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.
