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Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas

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Pork is slowly cooked all day in a slow cooker before crispy in a little bit of lard. Use carnitas for tacos, burritos or stuff it in your face as is. So unbelievable good!
Course Mains & Entrees
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword garlic, jalapeño, lard, onion, orange, pork, Pork Roast, pork shoulder
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 10 hours
Total Time 10 hours 25 minutes
Servings 8 servings
Calories 274
Author Laurie McNamara

Ingredients

  • 4 pounds pork shoulder roast I used shoulder blade
  • kosher salt and black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 orange
  • 1/2 lime
  • 1 white onion roughly chopped
  • 1 jalapeno seeded, ribs discarded and roughly chopped
  • 5 cloves fresh garlic smashed, peeled and minced
  • 4 tablespoons lard

Instructions

  • Generously season a 4 pound pork shoulder with salt and pepper.
  • In a small bowl combine the olive oil with the oregano, cumin and coriander. Rub the oil mixture all over the pork shoulder and pop it into your slow cooker. To that, add the chopped onion, jalapeno, garlic and squeeze in the juice of the entire orange and the lime half. Add the orange and lime halves into the slow cooker as well.
  • Cook on high for 6 hours or low for 8-10.
  • Remove the pork shoulder to a large cutting board and use two forks to shred it. Pour the remaining cooking liquids from the slow cooker through the strainer of a fat separator (I love the brand Oxo). Then I collect the onion, garlic and jalapeno solids and give them a rough chop and toss along with the shredded pork back into the slow cooker. I set the slow cooker to warm and add in about 1 cup of the strained cooking liquids (leaving the fat in the separator) until ready to fry.
  • Heat up a large skillet with 4 tablespoons of lard. Once hot, work in batches, browning the shredded pork. Remove to a paper towel-line plate.
  • Feel free to drizzle some of the remaining cooking liquids from the crock pot over the pork for a little more moisture and season with salt if desired.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 274kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 93mg | Sodium: 108mg | Potassium: 566mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 449IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 62mg | Iron: 2mg