Pork Carnitas

     Today I have a slow cooker recipe for you the lot of ye! It's for a wonderful dish called pork carnitas which can be used for tacos, burritos, salads, rice, or whatever you would like!

     This dish came out so tasty and wonderful that I don't have a picture of the final product, but the one you see is from the internet and it's pretty close. This made enough to feed two of us for a whole week and we never got tired of it! This has to be one of the more versatile dishes I have made as we used it for tacos, burritos, and I even added it to some homemade pasta salad for a delicious bonus to it!

Pork Carnitas

by The Pirate Chef

 

Ingredients:

4 1/2 Lb Boneless Pork Shoulder (Boston Butt)

1 Medium Onion, chopped

2 Jalapenos, seeds removed and chopped

2 1/2 tsp Salt

1 tsp Black Pepper

4 Cloves Garlic, minced

3/4 C Fresh Orange Juice (or the best quality you can find)

1 Tbsp Dried Oregano

2 tsp Ground Cumin

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

Directions:

1) Rinse and dry the pork shoulder, trim off any large chunks of fat on the outside (don't try to get all

     the fat off the outside you see, just the largest piece or two).

2) Mix salt and pepper in a small bowl and rub all over the pork shoulder.

3) Combine the oregano, cumin, and olive oil in a small bowl (making paste) and then rub all over the

     pork shoulder.

4) Place the pork in a slow cooker (4-6 qt) with the fattier side facing up.

5) Top with the onions, garlic, and jalapenos.

6) Put the lid on the slow cooker and cook for 8-10 hrs on low

7) The meat should be tender and wanting to fall apart, so remove from the slow cooker.

8) Skim off any fat you may see in the slow cooker then put the l back on and turn to high to reduce.

9) While the juices are reducing, shred the pork with two forks and put into a container if not eating

     right away.

10) Once the juices have reduced to about 1 1/2 - 2 cups worth (it's not exact so just guess when it's

     done) put into another container if not using right away.

To Serve:

1) Heat 1 Tbsp of vegetable oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat.

2) Place shredded pork in pan and let cook until bottom side is golden brown.

3) Add in a small ladle-full of the juices and stir with a spatula (breaking up the pork and scraping up

     all the delicious bits stuck to the pan)

4) Cook until all the juices are absorbed/evaporated and you can't see any in the bottom of the pan.

5) Enjoy!