Do you ever have days when you crave for Mexican flavors like tacos with pork carnitas? Using a slow cooker makes it so easy to prepare. The best part is you can leave it alone to cook while you prepare your favorite toppings.
The process can’t be any easier. All it takes is putting all the ingredients together in the slow cooker, cover it and let it cook away. To accommodate those who can’t tolerate very spicy food (like me) I make this dish in between mild to medium.
A 4-lb pork butt roast will be perfect for this recipe. The meat needs to be cut into 6 pieces so it can cook faster and the flavors can penetrate inside the meat. As it cooks, it smells so good! Serve it with warm tortillas and toppings like cabbage slaw, smashed avocados, chopped cilantro and jalapeño, salsa and Mexican crema. Don’t forget the margarita!
Easy Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas
Ingredients
- 4 lbs pork butt roast
- 1 large onion chopped
- 1 red bell pepper cut in strips
- 1 orange, juice of
- 1 lime, juice of
- 3 garlic cloves chopped
- 1 dried pasilla or ancho chile halved crosswise
- 1 piece chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
- 1 tsp chili powder
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place chopped onion, garlic, bell pepper, dried chile, and chipotle in the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Cut pork butt in 6 pieces (if there is a bone, include it) and add it on top of the vegetables. Sprinkle pork with chili powder and season everything generously with salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Squeeze the juice of 1 orange and 1 lime over the pork and vegetables. Cover the slow cooker and let pork cook on high for 5 hours.
- When tender, use 2 forks to pull meat apart. Discard the bone. Serve pork carnitas with warm tortillas for tacos and toppings like cabbage slaw, smashed avocados, salsa, chopped green onion, radish, jalapeño and Mexican crema.