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This slow cooker pork carnitas recipe is awesome. There's nothing easier than throwing everything into the slow cooker before you start your day for a super easy dinner!
We have a lot of lettuce tacos around here. I usually do ground or shredded beef or fajita-style chicken. Always a great meal, but this time I was in the mood for a different kind of taco, something more like you would get at Chipotle only using a lettuce leaf in place of the tortilla.
After perusing the meat in the freezer I settled on a huge pork shoulder roast and set to hunting for a recipe. I looked at a lot of recipes and finally, I put together my own. I can't follow a recipe to save my life. I always have to change it up and customize it anyway.
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I like to use either ice burg or romaine lettuce to make a taco shell. These seem to hold up the best and are large enough to hold a substantial amount of filling. I skip the cheese since I'm dairy-free and add either homemade guacamole or fresh avocado slices, diced tomato, and salsa. I always have to have salsa!
If you're allowing a few more carbohydrates and you need a good grain-free taco shell or chip, I can definitely recommend Siete Foods. Siete makes a fantastic grain-free hard taco shell that nearly tastes like the real deal. I also really like Late July's grain-free tortilla chip. I think these taste just like a real corn chip, only better!
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Ingredients
- 3 lb boneless pork roast shoulder or butt, cut into bite-size strips
- ½ cup water
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or 2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp each: black pepper; cumin; oregano; lemon pepper
- ¼ tsp cayenne
Instructions
- Combine ingredients in crockpot.
- Cook on high 1 hour, then low 8 hours.
- Remove pork with a slotted spoon.
- Pour liquid into a nonstick skillet and boil down to about ½ c.
- Add pork and saute until browned.
- Serve with all your favorite toppings - guacamole, salsa, sour cream, etc.
I made this a while back (with a different recipe), following the similar method (reducing liquid) but then i put it all in a shallow sheet pan in the middle of the oven under the broiler to get the meat all crispy. keep an eye on it so you don't burn. i took it out and stirred it around after the top got crispy so i could get more crispy bits.
Oooh, that's a great idea! The crispy bits are the best.
I'm not easily imeprssed. . . but that's impressing me! 🙂