Slow Cooker Carnitas - all the flavor but not all the fat! It's actually a way to braise the pork butt, and it takes almost no effort and you really can't mess it up either. I'm actually tripling the recipe and making it for my son's birthday party this weekend in a larger electric roaster, but I've also made it at home and with less meat just for my husband and I, and we definitely had leftovers to enjoy for lunch the next day :) I got the recipe from a cooking website, I think allrecipes.com or cooks.com. Those are both really good places to hunt for recipes online. Anyhow, on to the recipe...
Slow Cooker Carnitas
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 (4 pound) boneless pork shoulder roast
2 bay leaves
2 cups chicken broth
Directions:
1. Mix together salt, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, coriander, and cinnamon in a bowl. Coat pork with the spice mixture. Place the bay leaves 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.
2. Cover and cook on Low until the pork shreds easily with a fork, about 10 hours. Turn the meat after it has cooked for 5 hours. When the pork is tender, remove from slow cooker, and shred with two forks. Use cooking liquid as needed to moisten the meat
***Notes: Cut up the roast into 4 to 6 smaller pieces to create more surface area for spice rub. Triple amount of spices (except cinnamon) to have enough to coat the meat on all sides. I usually use bone in pork butt instead of the roast, and I have the butcher cut it up in smaller pieces for me. When it's done the bones slide right out very easily. In fact the whole thing shreds with just tongs, you don't even need the forks!
Serve this as pulled pork on buns, or in tortillas, with or without sauce. My husband likes to add salsa or hot sauce to his, I like it plain, my sister chooses BBQ sauce. Whatever is your preference :) Enjoy!!