Pork Carnitas
Sep 23 2011 by
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I like double duty meals. Make one protein and get two meals from it. One of my favorite double duty meats is a boneless pork butt that is slow cooked, shredded and then used in bbq pork sandwiches and later as pork carnitas. This carnitas recipe is so easy it hardly counts as a recipe but it sure is good. Besides the spicy good taste of the pork, I love the way one side gets fried all crispy and brown before serving. So get your slow cooker out and let it do the work but you must certainly take all the credit for 2 great meals this week.
Kristy
Ingredients:
- 2 – 3 pounds boneless pork shoulder
- 1 tsp sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp coriander
- 3 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 onion, diced
- 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Anaheim chili (mild) or 1 jalapeno chili (hot), ribs and seeds removed, diced
- 1 lemon
- whole grain tortillas of your choice
- diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, shredded cheese (optional toppings)
Preparation:
- Mix 1 tbsp olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano, cumin and coriander together and rub evenly all over the pork.
- Place in a slow cooker and add the onion, garlic and chili pepper.
- Squeeze the lemon juice over the top.
- Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours or high 4 hours. Adjust cooking time according of your slow cooker if necessary.
- Once the meat is tender enough to shred with a fork, remove from the cooker and cool 10-15 minutes.
- Pull apart with a fork.
- When ready to serve the carnitas heat the remaining oil on high in a large skillet. Once the oil is very hot place about 2 cups of the shredded meat into the pan. Press down with a spatula or a sandwich/grill press (a brick wrapped in foil works too) and sear one side of the meat until it is a crispy golden brown.
- Serve on tortillas with your favorite toppings.
Nutritional Info:
2 cups of pork makes approximately 8 carnitas served in a tortilla.
Serving size 1 carnita.
Nutrients per serving (pork only): Calories: 170, Cal. from Fat: 72, Total Fat: 8g, Sat. Fat: .5g, Carbs: 4g, Fiber: 1g, Sugars: 2g, Protein: 19g, Sodium: 280mg, Chol: 51mg
Notes:
With the remaining pork add some Homemade BBQ Sauce and serve over whole grain buns. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
I’ve been looking at your website for the past week or so getting some great dinner recipes! I have a question, though: what are “clean” tortillas? I used to by El Milagro corn tortillas, and I think the ingredients were just corn, water, and one other thing (sorry, can’t remember what it was right now). Are these clean? Thanks so much!
Hi Kathryn, I couldn’t find the ingredient information for El Milagro so I can’t say whether the ingredients are clean or not. The one thing I would say is that we are totally against genetically modified foods and since corn is at the top of the list for GM foods I would try to stick to organic. I know that Ezekial (Food for LIfe) makes a clean tortilla. My favorite is Alvarado Street Bakery organic sprouted wheat tortillas. They can be found at Whole Foods and many other larger stores. Hope this helps. Kristy
I have made these twice now and my family loves them! I even cut out the salt, throw in fresh peppers from my garden, and squeeze them with lime! I make my kids into quesadillas too! My husband does not usually eat much pork and he was surprised how much he liked it! It is definitely a keeper in my book and I love that I can use it two nights in different ways!
That’s great Vanessa, so glad your family is enjoying the carnitas. Mmm, peppers straight from the garden, how perfect. Thanks for your feedback. It’s much appreciated. Kristy
made these tonight… WHAT A WINNER!!!! These are delicious… although I did swap a lemon for lime since its what I had in the fridge. SOOOO GOOOD! I made my own tortillas from scratch.. it was a no no because i did use all purpose flour but I am on the hunt for a homemade clean tortilla. Being overseas its hard to come by some of these products.
Made these at least 6 times now and tomorrow night will make 7! These are awesome and my very picky eating kids (5, 4, 2) all love it. My wife and I have tacos, the kids have quesadillas. I doubled the recipe last time and had a bunch of guys over for a game and it feed us all and everyone loved it. They hadn’t heard of clean eating and they all were amazed when I told them. Thanks for the winner recipe!
Jared,
Thanks, that’s great to hear. We’re so glad you and your family are enjoying the Carnitas. What a really good way to introduce healthy eating to others, showing rather than telling. Keep up the good work.
Kristy
Excited to try this recipe
Do you cover the pork with any water or just as is?
Thanks
Hi Michelle,
You don’t need to add water. As the meat starts to cook it will release it’s own juices making it nice and tender.
Kristy
Ok great thank you!
It’s currently in the slow cooker doing its thing!
I can’t wait to get home and check it!