In Spanish, “carnitas” translates to “little meats.” One mom provided her special recipe for pork carnitas and it’s scrumptious. If you’re looking for something the entire family will love, this is it. And this is a healthier way to make the dish.
Getting started
Place a four- to six-pound bone-in pork shoulder roast inside a crockpot. Don’t remove the fat until it’s done cooking. A roast that size will easily serve a family of four and provide leftovers.
Adding garlic
Finely chop five pieces of roasted garlic. In place of fresh garlic, you can use two teaspoons of garlic powder. Toss this into the crockpot.
Additional spices
Add two teaspoons of fresh cracked black pepper, two and a half to three teaspoons of sea salt, two teaspoons of ground cumin, and one tablespoon of crushed oregano. These spices take the recipe to a new level of deliciousness.
Citrus time
For the liquid, use the juice of two lemons, limes, or oranges. If preferred, you can use the juice of a combination of citrus as this mom did. To prevent seeds from getting into the meet, she recommends using a handheld juicer.
Mixing it
Mix everything in the crockpot. Instead of lifting the meat out, just make sure you get some of the ingredients underneath it. That’ll help the flavors mingle with the pork.
Time to cook
Set the crockpot temperature on low and cook for seven to nine hours. To speed things up, you can cook the pork on high for about four to five hours. After putting the lid on, walk away.
Removing the bone and fat
When done, the pork will fall apart. While still in the crockpot, reach in with a set of tongs and pull the bone out. You’ll then carefully slice the slab of fat off the pork or you can do that after removing the roast from the crockpot.
Searing the meat
In a skillet on medium-high heat, sear the cooked meat. That gives it the crispy exterior and moist interior that you want. You can do this after cooking the pork or right before serving it. The easiest way is to first shred the meat, place it in a skillet, and then pour in a small amount of the liquid. Now, the pork carnitas is ready to enjoy.
Ingredients
- 4 to 6-pound bone-in pork shoulder roast
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 1/2 to 3 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 tablespoon of oregano
- 2 teaspoons of fresh cracked black pepper
- 5 cloves of roasted garlic or 2 teaspoons of garlic powder
- Citrus juice (juice of 2 lemons, limes, or oranges or a combination of any of them)
Simple directions
For this pork carnitas recipe, place a bone-in shoulder pork roast into a crockpot. Add ground cumin, sea salt, oregano, garlic cloves (or powdered garlic), and the juice of two limes, lemons, or oranges. You can mix the citrus if you like as long as you end up with the juice of two. Stir all the ingredients, making sure to get some underneath the meat.
Place the lid on the crockpot, set the temperature on low, and cook the pork for seven to nine hours. Or set the temperature on high and only cook the meat between four and five hours. When done, use a tong to remove the bone and a knife to cut off the slab of fat.
Put the cooked meat in a 9×13-inch dish and further separate it. In a skillet on medium-high heat, sear the shredded meat immediately after taking it out of the crockpot or just before serving it.
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