Crispy Pork Carnitas for Tacos

Crispy Pork Carnitas for tacos

I made these for McKay's birthday one year recently. We all fell in love with the delicious taste and was really easy to make.  I prefer the oven method but, if you have all day and want to use a slow cooker the directions are there too.  Just be sure and crisp them up before you serve them. 

Carnitas

• 4 pounds boneless pork butt (or shoulder)

• 3 teaspoons salt

• 2 teaspoon pepper

• 1 tablespoon dried oregano (or Mexican oregano)

• 1 tablespoon ground cumin

• 1 large white onion, cut into wedges

• 8 cloves garlic, or 4 teaspoons minced

• 2 limes , juiced

• 2 large oranges , juiced (or 3/4 cup orange juice)

• 3/4 cup coke or 1 mini can of dr pepper (Original or Mexican coke is ideal)
• 2 bay leaves
• 
  
• INSTRUCTIONS

Rinse and pat dry pork with a paper towel. In a cast iron pot with a lid put the meat and all the other ingredients on top of the pork and cover. Place in oven at 350 for about 5 hours.  Uncover the meat and cook for an additional hour letting the oven crisp up the outside of the pork. In the pan shred in large chunks for tacos.  The crispy outside and the soft inside of the meat is what makes it so good.  All the liquid in the pan will be absorbed when you shred it and will keep the meat moist.

Or you may cook it this way with more steps:  

Slow cooker method: In the bowl of a 6-quart slow cooker, add pork, salt, pepper, oregano, cumin, onion, garlic, lime juice, orange juice, coke, and bay leaves.
Cover and cook on low heat setting for 8-10 hours, or high heat for 5-6 hours (until the meat falls apart). After you cook it you will need to crisp in the oven or on the stove. 

TO CRISP IN THE OVEN:Transfer the pork to a baking sheet lightly sprayed with cooking oil spray (or lined with aluminium foil or parchment paper).
Pour 1 ladle full (about 1 cup) of the liquid from the slow cooker over the pork to season. Broil for 5-10 minutes on high heat until the meat becomes golden browned and crispy on the edges.
TO CRISP ON STOVE:Heat about 1 tablespoon of oil in a non stick pan or cast iron skillet over high heat. When pan is hot, add pork in batches of two or three, and sear until just beginning to crisp. Ladle over about 1/2 cup of left over liquid, and continue cooking until the juices begin to reduce down and the meat is nice and crispy!

TO SERVE:
Pour over more of the slow cooker juices once the meat has crisped for added flavour, just before serving! Serve in Tacos, Burritos, or in a salad!