Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas

  I recently started eating pork again but for some reason I was only using pork in the occasional stir fry or roasting a pork loin in the oven. Then I was on tastespotting a few weeks ago and saw a few recipes for slow cooker carnitas. I really love using my slow cooker, but not eating beef really limits what I can put in my slow cooker. I looked around at quiet a few carnitas recipes, most using a slow cooker, but could not find one that I liked, so I came up with my own. A slow cooker is not the 'traditional' method of cooking carnitas, but as long as you crisp the carnitas in a pan after the slow cooker it will yield a similar, if not better result to traditional carnitas. This recipe is very adaptable, so adjust the amounts of most of the ingredients based on your taste preferences. The one thing to keep in mind is that you want enough liquid in the slow cooker to cover all of your meat. I have a smaller slow cooker, so less liquid was needed to completely cover the meat. If you have a large slow cooker you could always cut the meat into a few pieces to make it easier for the liquid to cover the meat completely. Next time I make these carnitas I am going to plan to make a soup or something with the meat as well that I can put in the freezer. This recipe made so much meat that we could not eat it all within a few days. On the other hand this would be an easy, inexpensive way to feed a crowd! But if you aren't feeding a crowd I would plan a second meal to help use up all the left over meat you will have. As I have mentioned in earlier posts I am in the process of studying for the GRE, which is happening now at the end of this month! I have been really busy trying to prepare for that which explains my lack of posts the past few weeks. Until I take the exam on April 30th I will definitely not be posting as much as I would like to, but I promise I have so many good recipes to post once the exam is done :) Enjoy!



Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas


3 lbs of pork shoulder (mine was actually just under 3 lbs but most pork shoulder cuts in the meat section are going to be around 3 lbs)
4 limes
1 orange
1 medium onion, diced
4-5 cloves of garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons cumin
1 1/2-2 tablespoons chili powder
1 can of chilies in adobe sauce
2-4 cups of chicken broth (enough to cover meat)
1 tablespoon canola oil


  Put diced onion in slow cooker. Trim some of the larger pieces of fat from the pork shoulder. Rub cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper on pork shoulder. Cut a few slits in pork shoulder and put about 2-3 garlic cloves in each slit. Put pork should in slow cooker then mince and add the remaining garlic cloves to the slow cooker. Squeeze the limes and orange over the pork shoulder. Add 2 tablespoons of adobe sauce from can (you can add a few diced chilies if you want, we just opted not to). Add enough chicken broth to cover meat.  Set slow cooker to low setting and cook for about 8 hours. 

  Meat will be done when you can easily shred the meat with 2 forks. Shred the meat in the slow cooker. Heat canola oil in a large skillet, removed shredded meat from slow cooker with a slotted spoon, then add to the skillet. Cook until edges of pork become slightly crisp, adding some of the liquid from the slow cooker as you go to prevent meat from drying out. 

  We used the meat for carnitas tacos, but it would be good in a tostada, quesadilla, salad, soup, or enchiladas!

A Little Zest Original Recipe