Our family LOVES Carnitas... My husband used to smoke the pork on his Weber kettle smoker and we thought it was amazing, but then one day when he was at work(unable to stand at a smoker for hours) so I decided to try a different method and completely fell in love with it! I found a couple of different crockpot Carnitas recipes and combined two of them, but over the years kept changing it up and adding things that made the flavor better each time, so I think I finally have a solid recipe and wanted to share! Feel free to share/change it up/make it your own! I just love sharing food and recipes, not looking for credit! (I blog like once a year or every 3 years, definitely not sharing for exposure 😆
Crockpot Carnitas
Ingredients:
4 lb Boneless Pork Shoulder/Butt
1 1/2 TBSP Ground Cumin
Dried Oregano (1/2 to 1 TBSP, I am not a big fan of oregano so I go lighter)
2 tsp Chili Powder
1 tsp Garlic
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
1 Large Shallot, diced (2 if they are small)
4 cloves of garlic, minced (I just use the jarred minced garlic)
2 Jalapenos, de-seeded and finely diced
2 Oranges, juiced
1 Lemon, juiced
2 Limes, juiced
Directions:
In a small bowl mix together cumin, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, salt, and chili powder
Trim excess fat from the pork shoulder (some fat is good, so don't cut it all off!), pat dry, then rub the spice mixture generously on the entire pork shoulder and place in the slow cooker.
Add the shallots, garlic, jalapeno and juice of your Oranges, lemon, and limes in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on the low setting for 8-10 hours, or high heat for 5-6 hours (until the meat falls apart).
Remove the pork from the slow cooker and shred the meat. Keep the liquid as you will be using it later.
Crisp in the oven before serving:
Place the shredded pork on a baking sheet. Pour 1 cup of the reserved liquid over the pork to keep it moist and tender while broiling. Broil 5-10 minutes or until the meat becomes golden brown and crispy on the edges
We love to make street tacos, "Chipotle" style burritos, or nachos with our carnitas
**Note**
Even though this is a more Mexican style flavor, the flavor is mild enough that leftover shredded pork can be used to turn into BBQ pulled pork!
