Carnitas

When I was pregnant with Brooklyn, I craved Mexican food my entire pregnancy.  I experimented with a ton of recipes and if we'd go out to eat, I wanted Mexican food. Needless to say, Brooklyn loves Mexican food. 

I've done more carnitas recipe than I can even remember. The only thing I usually change is the spiciness depending on who is eating over for dinner. The kids surprisingly like a little spice in their food. 

Ingredients:

For the rub:
1 tsp cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp ground pepper

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp garlic powder

For the Crock Pot:

3lb pork shoulder

1 sweet onion sliced in thin strips

1 small can of mild green chiles

1 jalapeño diced (remove seeds if you don't want it spicy)

2 tomatoes diced

1 cup chicken stock

2 bay leaf

A few shakes of sea salt and ground pepper

Directions:

Mix your rub together and rub onto all sides of the pork shoulder. If possible, refrigerate the roast with the rub overnight. If this is not possible , that’s ok, it’s not required it will just enhanced the flavor.

Place the sliced onion, and bay leaf on the bottom of your crock pot.  Place the spiced up pork shoulder on top. Add the green chiles and the chicken stock along the sides of the meat. Avoid rinsing the spice off the meat. Sprinkle a bit more sea salt and pepper on top. 

Cover and let cook on high for 4 hours, then turn down to low for another 4 hours. (Or you can cook on low for 10 hours. Or start on low and turn to high when you get home, whatever works for your schedule) 

The meat is done when it pulls apart easily with a fork. Check for seasoning! Does it need more salt? Pepper? Cumin? Maybe a little cayenne pepper for spiciness? I always end up adding a little more pepper for spice. Be careful with cumin. A little goes a long way.

Once the carnitas a tender, juicy, fork tender and seasoned to your liking it’s ready to serve.

 

Serve with: (these are all optional, but it is what I used)

Whole wheat tortillas

Chopped romaine lettuce

Chopped cilantro

diced tomatoes

Diced onions

If you are still eating dairy, like my kids and husband, you can add cheese or sour cream. USE FULL FAT!