Crockpot Carnitas

 

So I think I've mentioned my love of pork.  It's so versatile, so yummy, so easy.  Carnitas in the crockpot is awesome easy.  I'll have to take a better pic to do it justice.

Take your pork shoulder (also called pork butt - even though it's the shoulder - why?  I don't know), cut into 2 inch cubes.  Precision is not important here - smaller, bigger, whatever - make it fit in the pot.  Put the pork chunks in a gallon Ziploc.  Add in spices (salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano, and cumin), zip up, and mix it around.  At this point, you can freeze the bag of pork and just pull it out when you want it.  Dump the pork with a bit of water into your crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 4-6 hours.

I picked up some pork shoulder last week when I was kid free, cut it all up and stuffed it in the freezer.  This morning, before dashing out of the house, I pulled the bag of pork out of the freezer and dumped it in my crockpot FROZEN.

When I got home, the house smelled wonderful and I had soft, tender, fall apart carnitas waiting for my grumbling tummy.  Cooking does not get easier than this!

Crockpot Carnitas

adapted from cdKitchen's Carnitas

Ingredients:
2-3 pounds pork shoulder (also called pork butt)
1 small or medium onion, quartered (optional)
1 large clove garlic, minced OR 1/8 t garlic powder
1 t salt
1/4 t dried oregano, crushed
1/2 t cumin
3/4 c water
vegetable oil cooking spray

Directions:

1. Cut pork shoulder into 2 inch cubes.
2. Sprinkle garlic (or garlic powder), 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon oregano, and 1/2 teaspoon cumin on top and mix until seasonings are well distributed.
3. Spray crock pot with vegetable oil cooking spray.  If adding onion, add onion, then pork on top.  Pour water on top of pork.
4. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-6 hours.
5. Use fork to shred pork and serve with corn or flour tortillas for yummy carnitas tacos, or put on a roll with BBQ sauce for BBQ pork sandwiches.

Enjoy!