Pork Carnitas

I am slowly starting to use my crock pot a bit more often. So far I am loving it for shredded or pulled meat - beef, chicken, or pork. The crock pot makes it so tender that it just falls apart with 2 forks - barely any effort required!

Last week I made pork carnitas in the crock pot. 5 minutes to get it cooking? Yes, please! Even better, it only requires a few ingredients.

The most important step, in my opinion, was browning and crisping the pork after shredding it. I loved the added texture and crunch from the caramelized brown bits on the pork. Once I browned the pork I served it over rice with some fresh cilantro. Next time I will make some nice street style tacos with the meat, queso fresco, pickled red onions and cilantro.

Pork Carnitas

Source: RecipeTin Eats

I cut the recipe in half and used a different cut of meat. The ingredients below are based on how I made the pork.

Ingredients

• One 2.5-lb pork loin (I prefer using a loin over a shoulder - less fat to deal with when shredding)
• 1 tsp each salt and pepper
• 1 Tbsp dried oregano
• 2 tsp dried cumin
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 jalapeno, chopped (remove the ribs and seeds for less heat)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 c orange juice

Directions

• Season the pork with salt and pepper.
• Mix the oil, oregano and cumin; rub all over the pork.
• Place the pork in your crock pot, fat cap up.
• Top with the onions, jalapenos and garlic, and then pour in the orange juice.
• Cook on low 8-10 hours or high for 6 hours.
• Skim off the fat and shred the meat using 2 forks. Keep warm.
• When ready to eat - heat 1 tsp olive oil in a sauté pan (stainless steel preferred). Add one serving of pork and cook until the bottom side is golden brown and crusty.
• Serve over rice or in tacos. Use the extra juices if you'd like and top with cilantro.

             

Print this post