Sunday, October 22, 2006

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.
__________________

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yum! I agree with two of your points-I too think Sneezles must live a fascinating life.
I also like to do certain things in the crockpot. When you have a tough cut of meat and some time, it can work wonders!
The recipe sounds delish.

wheresmymind said...

IN-credible...that looks TOO damn good :)

Anonymous said...

Great recipe! I love crock pot recipes, especially authentic Mexican. Here's a thought - try adding the zest of 1/2 an orange with the other ingredients. It is a traditional carnitas ingredient, and while you can't really taste the citrus, it adds another flavor dimension to the dish.

Anonymous said...

Good recipe, another couple of ingredients are condensed milk (removes any stronger flavors)and Coke. Orange juice or Pineapple will tenderize and flavor the pork.
This is traditionally used in slow roasted pork as a glaze, down south. Adds a little something eh?

love authentic Mexican recipes! said...

I love authentic Mexican and I have never tried crock pot carnitas! I'm going to try this out this weekend!