About the Recipe
This is my go to pork carnitas recipe. I mean is there anything better than slow cooked pork that is fall apart tender and juicy? There is! When its inside a taco! This is also one of my favorite ways to use our hot sauces! Try coating the juicy pork with a few dashes of Mitch's Original Hot Sauce or if you like spice, my favorite to use with these carnitas is The Habanero! Finish the tacos with chopped onion, cilantro, avocado and your favorite hot sauce. Cheers! #The Sauce Fix
Ingredients
4 lb pork shoulder (pork butt), skinless, boneless (5lb/2.5kg bone in)
2 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 White Onion (Chopped)
1 Jalapeno (Chopped) (I leave seeds in)
4-6 cloves of Garlic
3/4 cup Orange Juice (or juice from 2 oranges)
RUB:
2 Tbsp dried Oregano
4 tsp ground Cumin
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
Preparation
Step 1
Rinse and dry the pork shoulder, rub all over with salt and pepper.
Step 2
Combine the Rub ingredients then rub all over the pork.
Step 3
Place the pork in a slow cooker (fat cap up), top with the onion, jalapeño, minced garlic (don't worry about spreading it) and squeeze over the juice of the oranges.
Step 4
Slow Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 7 hours. (Crockpot is best)
Step 5
Pork should be tender enough to shred. Remove from slow cooker and let cool slightly. Then shred using two forks.
Step 6
Optional: Skim off the fat from the juices remaining in the slow cooker and discard.
If you have a lot more than 2 cups of juice, then reduce it down to about 2 cups. The liquid will be salty, it is the seasoning for the pork. Set liquid aside - don't bother straining onion etc, it's super soft.
Time To Crisp:
Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large non stick pan or well seasoned skillet over high heat. Spread pork in the pan, drizzle over some juices. Wait until the juices evaporate and the bottom side is golden brown and crusty. Turn and just briefly sear the other side - you don't want to make it brown all over because then it's too crispy, need tender juicy bits.
Remove pork from skillet. Repeat in batches (takes me 4 batches) - don't crowd the pan.
Just before serving, drizzle over more juices and serve hot, stuffed in tacos
Time to Build:
Now its time to build the taco. Using a hot skillet, quickly dip your corn tortillas in remaining juices then place in hot skillet until slightly browned and start to bubble. (About 1-2 min) Once they are finished tightly wrap in tin foil to soften.
Build your tacos with the pulled pork carnitas and top them with fresh cilantro, chopped onion, avocado and squeeze fresh lime juice over top. Top with either Mitch's Original Hot Sauce or The Habanero.
Enjoy and leave us a killer review. Cheers!