7 years ago

Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas

Got family in town? Try these savory, spicy pork carnitas … and let your slow cooker do all the work!

Ingredients

  • 1 (6- to 8-pound) boneless pork shoulder roast
  • 2 tablespoons coarse salt
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
  • 8 whole cloves garlic, smashed
  • 4 chipotle peppers (canned or dried)
  • 1 (14- or 15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
  • 2 to 3 cups liquid (orange juice, beer, stock or a combination)

Directions

Trim any excess fat from the pork. Add all ingredients to the slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours, or until the meat is so tender it’s falling apart.

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Let the pork cool enough to handle, then remove from slow cooker and place in a large bowl. Shred the meat with two forks (or your hands!). You should end up with about 10 cups of meat.

Skim the fat from the leftover juices in the slow cooker and save the liquid for reheating your meat later, if desired, to help keep it moist.

To make carnitas tacos, serve the meat in tortillas with your favorite taco toppings, such as sour cream, cilantro, radishes, pineapple, chopped red onion and lime wedges.

Makes 18-24 servings

Recipe adapted from The Kitchn