Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Need pork carnitas? Make your own tonight

With pork missing from a big chunk of the Chipotle locations nationwide, including all of the restaurants in Mecklenburg County, we reached into The Observer's recipe archive for a quick solution. 


Just get some pork and get out your slow cooker. You'll be filling your own burrito bowls by lunch time tomorrow. 

Slow Cooker Carnitas

2 pounds pork shoulder, Boston butt or picnic, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
2 teaspoons dried oregano (preferably Mexican)
1/2 large onion, cut into 4 pieces
1 avocado, halved, pitted, sliced
Fresh cilantro sprigs
Sliced red bell peppers (optional)

TOSS pork in bowl of slow cooker with salt, black pepper and dried oregano to coat. Place onion pieces atop pork. Cover slow cooker and cook pork on low setting until meat is very tender and falling apart, about 6 to 8 hours.

TRANSFER pork to cutting board. Discard onion pieces. Using fingers, shred pork; transfer carnitas to platter. Place avocado slices, cilantro sprigs and sliced red bell peppers, if desired, alongside.

WRAP tortillas in damp kitchen towel; microwave until warm, about 1 minute. Serve carnitas with warm tortillas.

YIELD: 

NOTE: Leftover pork also freezes well, or you can reheat it in a skillet before using. 


1 comments:

CarnitasFan said...

Another recipe for the slow cooker (using a 4 pound pork shoulder):

1.5 tsp salt
3 tsp cumin
1.5 tsp dried oregano
1.5 tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp cinnamon
3 tsp minced garlic
14 oz. can chicken broth
1/3 cup orange juice

Rub spice mixture into pork; pour broth & orange juice into slow cooker and add minced garlic. Place pork on top and cook on low for 8-10 hours. When it's finished, shred into chunks. Place in a 450 degree oven for about 10 minutes to crisp the edges. Serve with tortillas, avocado, and salsa.