Slow Cooker Carnitas

The blog hit twenty-five thousand total readers this week, which is a number that makes me sit back in my truck cab and think about the reach of words. Twenty-five thousand people have read something I wrote at a rest stop or a kitchen table in Grand Island, Nebraska. Twenty-five thousand people know about my chili, my chocolate sheet cake, my kids, my truck. Twenty-five thousand people have been inside my life through words, and I have been inside theirs through the recipes they send back to me: photos of their slow cooker chili, their tater tot casserole, their kids eating my hamburger casserole at tables I will never see in kitchens I will never visit.

I received a message from a man this week, a trucker in Montana, who said he reads my blog every week and he started cooking in his truck because of me and his wife says the food he brings home is better than the food he used to eat on the road and his health has improved and his marriage has improved because he comes home happier. He said a happy trucker is a better husband, and he credits me. I do not know if that is true but I know it made me pull into a rest stop and sit quietly for a long time and think about how a recipe is a bridge. It connects the person who made it to the person who makes it next. And bridges can hold more weight than you think.

I made a new recipe this week that I am excited about: slow cooker carnitas. Pork shoulder rubbed with cumin, oregano, chili powder, garlic, and orange juice. Eight hours on low. The pork gets tender and then you shred it and broil it under the oven broiler to get crispy edges. Served in tortillas with cilantro, onion, and lime. The crispy edges are the key. Without the crispy edges, it is just pulled pork. With the crispy edges, it is transcendent.

I could not do the broil step in the truck, obviously, so I made it at home on Sunday and the family ate it for dinner. Justin ate six tacos. Six. I counted. Amber ate two and said the crispy parts are the best parts. Tyler ate four. Josie ate the pork plain with rice because she is in an anti-tortilla phase that will pass the way all Josie phases pass: suddenly and without explanation.

So here it is — the recipe that made Justin eat six tacos and left Amber picking out every last crispy edge from the sheet pan. After a week of sitting with that trucker’s message and thinking about what it means when twenty-five thousand people let you into their kitchens, I wanted to share the dish that reminded me why I started writing these recipes in the first place. The crispy edges are the whole point, so don’t skip the broiler step. This one’s a bridge worth crossing.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 8 hours 10 minutes | Total Time: 8 hours 25 minutes | Servings: 8

Ingredients

3 to 4 pounds boneless pork shoulder (also called pork butt)
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup fresh orange juice (about 2 oranges)
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon olive oil

For Serving

Corn or flour tortillas, warmed
Fresh cilantro, chopped
White onion, diced
Lime wedges
Salsa of your choice

Instructions

Season the pork. In a small bowl, mix together the cumin, oregano, chili powder, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Pat the pork shoulder dry and rub the spice mixture all over the meat.
Place in slow cooker. Set the pork in the slow cooker. Scatter the minced garlic over and around the pork. Pour the orange juice, lime juice, and olive oil over the top.
Cook low and slow. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours, until the pork is fall-apart tender and shreds easily with two forks.
Shred the pork. Remove the pork from the slow cooker and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Shred with two forks, discarding any large pieces of fat. Spoon about 1/3 cup of the cooking liquid over the shredded meat and toss to coat.
Broil for crispy edges. Set your oven broiler to high. Spread the shredded pork in an even layer on the baking sheet. Broil for 4 to 5 minutes, watching closely, until the edges are golden and crispy. Toss the pork, spread it out again, and broil for another 3 to 4 minutes until you get a second round of crispy bits.
Serve. Pile the carnitas into warm tortillas and top with cilantro, diced onion, and a squeeze of fresh lime.

Nutrition (per serving)

Slow Cooker Carnitas — A Recipe That Bridges Twenty-Five Thousand Readers