Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas

Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas

from pinchandswirl.com
Main Course
495 min
15 servings
286 kcal / serving

Adapted from The Kitchn Cookbook: Recipes, Kitchens & Tips to Inspire Your Cooking with a few changes to tone down the spice.

Ingredients

  • 1boneless pork shoulder ((6 to 8 pounds; also called pork butt and boston butt))
  • 2 tablespoonskosher salt
  • 1 tablespoonground cumin
  • 2 teaspoonsfreshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoondried oregano
  • 2 teaspoonsground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspooncayenne pepper (or to taste)
  • 8 clovesgarlic (smashed)
  • 1 cuptomato juice
  • 1 cuporange juice
  • 2 tablespoonschipotle hot sauce (such as tabasco or cholula brands)

Directions

  1. 1

    Place trimmed pork shoulder in a large slow cooker.

  2. 2

    In a small bowl, stir together salt, cumin, pepper, oregano, cinnamon, and cayenne; rub mixture over pork on all sides. Sprinkle on garlic cloves.

  3. 3

    Whisk tomato juice, orange juice and chipotle hot sauce in a medium bowl and pour over meat. Cook 8 hours on low, or until pork is pull apart tender.

  4. 4

    Let meat cool slightly in cooking liquid before carefully transferring to a large bowl. Shred meat into bite size pieces using two forks.

  5. 5

    Skim fat off of cooking juices and discard (recipe note #3). Stir 1 cup or more of the cooking juices to the meat to moisten. Refrigerate remaining juices for reheating the pork (see note #1) or freeze for another use (see note #2).

  6. 6

    Serve pork immediately or reheated in tacos, on tostadas, in burritos, on salads, and more! (See post for links to my favorite recipes.)