the pork with olive oil, then rub the spice mixture into the meat.

3. Place the pork in the slow cooker and top with the onion and jalapenos.

4. Squeeze the orange halves over the pork, then place the halves next to it.

5. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours (see my cooking note above)

6. When the meat is tender, remove from the slow cooker and let cool for five minutes. Then, pull apart and shred the pork with two forks.

7. In a large pan, heat the vegetable oil over high heat. Press the carnitas into the oil and fry until crisp on one side. Break crisps apart to desired width.

8. Serve and enjoy!