After getting my car fixed on the Columbus Day holiday I decided I wanted to try a new crockpot recipe while I worked outside. I went through my food pins on Pinterest and found one that sounded like it was worth a shot!
Crockpot Pork Carnitas
Ingredients:
- 4 lbs pork shoulder roast
- 1 Tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- ¾ cup orange juice
- ¼ cup lime juice (or 2 limes)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 onion, quartered
In a small bowl combine the chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper. Rub thoroughly on the outside of the pork shoulder.
Combine the orange juice, lime juice, garlic and onion in the crockpot. Place pork on top and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4-5 hours.
Shred the pork and cook for an additional 30 minutes. Remove the pork from the crockpot and place on a baking sheet. Broil in the oven for 3-4 minutes to brown the edges of the pork.
Results: This makes a lot of tasty meat! We made tacos the first night with avocado, cilantro, cheese, taco sauce, lime juice and sour cream, and the meat was flavorful without being overbearing. I was worried about there being too much liquid in the tacos, but i strained it first which did the trick.
The next night Hunter ate more tacos, while I made a plate of nachos and these were amazing! I could eat nachos basically any day, but these seemed like they were from a restaurant and I devoured them. I froze the rest of the meat so we can pull it out and reheat on the stove when we need an easy dinner!
Yes! I make a version of this! I love crock pot carnitas. I keep looking for more and more recipes where I can use the crockpot but not have an entire meal that tastes like crock pot, and this is perfect for that.
Haha agree, I was looking for something other than a roast so was happy with the results and versatility!
This sounds soooo good! I never thought about freezing the meat, too. Mike and I did a 3 lb pork shoulder a couple months ago (bbq style), and we ended up having to throw some of it away after eating pork every day for a week haha!
Meg, Borrowed Heaven
Haha I’ve definitely done that before! My mom does it all the time and then has easy meals ready to just heat up – so I’m trying to take a page from her book!