Carnitas

I pulled this recipe off the Cooking Light Boards (posted by sneezles, who I wish had a blog. I suspect she leads an interesting life), although I skipped the browning step, so it isn't true carnitas. Once I shredded the meat, I added some of the (defatted) braising liquid back to the meat, along with some splashes of hot sauce and some salt. Served it up with hard taco shells (Rob's request), shredded cheese, lettuce, sour cream and more hot sauce. Absolutely delicious, tender meat and there were a TON of leftovers. Look for them to make a showing in the next few weeks.
I love that this recipe is a crockpot recipe. I know some people complain about the quality of food that crockpots can produce, but I just think they are trying to do the wrong things in it.

Crock Pot Carnitas

3 lb. pork butt roast
1 onion, sliced into rings
4 garlic cloves
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp cumin
2-3 fresh jalapeño peppers, seeded and deveined, cut into strips
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped, leaves only
1 can beer (12 ounces)
salt and pepper

Insert garlic cloves in roast; place in Crock Pot with onion, herbs, jalapeño peppers and cilantro which has been chopped. Season to taste. Pour in beer. Cook on high 4 to 6 hours until fork tender. Remove meat; shred. Or can be placed in roasting pan in preheated oven (450º) for about 15 minutes before shredding. Serve with warm tortillas, shreddded cheese and pico de gallo.
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