I know, I know . . . this is not how Carnitas is supposed to look but this is how I CUC them!  There has only been a handful of great restaurants with carnitas that I love, but most of the time, it is too dry, too fatty or too bland.  I created a recipe that combines slow-cooked pork shoulder with all of the delicious flavors in a bold, spicy tomatillo salsa.  You’ll never want traditional carnitas again!

Slow-Cooked Carnitas

2015-04-02 08:40:50

Serves 6

A spicy, tender carnitas recipe

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1. 2 lb pork shoulder (Boston Butt)
2. 2 medium yellow onions
3. bunch of cilantro
4. 2 jalapenos
5. 1 can of chipotle in adobo sauce
6. 5 medium sized tomatillos
7. 1 lime
8. Minced garlic
9. Olive oil
10. Adobo seasoning (with cumin)
11. Season salt
12. Garlic powder, onion powder and white pepper

PREP

1. Wash and cut pork into 2-3 inch chunks (do not trim fat away)
2. Pat dry and sprinkle with season salt, garlic powder, onion powder and white pepper
3. Cut 1 onion into 1-2 inch pieces

Tomatillo salsa

1. Wash all veggies and cut into big chunks (small enough for your food processor)
2. Place cut tomatillos, onion, and jalapenos in food processor, 1 tbsp of minced garlic, 1 tsp of Adobo seasoning and pulse a few times.
3. Add the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (along with the sauce), pulse a couple more times
4. Add cilantro and squeeze the juice of one lime and pulse until it is the consistency of a salsa
5. Taste and add more salt if you want to (half of this salsa will be used in the recipe, save the rest to use as a dip for chips!)
6. Put aside
7. Turn your crock pot on high
8. Add 1/4 cup of water and 2-3 bay leaves, cover the pot

CUC

1. In a large pan, add a few drops of olive oil and tsp minced garlic
2. Lay the pieces of meet in the pan and brown on all sides
3. Transfer the pork to the crockpot, keeping the juices in the pan
4. Add the chopped onion to the pan, add 1/4 cup of water and deglaze the pan
5. Transfer the onion to the crockpot
6. Add half of the tomatillo salsa on top of the meat.
7. Cover and cook on high for 2 hours
8. Toss the meat once making sure everything is submerged and turn setting to low for next 2 hours
9. Meat should be tender; shred using two forks *I have left my crockpot on warm all night (6 hrs) and the meat is perfect by morning!

Notes

1. Serve with corn tortillas, black beans and spanish rice

By Cuc Lam

Just Cuc It! https://justcucit.com/