This might be the best thing to do with a pork shoulder! | Crispy and Juicy Pork Carnitas

This might be the best thing to do with a pork shoulder! | Crispy and Juicy Pork Carnitas

oh I think that’s the best thing I’ve ever eaten in my whole life so good [Music] hi I’m Nikki welcome back to our kitchen where we show you how to make delicious family friendly recipes now with this recipe the slow cooker is doing all the work to cook that pork down so it’s lovely and tender and juicy and once it’s finished slow cooking we’re going to do something with it to take it to a whole new level which in my opinion makes these the best pork carnitas ever so let’s get cooking I’ve got two kilos which is about 4.4 pounds of boneless pork shoulder here I’ve removed the skin but don’t throw it away it makes fantastic homemade pork crackling I’ve left the fat on the pork shoulder and we’re going to put that straight in the slow cooker so along with the pork we’re going to add in one diced onion five mint cloves of garlic 120 mils or half a cup of fresh orange juice it’s about the juice of two oranges then we’re going to sprinkle over two teaspoons of salt a teaspoon each of black pepper and chili flakes tablespoon of dried oregano and two teaspoons of cumin now we don’t need to do anything else with that that’s going to go straight in the slow cooker and don’t worry that it hasn’t got much juice in there the pork will release juices as it’s cooking and we’re going to use that later so that goes in the slow cooker on high for seven to eight hours or on low for 9 to 10 hours [Music] thank you [Music] after 10 hours on low that pork is going to be amazingly tender so remove it from the slow cooker and place it on a chopping board and then we’re going to use two sets of tongs to shred the pork into pieces and you can discard any pieces of fat as you go foreign tastic mountain of Juicy shredded pork we’re gonna fry it up to make it lovely and crisp and take that flavor to a whole new level we’re going to add two tablespoons of oil to a large frying pan and heat over a high heat then add that pork in and we’re going to fry it for about eight to ten minutes moving it around the pan just a couple of times until you get some lovely crispy bits don’t move it around too much otherwise it won’t crisp up chocolate once that pork is lovely and browned and crispy we’re going to add in a good Ladle full or about a cup of those juices from cooking the pork in the slow cooker we’re going to allow that to Bubble for a few minutes and that’ll add some extra flavor and juiciness to the pork foreign up some soft warm tacos and fill it with that crispy pork meat along with some chopped onions avocado and a good sprinkling of fresh coriander and that’s how you make the most delicious tender and juicy pork carnitas ever I love to serve them up just like this in tacos and don’t forget to serve up some of that extra juice from the slow cooker for dipping can’t wait to tuck in foreign [Music]

Beautifully spiced slow-cooked shredded pork, fried up to crisp perfection. You can use these pork carnitas in lots of ways, but I love to load them into soft tacos with onion and coriander (cilantro) and serve it up with a bowl of the most amazing cooking liqueur for dipping.

Free printable recipe is available on our site: https://www.kitchensanctuary.com/pork-carnitas/

Ingredients:
The pork:
2-2.25 kg (4.4lb-5lb) rolled, boneless, shoulder of pork. skin removed, but fat left on.
1 medium onion peeled and diced
5 cloves garlic peeled and minced
120 ml (½ cup) fresh orange juice this is approx. the juice from 2 oranges
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp chilli flakes optional – leave out if you don’t like it spicy
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons cumin

For frying:
2 tablespoons oil
For the tacos:
12 soft flour tortillas warmed (I use medium sized – about the size of a side plate)
2 avocados des-toned and chopped into small chunks
1 bunch fresh coriander (cilantro) roughly chopped/torn
1-2 mild onions peeled and diced
See more ideas for toppings in the notes section

Instructions:
1. Place the pork in the slow cooker, fat side up.

2. Add the onion and garlic around the sides of the pork, then pour over the orange juice. It doesn’t seem like a lot of liquid, but the pork will release liquid as it’s cooking.

3. Sprinkle on the salt, pepper, chilli flakes, oregano and cumin.

4. Cook on low for 9-10 hours or high for 7-8 hours.

5. Remove the pork from the slow cooker and place on a chopping board (I use two sets of tongs).
Shred the pork into pieces, discarding any large chunks of fat.

To fry the carnitas:
6. Heat the oil in a large frying pan, over a medium-high heat.

7. Add the shredded pork (use tongs and try to leave as much liquid behind as possible).
Fry for 8-10 minutes, moving around the pan occasionally, until you get some nice crispy bits (don’t move it around too much or it won’t crisp).

8. Once the pork is browned and crispy, add in a good ladleful (about 240ml/1 cup) of pork cooking juices to the pan, and allow it to bubble for a few minutes. This adds extra flavour and juiceness to the pork.

9. Turn off the heat and serve the pork alongside a jug of the remaining liquid from the slow cooker for drizzling. Go easy at first, as it’s quite salty.

10. If you’re making carnitas tacos, then load them up with the pork, coriander (cilantro), avocado and chopped onion (see notes for more topping ideas).

Notes
Taco Holder:
https://geni.us/tacoholder (it’s an Amazon affiliate link) to the bamboo taco holder I use in the video.

More topping ideas:
Sauces: Salsa, guacamole, soured cream, sweet chilli sauce, hot pepper sauce, salsa verde, BBQ sauce
Cheese: Grated cheddar or crumbled feta. If you can get hold Cotija (a salty, crumbly Mexican cheese), that works really well, it’s almost impossible to find in the UK though.
Vegetables: Crunchy sliced lettuce – such as romaine or baby gem, chopped spring onions (scallions), finely diced cucumber, chopped cherry tomatoes
Chillies/pickles: sliced fresh or pickled jalapenos, sliced gherkin or cornichons, pickled red onion slices. Kimchi actually works really well too.

Don’t throw away the pork skin! Use it for pork crackling.
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F (fan).
Lay the skin on a chopping board and score skin-side of the pork skin in a criss-cross/diamond pattern.
Sprinkle over 1 tablespoon of table salt, then rub it into the skin.
Transfer the skin to a rimmed baking tray (you can place on a rack on top of the baking tray if you like, but I generally don’t, as it means more washing up!)
Place in the oven and roast for 40-50 minute, until the skin is golden brown and has little bubbles all over (the bubbly bits are where it is most crispy)
Carefully remove from the oven (there will be a lot of hot liquid fat in the tray – you can save this and use for roasting potatoes).
Use a set of tongs to move the skin to a chopping board.
Carefully chop into bite-size pieces and serve.
If not serving right away, then cool the crackling pieces, transfer to a container and place a lid on. Place in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Reheat in the oven on a baking tray at 200C/400F (fan) for 8-10 minutes, until re-crisped and piping hot.

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