Carnitas
I must admit I’m not a huge pork eater. These carnitas though, have me changing my mind! I remember a friend of my mom’s when I was growing up making carnitas for us and spent all day roasting it in the oven and basting with oranges. They were absolutely amazing! I guess they obviously made an impression if I’m still thinking about them 15 years later. I tried recreating that recipe, but in a much more convenient way…the crockpot. As much as I would love roasting carnitas in the oven all day, who has the time?
I will admit, my family was eating carnitas for weeks as I tried perfecting this recipe. We enjoyed them as tacos, carnitas taco bowls, breakfast tacos. You name it, I tried to switch it up as much as possible so we didn’t grow tired of them during recipe testing. I was finally able to recreate the oh so yummy carnitas recipe I remember growing up, and thankfully, still love it and I have no doubt you will too!
Carnitas”
Ingredients
- 3-pound pork shoulder or pork butt
- 2 teaspoons pink Himalayan salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ white or red onion, sliced
- 1 jalapeno, chopped (remove seeds and ribs for less spicy)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2+1/2 cups orange juice (about 3-4 oranges)
- ½ cup chicken or vegetable stock
- ¼ cup maple syrup, honey, or coconut sugar (can omit if you want more savory carnitas)
Instructions
- Dry pork with paper towels and set aside. Heat a pan over medium-high heat.
- In a small bowl combine salt, pepper, oregano, and cumin into a rub. Rub onto pork making sure to massage into the meat. Place pork in the hot pan and sear on all sides until golden brown.
- Set pork in crockpot and top with onion, jalapeno, and garlic. Pour orange juice, stock, and sweetener of choice around pork being careful not to remove seasonings.
- Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 6-8 hours. If you notice juices getting low add additional liquid. Shred with forks.
- This step is optional, but highly recommended. Heat a pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add in a single layer of carnitas and some liquid. Cook without disturbing meat until majority of liquid has cooked off and there is a nice crust on the meat. Can serve with additional liquid spooned over.