Easy Crock Pot Carnitas

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The crockpot is typically considered a cold weather accessory. Slow cooking ragu, pot roast, soups, and stews are the norm. But what if I told you I was shaking the slow cooking trend up a bit, and ushering in spring with a crock-pot carnitas recipe? Brace yourselves. I’ve done it. After purchasing some random boneless pork at my favorite market. There’s something to be said about buying unfamiliar things at the market because the price has been reduced. Turns out it’s the ticket to unexpected deliciousness. It took me a few weeks to figure out how to best use it, but it was totally worth it. 

The slow cooker is ideal for cooking things that need a low and slow type preparation. I literally tossed this pork shoulder in with a can of beer, put it on low for eight hours, and got flavorful, tender, falling apart pork, perfect for tacos and tostados. The hardest part of this meal was toasting the tortillas.

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What You’ll Need:

A boneless pork shoulder or similar cut. (mine was about three pounds)
A tablespoon of canola or vegetable oil
A regular 8oz can of beer
2 tablespoons of cumin
Tablespoon of minced garlic
One large onion
Tablespoon of chili powder
2 teaspoons of salt
About a teaspoon of pepper

What You’ll Do:

Heat the canola oil on high heat in a large frying pan. Add the pork and sear until it’s a deep lovely brown on all sides. Transfer from the pan to your slow cooker.

Now the fun part! Dice your onions, mince your garlic, crack that can of beer open and dump everything on in there. No need to get fancy with your beer, I snagged can of boyfriend’s Bud Light. It helps breakdown the meat and makes it super tender.

Cook in your slow cooker for eight hours on low. Run some errands, maybe catch a baseball game. Eight hours later, lift the wonderfully cooked, tender pork shoulder out onto your counter and shred with two forks. I used mine right away for tacos, and the next morning for breakfast tostadas.