Carnitas!!!

 

 

I've been having a hankering for Mexican food and fond memories of the carnitas served at friend's birthday party a month or so ago have been playing in my head.  This also gave me the chance to break out our new New Zealand slow cooker.  The left overs are amazing for sandwiches, little burrito bowls, or just plain munching.  We had to leave one key ingredient out: lime (we couldn't find any in the markets). While the carnitas still tasted good - the lime juice was surely missed.

 

Ingredients

3 pounds boneless pork shoulder or pork butt, cut into 2-inch cubes
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lime juice (from about 2 to 3 limes)
4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon Kosher salt, plus more to taste

Fixins'
Avocado slices, corn tortillas, chopped cilantro and onion, and anything else that sounds good.

Directions (per smitten kitchen)

• Place the pork in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot. Add the orange juice, lime juice, garlic, cumin, salt and enough water to just barely cover the meat.
• Bring the pot to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer uncovered for two hours. Don’t touch the meat.
• After two hours, increase the heat to medium-high and while occasionally stirring and turning the pieces, continue to cook for about 45 minutes, or until all of the liquid has evaporated, leaving only the rendered pork fat. Let it sizzle in this fat long enough to brown at the edges, turning pieces gently (they’ll be eager to fall apart), only as needed.

Crock Pot:

• Add orange juice, lime juice, garlic, cumin, salt and pepper to the crock pot and mix together. 
• Add pork and add water until the meat is barely covered.
• Set to high and allow to cook for 4ish hours or low for 6-7 hours.
• Once cooked, remove from crock pot, shred and place in a heavy pan or wok.  Add the left over juices and fat from the crock pot to fry the shredded pork long enough for the edges to get a little crispy. 

When pork has browned on both sides, it’s ready. Adjust add any extra seasonings to taste and serve with tortillas with fixings

I used about 1/2cup of the leftover juices for cooking the rice - 1 cup of rice, 1ish cup of water, 1/2 cup of juices - yum!

sizzle!

left over juices and fat