Slow Cooker Carnitas

For Father's Day this year, I decided to make my husband one of his absolute favorite dishes:  carnitas!  However, I also wanted to spend the day celebrating how awesome of a dad my husband is, and not just be stuck in the kitchen all day, so I decided to use a slow cooker recipe.  The beauty of a slow cooker is that it can turn the toughest and cheapest of meats into the juiciest, tenderest of meats. The blog Gimme Some Oven has a fantastic recipe that I used as a base, only altering some of the seasonings to fit my own needs.  The result?  Perfect carnitas that only tasted like I spent the day in the kitchen making them!

Slow Cooker Carnitas

Recipe Adapted from Gimme Some Oven

INGREDIENTS

1 Tbsp Coconut or Oil of Choice

2-2.5 lbs Boneless Pork Roast (I used a Pork Loin Roast)

1/2 Onion, diced

4 Garlic Cloves, minced

4 oz Beer--a lager or amber style preferably (chicken broth can be substituted)

1-2 Tbsp Minced Chipoltes in Adobo Sauce (depending on how spicy you like it)

1 tsp Cumin

1/2 tsp Ancho Chili Powder (or regular Chili Powder)

1 tsp Sea or Kosher Salt

DIRECTIONS

1.  Heat oil over medium-high in a skillet large enough to fit pork. Add the pork and sear each side until browned.  Using tongs, remove the pork and add it to the slow cooker.  Turn the now-empty skillet down to medium, and add in the onions.  Sauté until it starts to brown, about 2 minutes, and then add the onions to the slow cooker too, along with any leftover oil in the skillet.

2.  Pour the beer over the pork in the slow cooker, and then sprinkle on the garlic, chipolte peppers, cumin, chili powder, and salt.

3.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours, stirring occasionally and flipping meat if possible, until cook is tender enough to shred with a fork.  Turn off slow cooker and preheat your oven's broiler and line a baking pan with aluminum foil.

4.  Shred your pork with two forks.  Using tongs or a slotted spoon, remove the pork and spread it out evenly over the lined baking pan, leaving the broth in the slow cooker.

5.  Broil pork for 5 minutes and remove from oven.  Flip meat with a spatula.  Ladle 1/8 cup of the broth left in the slow cooker, and drizzle it evenly over the shredded pork, and then broil pork for another 5 minutes, or until slightly crispy.  Remove from heat and drizzle with an additional 1/8 cup of broth.

6.  Serve immediately or refrigerate or freeze.  I like my carnitas served in warmed corn tortillas, with avocado, onions, lime wedges, diced tomatoes, and cilantro for toppings.

TIPS:

Don't use a hoppy beer; it will make it bitter.

If you use a fattier cut of meat, take the time to cut off any excess fat you can see