Roasted Slow Cooker Carnitas – Spices and Citrus Make Slow Cooking Burst with Flavor

Slow Cooker Carnitas

Right around the time of the last post on this blog, I went back to work. It wasn’t my dream job, doing marketing part-time for some small but meaningful company, but it was for a wonderful organization surrounded by great people. Juggling the new schedule just sucked all the creativity right out of me. I didn’t want to cook. I didn’t want to blog. I worked. I exercised. I was a loving mom. I snuggled with my dogs. And that was my limit. All of my hunger to create just about anything dried up.

Western night during shelter in place. 

Then last March, the world ground to a halt, for me, for you, for everyone around the world. My job was on hold and I spent the first few months embracing sweatpants and bingeing a lot of Netflix, but eventually I found my way back to cooking and canning. Cookbooks splattered with sauce splatters sat on my countertops, day after day, providing inspiration and good meals. Over time, I found myself missing this blog, specifically my musings and having a beautiful place to record new recipes.

So this is my return to French Foodie Mom, my commitment to putting my recipes in a safer place than a big messy pile at the end of my kitchen counter and also my commitment to take the time to reflect on life, food, and family.

I’m starting with this slow cooker carnitas recipe.

Taco Tuesday is my family’s favorite day of the week, but I have to admit that over time I started to dread it.

I had nightmares of the sizzling ground beef with its puddles of glistening orange grease. I had to make a change. This slow cooker carnitas recipe let me love Taco Tuesday with the same passion as my husband and kids. It’s a dish that pretty much cooks itself, and gives you lots of leftovers to use all week in salads, sandwiches, and just to snack on.

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Slow Cooker Carnitas

Yield: 10

Author: Vanessa Druckman

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 4 HourTotal time: 4 H & 15 M

Thanks to lots of spices and fresh citrus juices, this slow cooker carnitas recipe is full of flavor, not your usual bland slow cooker mush.

Ingredients

Slow Cooker Carnitas

• 1 bone in pork shoulder or pork butt (4-5 pounds)
• juice of 2 oranges
• juice of 3 limes
• 1 onion, minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons of cumin
• 1 teaspoon of ancho chili powder
• 2 teaspoons of black pepper
• 2 teaspoons of salt

Instructions

1. Mince the onion and garlic
2. Juice the limes and oranges.
3. Brown the pork for 3-4 minutes on each side, either in your multi-function slow cooker, or in a pan. Lately, I like to make this dish in a dutch oven and cook it at low heat in the oven.
4. Add in the spices, onion, garlic, and juices. Set the slow cooker to low and cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 7-8 hours. If using a dutch oven to cook in your oven, set it to 300 and cook for 4-5 hours, peeking on it after a few hours to see if you need to add a little more citrus juice if it's gotten too dry.
5. Using a fork, break apart the meat. It should fall apart easily. Lay it flat on a cookie sheet and broil for 3-4 minutes to crisp it up. Serve with all the taco trimmings of your choice.