Secret Recipe Club: Crockpot Pork Carnitas

 

 

It has been too long since we last had a Secret Recipe Club post. I got to participate in the Cookie Swap in December, but I have missed the regular dinner inspiration of the scheduled Secret Recipe Club posts. I missed finding a new blog and searching through all the delicious recipes with my husband. I missed the anticipation the week leading up to the reveal date as I waited to find out what other people had made and if they enjoyed it. Basically, I missed this fantastic group of bloggers and all of their work. But now I'm back and ready to kick off 2015 with the club.

 

This month, I was assigned Desiree's blog, Steak N Potatoes Kinda Gurl. Based on her About Me page, I'm pretty sure we would be fast friends in real life. She's a Masters Student at Xavier University who likes books/bookstores and dislikes E-Readers. She likes Bud Lite Lime, The Bachelor (hate that I love it... such a train wreck) and  Football (sorry about the Bengals and their post season losses the last few years... it's almost as bad as being a Chargers fan...)  I might not mind cleaning or running, but they are also on my personal dislikes list.  She has great photos on her blog and an awesome, inspirational list of difficult food-things to try making.

 

In short, I think we would get along. :-)

 

Desi had so many great recipes on her blog like her Jalapeno Poppers or her White Chicken Chili.  They all look so great, but I decided on her AMAZING Crockpot Pork Carnitas. I bought up about 10 things to choose from and my husband instantly went with the carnitas. I couldn't sway him towards anything else. I am so happy he chose this recipe because it was incredibly delicious and easy. We had three other friends over for dinner that night and we had so many leftovers. We served these great carnitas with a vinegar cabbage slaw, black beans, Spanish rice and my homemade flour tortillas. It was a fantastic Friday night dinner.

 

I wasn't sure if I believed her recipes when she said to put these carnitas under the broiler for 10 minutes. It sounded like a really long time, but they turned out perfectly with just the right ratio of tender pork to crunchy outer pieces. Check it after 5 minutes, but trust the timing of this recipe.

 

Thanks again for this awesome recipe Desi. I know I'll be back to pull more ideas from your blog and your recipe bucket list.

 



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Crockpot Carnitas

Ingredients

• 4-5 lbs boneless pork butt
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 Tbsp hot sauce (I use Marie Sharp's Belizian Heat)
• 3 bay leaves
• juice of 2 limes
• 1 bottle of beer (I use Dos Equis)
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup salsa (I use Jack's Special Garden Fresh)
• queso fresco, white onion, red radish and cilantro for serving

Directions

1. Mix garlic, salt, cumin, chili powder, oregano, pepper, cinnamon and cayenne pepper together and rub all over the pork. Place in a large container in the refrigerator.
2. Pour lime juice, hot sauce, bay leaves, beer, orange juice and salsa over the top. Let refrigerate overnight.
3. In the morning, pour pork with marinade in the crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours until tender.
4. Pull pork apart with forks and put under the broiler for 10 minutes until crisped around the edges
5. Serve with all your desired toppings and warm tortillas. Store pork by putting a little extra braising liquid with the pork so it doesn't dry out too much.

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