Slow Cooker Carnitas

I love my slow cooker.  Normally I use it when I will be away all day or too busy with other things to cook.  Woe to me, however, if I'm in the house while I'm using it and have to smell delicious cooking smells all day long.  I swear my stomach rumbles all day. Here is a new recipe I just tried, and it is very good.  It is shredded Mexican pork, which we used to make soft tacos.

Slow Cooker Carnitas

• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon crumbled dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 pound boneless pork shoulder roast
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup chicken broth (I used a bullion cube and water) 

 
Mix together spices in a bowl. Coat pork with the spice mixture. Place the bay leaf in the bottom of a slow cooker and place the pork on top. Pour the chicken broth around the sides of the pork, being careful not to rinse off the spice mixture.

Cover and cook on Low until the pork shreds easily with a fork, about 7 hours. Turn the meat after it has cooked for 3 hours. When the pork is tender, remove from slow cooker, and shred with two forks. 

Ok, here is how I changed the recipe, it isn't much.  I only had two pork shoulder steaks which were maybe a pound instead of the 2lb required in this recipe.  I still made it exactly the same, so when the pork was done I had loads of liquid.  I dumped everything into a saucepan, removing the bay leaf, and shredded the pork with two forks.  Then I put it on to boil and reduced the sauce down.  It only took 10-15 minutes on medium heat, and it left me with really succulent shredded pork, it was very good.

We used the shredded pork to make soft tacos (because the tortillas I had in the freezer were too small for burritos).  To make the tacos we added shredded lettuce, tomatoes, black olives, salsa.  Then we had Mexican rice on the side.  Yum!

Here is where I HOP: