I've stumbled upon a good recipe for Carnitas.... and simplified it a little. The stewed pork is great, and even better if you pan fry it to make real Carnitas after it's out of the crock pot.
Start with around a five to eight pound pork shoulder (Boston Butt). Slice it up into 2" thick pieces.
Get out the crock pot and set it to cook on low heat for about eight hours. Pour in about two cups of chicken broth. Add a couple tablespoons of minced garlic (I use the stuff in a jar because I hate chopping up garlic by hand). Stir in two tablespoons of powdered cumin and two tablespoons of powdered oregano. I wait to add the salt and black pepper until after it's cooked- sometimes the chicken broth is really salty.
Add in the zest and juice of two oranges and one lime. The zest is important- it adds a lot of flavor.
Mix the pieces of pork into the crock pot making sure to coat all sides in the broth liquid.
Let it cook... once it's done, remove the meat and shred. Keep the cooking liquid- but skim off the fat.
You can eat the shreaded pork in tacos and it's great... but put some in a pan with a splash of cooking liquid and heat until the edges are crispy and it's amazing.
I like to grill green bell pepper and onion to a nice char and add that to the tacos- with or without the grilled veggies, it makes a great taco with some green tomatillo salsa.
Start with around a five to eight pound pork shoulder (Boston Butt). Slice it up into 2" thick pieces.
Get out the crock pot and set it to cook on low heat for about eight hours. Pour in about two cups of chicken broth. Add a couple tablespoons of minced garlic (I use the stuff in a jar because I hate chopping up garlic by hand). Stir in two tablespoons of powdered cumin and two tablespoons of powdered oregano. I wait to add the salt and black pepper until after it's cooked- sometimes the chicken broth is really salty.
Add in the zest and juice of two oranges and one lime. The zest is important- it adds a lot of flavor.
Mix the pieces of pork into the crock pot making sure to coat all sides in the broth liquid.
Let it cook... once it's done, remove the meat and shred. Keep the cooking liquid- but skim off the fat.
You can eat the shreaded pork in tacos and it's great... but put some in a pan with a splash of cooking liquid and heat until the edges are crispy and it's amazing.
I like to grill green bell pepper and onion to a nice char and add that to the tacos- with or without the grilled veggies, it makes a great taco with some green tomatillo salsa.
