Pork Carnitas — When the Fat Renders and the Evening Lasts Forever

Memorial Day weekend. The unofficial start of Alaska's summer, when the campgrounds open and the tourist season begins and the entire state shifts from survival mode to celebration mode. The mountains are green at the base, white at the top, the Cook Inlet is silver, the eagles are circling the salmon streams, and everywhere you look, Alaskans are outside — hiking, fishing, grilling, soaking up the light with the desperate joy of people who know exactly how short this season is.

I didn't work this weekend. Three days off in a row, which feels luxurious in a way that non-ER people wouldn't understand. Three days where no one is bleeding, no one is coding, no one needs me to be calm while they're falling apart. Three days of being a regular person, the kind who drives to Girdwood for lunch and walks on the coastal trail and cooks because she wants to, not because she needs the cooking to keep her upright.

I made inihaw na liempo — grilled pork belly, Filipino-style. Marinated in soy sauce, calamansi, garlic, and brown sugar, then grilled over charcoal until the fat renders and the edges char and the smoke curls up into the midnight sun like incense. Grilled pork belly is the national food of Filipino summer — the thing that goes on every grill at every party, the sizzle and smoke that is the soundtrack of every fiesta from Manila to Mountain View.

I grilled on the communal grill behind my apartment building, which is a sad little Weber that has seen better days but does the job. The pork belly went on at 8 PM and it was still fully light — barely a hint of dusk, the sun sitting stubbornly above the mountains, refusing to set. I stood at the grill in a flannel shirt — because Alaska summer requires layers, the temperature swinging from sixty to forty in the time it takes the sun to dip behind a cloud — and I turned the pork and watched the fat drip and sizzle on the coals.

The char is the thing. The combination of sweet marinade and direct heat creates a crust that's simultaneously caramelized, smoky, and slightly bitter, the edges almost black, the interior still juicy and rich. You eat it with vinegar dipping sauce — plain vinegar with garlic and chili, the sharpness cutting the richness, the acid cutting the fat, the simplicity cutting through everything. I ate the grilled pork belly standing at the grill at 9 PM in full daylight, licking my fingers, alone, and the alone was fine. The pork belly was better than fine. The evening was eternal. In Alaska, in summer, everything is eternal. You just have to stay up late enough to see it.

That communal Weber behind my apartment building taught me something I already knew but needed to feel again: pork cooked with patience and heat and a little sweetness is one of the most grounding things in the world. I stood at that grill for over an hour in a flannel shirt under a sun that refused to set, and I felt completely, quietly free. If you don’t have a charcoal grill — or if you’re coming off a run of shifts where standing outside for an hour sounds impossible — these pork carnitas give you that same rendered, caramelized, fall-apart richness from your slow cooker, finished under the broiler for the char that makes it real. Same spirit. Same sizzle. Same reward.

Pork Carnitas (Mexican Slow Cooker Pulled Pork)

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 8 hours | Total Time: 8 hours 15 min | Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 3 to 4 lbs bone-in pork shoulder (or boneless pork butt)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium white onion, roughly chopped
• 1 orange, juiced (about 1/3 cup juice)
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1/2 cup chicken broth

Instructions

1. Season the pork. Rub the pork shoulder all over with olive oil. In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, oregano, garlic powder, and cayenne. Rub the spice mixture evenly over all sides of the pork.
2. Load the slow cooker. Place the chopped onion and minced garlic in the bottom of the slow cooker. Set the seasoned pork on top. Pour the orange juice, lime juice, and chicken broth around (not over) the pork.
3. Cook low and slow. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours, or on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours, until the pork is completely tender and pulls apart easily with a fork.
4. Shred the pork. Transfer the pork to a large rimmed baking sheet. Shred with two forks, discarding any large pieces of fat or bone. Spoon several tablespoons of the cooking liquid over the shredded pork and toss to combine.
5. Crisp under the broiler. Set the oven to broil. Spread the shredded pork in a single layer on the baking sheet. Broil for 5 to 7 minutes, until the edges are browned and crispy. Watch carefully — the char happens fast. Toss, then broil another 3 to 5 minutes if you want more crisping.
6. Serve. Pile into warm tortillas, over rice, or in a bowl with your favorite toppings — pickled onion, fresh cilantro, sliced avocado, and a squeeze of lime are all you need.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 310 | Protein: 34g | Fat: 16g | Carbs: 4g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 420mg