What’s Cooking? | Slow Cooker Carnitas

On this episode of  “What’s Cooking?” Chef Merry makes slow cooker carnitas! This is definitely not a traditional carnitas dish, but works perfect if you want flavorful & tender pork with little work.

This can be left for either an afternoon or all-day in a slow cooker, and the end results won’t disappoint. This can be served a bunch of ways, we tend to have it as a burrito with some refried beans, rice, and cheese.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 pounds – Pork butt (shoulder), rind removed & cut into 2-inch cubes
• 1 tablespoon – Kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon – Ground black pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon – Cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon – Ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon – Chinese 5-spice
  • You can substitute this for All Spice, which is what we did.
• The peels & juice from 1 orange
• 8 cloves of garlic, peeled & whole
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4 cup of olive oil

Note: This needs to be salted generously, so be sure to use at least a tablespoon of salt.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Combine all the ingredients in the slow cooker and stir to combine.
2. Cover & set the slow cooker to low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
3. When done pork should be fork tender. Remember to remove the bay leaves.
4. Optionally, you can take out the carnitas and transfer them to a sheet pan. Put under a broiler set on high until crispy, about 8 minutes.
5. Serve however you want.