Mexican Pork Carnitas Recipe

 

Pork Carnitas are one of our favorite Mexican staples. They're fantastic on their own, but also serve as a basis for numerous Mexican dishes, from Tacos to Tamales. This is a slow cooker recipe that you can set up and leave cooking while you go about your day.

What You'll need:

• 5-6 Lb Pork Butt or Shoulder Roast
• 3-4 Bay Leaves
• 2 Limes - squeezed
• 1 1/4 Cups Beef Broth
• 1 Red Onion
• 1/2 head of Garlic
• 3 Tbps Paprika
• 2 Tbps Olive Oil
• 1 1/2 Tbps Cumin
• 1 Tbps Smoked Paprika
• 1 Tbps Oregano
• 1/2 Tsp Salt
• 1/2 Tsp Black Pepper
• A bottle of your favorite hot sauce

Instructions

Blend the Beef Broth, Onion, Lime, and Olive Oil in a blender to create a marinade.

Combine your dry spices for your rub.

Cut your garlic into small slivers, and with a sharp paring knife, make several incision in your pork roast. Insert a sliver of garlic and top each piece of garlic with hot sauce. Repeat this step until you've used about half of a head of garlic.

Rub your spice mixture onto the pork roast, coating the entire roast.

Pour a small amount of your marinade into the bottom of your crock pot, then place the seasoned pork roast into the crock pot, and finally pour the remaining marinade over the top and sides.

Close your crock pot and cook on low, for about 1 hour per pound, or until the pork separates easily and the bone is easily removed. You really can't overcook a roast like this, so if it's not falling off the bone, let it cook a little longer. One of my biggest mistakes as an early cook was pulling roasts out of the crockpot too soon, fearing that they would get tough, when in reality I really needed to let them go longer to breakdown the connective tissue.

Allow to cool, then pull the pork by hand, removing any larger pieces of fat.

Save and strain the drippings as an au jus for reheating.

Serve in your favorite Mexican dish!