If there was an award give to a food for the least amount of work for the most amount of bang, it would have to be these pork carnitas.
With about 15 minutes of prep time in the morning, you can literally feed a crow with all the delicious flavors of street tacos. The flavors are built up by the citrus, garlic, and spices and then linger low and slow for a while in the crockpot. All the fattiness from the meat gets cut by toppings like pico de gallo, sour cream and cheese.
I love to make these on sports Saturdays when we are running around to different fields but really want to come home and relax. With bigger kids, my favorite slow cooking on Saturday evenings, sipping wine is not a reality. I’m not complaining though because football under the lights with popcorn is a pretty cool family event and the games are so exciting to watch! I still want to eat yummy food when I come home though of course.
Enter festive crock pot dinners. I throw these flavors into a crock pot – the spices I combine in a small bowl and then sprinkle over the whole pork shoulder. If you want a leaner cut of meat use the boneless pork shoulder blade roast, but I usually use the pork shoulder picnic.
Also don’t mind my dented crock pot. I have no idea how it got dented but I blame kids.
It’s important to keep turning the roast as it cooks so the flavors are easily distributed.
When it’s done, you shred the meat (which goes very quickly since it’s SO tender), toss it back in the juices for more flavors, and lay it on a baking sheet. Then you turn on your broiler, and let it brown up for 5-10 minutes, watching closely. Then I like to channel my inner food truck owner and lay out all the fixings.
Everyone can make their own taco with their favorite toppings (read: picky eaters are happy). This is a great meal to share so invite some friends over and throw some cold drinks on ice. A perfect and easy Saturday night meal.
Hope you and your crew get to try these soon! They’re so so good.
Happy Eating, xoxo Katie
Pork Carnitas
Ingredients:
2 onions, sliced
3-4 lb. pork shoulder picnic or 2-3 pound boneless pork shoulder roast
3 T salt
1 t. pepper
2 bay leaves
1 T cumin
1 T oregano
1 T chili powder
1 t. cinnamon
6 garlic cloves
Juice of 2 oranges
Juice of 2 limes
Directions:
Place sliced onions in the bottom of a slow cooker set to high.
Place pork on top of onions. Combine all spices in a small bowl, then sprinkle over the top of the pork. Add chopped garlic, juice of orange and lime.
Cover and cook on high for 6 hours or low for 10.
When it’s done, shred the meat (which goes very quickly since it’s SO tender), toss it back in the juices, and then lay it out on a baking sheet. Turn on your broiler, and let it brown up for 5-10 minutes, watching closely. Serve in warm tortillas with your favorite toppings.
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