Slow Cooked Pulled Pork Carnitas

Course Main Course, Pork

Cuisine American, Mexican Inspired

Keyword carnitas, crockpot-pork-carnitas, slow-cooked-pork-carnitas

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 8 hours

Total Time 8 hours 10 minutes

Servings servings

Calories 340kcal

Author Melissa Sperka

Ingredients

1 5-6 lb pork butt/shoulder
1 10 oz can diced tomatoes & chilies [such as Rotel Chili Fixins']
1 large sweet onion halved, thinly sliced/diced
⅓ cup cilantro roughly chopped
3 tablespoon tomato paste plus additional as needed
20 corn tortillas
Paste rub:
4 cloves garlic minced
2-3 chipotle in adobo chopped
1 ½ tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lime juice
3 tablespoon taco or fiesta seasoning [i.e. McCormick's or Weber]
1 teaspoon ancho chili powder or paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon cayenne
⅛ teaspoon cinnamon
salt & black pepper to taste
Assorted toppings: Shredded lettuce queso fresco, Pico de Gallo, sour cream

Instructions

Spray the bottom and sides of a 6 quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Pour the tomatoes on the bottom. Sprinkle the chopped onion and cilantro on top.
Mix together all of the ingredients for the paste. Rub the pork on all sides liberally using all of the paste.
Season with salt & black pepper to your taste.
Center in the slow cooker. Cook on high for 1 hour then on low for 7-8 hours.
Remove from the slow cooker, shred the pork and remove the bone.
Use a large spoon to skim the fat drippings from the top of the sauce. [Tip: If preparing in advance. remove the pork butt from the sauce and chill. The fat will solidify and rise to the top, and can easily be removed]
Thicken the sauce with 3 tablespoon of tomato paste, more if desired. Adjust the seasonings., salt and pepper to your taste. Return the shredded meat to the sauce.
Simmer on high for 15-20 minutes. Keep warm until serving.
Serve with warm corn tortillas and your favorite toppings.

Notes

Depending on the amount of liquid released by the pork, you may need more than 3 tablespoon of tomato paste for thickening. Use your best judgment and thicken as needed.

Nutrition