Pork Carnitas (Slow Cooker)

I was awoken by a crazy person this morning.

Mikey shot out of bed and started dancing and singing about how today is the greatest day out of the whole year. He even went as far as to say that it is better than St. Patrick’s day…March Madness is to Mikey as grand, life-altering events are to most people. Or exciting celebrations like Birthdays, or Christmas, vacations, etc. Those days when you’re so excited you can’t sleep, or you wake up and you’re instantly excited because of the day/days ahead.

I have been hearing only about college basketball for about a week now and all Mikey can talk about is how he is so excited to watch TV for 1,000 hours over the weekend.

That’s where these AMAZING Pork Carnitas come in to play. They are a perfect food for a weekend where you are going to sit in front of the TV and be a complete couch potato. They are also great for all those random guests that will be popping in and out on a weekend like this.

These carnitas are super simple to make and the best part is that the crock pot does all the work for you. All you have to do is pickle some cabbage, chop some cilantro and onion and sprinkle on a layer of cheese. The flavor from the spices give these a deep flavor that is sure to please everyone! You can make more or less depending on the crowd, just buy a smaller piece of pork (or bigger). We made this for a crowd and it disappeared fast! You just can’t stop eating these little carnitas tacos!

Squeeze on a little lime juice and hot sauce and boom, best taco ever.

I hope you have an excuse to make these as soon as possible (this weekend seems like a great time). They will make your house smell like heaven for hours and hours and your stomach will be growling in anticipation. The wait is worth it!

I know that our plan is to make some delicious food this weekend and watch a ton of basketball. Thankfully I am 3/4 as excited as Mikey, which means I’m actually pretty excited to watch my team DOMINATE. My brackets are ready and so am I.

GO BADGERS!!!!!!! And go make some carnitas too.

Pork Carnitas

Time: Prep 20 minutes, Cook 8 Hours
Difficulty: Easy
Print

Ingredients:

1 (6- to 8-pound) bone-in pork butt (or pork shoulder)
2 Tablespoons Salt
1 Tablespoon Ground Cumin
1 Tablespoon Black Pepper
1 Tablespoon Dried Oregano
2 Teaspoons Cinnamon
1 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper (or to taste)
8 Cloves Whole Garlic, Smashed
4 Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce (or dried)
1 Can Diced Tomatoes (14oz)
1 Cup Orange Juice
1 Cup Stock (chicken, beef, etc.)
(If you feel like you need more liquid add up to 1 more cup of stock)

Directions:

Trim the excess fat from you pork and place it, with all the ingredients into you crockpot.

Cook on low for 8 hours. The less you open the top to see what’s happening inside the better the meat will taste! Resist the temptation!

Once the meat has finished cooking, remove it from the crockpot and shred the meat. Skim the fat off the top of the remaining liquid and save a couple cups for the leftovers. Reheat the meat with some of the juice in order to keep it super tasty.

Serve on a tortilla with pickled cabbage, red onion, cilantro and queso fresco.

My brother in law sent me this recipe. He found it somewhere on the internet so I’m going to give him the credit for this one!