slow cooker carnitas

It's been soooo hot.  A never-ending heat wave.  During troubled times like this, I'm so glad for the slow cooker.  I haven't always enjoyed the results of slow-cooker recipes. Sloshy, gooey, indistinguishable mush.  This meal, however, is great.  Simple preparation for an inexpensive cut of meat, who wouldn't love it?

I found the recipe on All Recipes.com and with a few tweaks, think that it has a lot to offer.

First, the rub.  For optimal flavor, dry rub the pork overnight in the refrigerator.  The original recipe didn't pack enough punch, so I tripled the spices.

You can do a little something with the pork skin. Why let that go unused?  Broil it and it becomes pork cracklings.  Sprinkle it into the taco with the meat for a tasty, crunchy treat.

Slow Cooker Carnitas

• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1½ teaspoons crumbled dried oregano
• 1½ teaspoons ground coriander
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 (4 pound) boneless pork shoulder roast
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 
  

Mix together salt, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, coriander and cinnamon in a bowl. Coat the pork with the spice mixture. Cover the bowl tightly and place in refrigerator overnight.

Place the bay leaves in the bottom of a slow cooker and place the pork on top. Pour the chicken broth around the sides of the pork, being careful not to rinse off the spice mixture.

Cover and cook on low until the pork shreds easily with a fork, about 6 hours. When the pork is tender, remove from slow cooker. Remove the fat and set aside. Shred the pork. For a crispy texture, place the shredded meat with some of its cooking liquid in a 375º F oven for 15 minutes.

To make the cracklings, place the fat on a cookie sheet.  Broil a minute or two until browned and crackling.  

Serve with soft corn tortillas, shredded cabbage, chopped tomatoes, guacamole, etc.  Watch it disappear!


n.b. We used the Red Cabbage Slaw Recipe from Food Network.com.