Carnitas

On the way home from our East coast trip I was planning my dinner menu for the week. I knew I wanted to try to make pork carnitas, but at that moment I couldn't even remember the name of the dish, all I could see is the dish in my head. Then I turned on twitter and one of the gals that I tweet with a lot mentioned she was making that dish. What a small world! Luckily Laine from http://justplainlaine.com/ shared her recipe with me and it was yummy!  So now I am sharing it with you! For all you quilters out there Laine has a great blog, right now she is showing us some fun quilting/sewing gadgets that are must haves!

Crock Pot Carnitas

3 lb. pork butt roast or tenderloin
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbs olive oil
2 limes
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp chili powder
1 bottle/can beer (a Mexican beer works nice here)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Toppings can include:
Fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and deveined, cut into strips
Fresh cilantro, chopped, leaves only
Avocado slices
Pico de gallo
Shredded cheddar cheese
Lime wedges
 
Mix the olive oil, juice of two limes, oregano, cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper and garlic cloves. Stir the dressing well.
Place in the crockpot.
Pour dressing over roast and then top with the beer.
Cook on high 4 to 6 hours until fork tender.
Remove the roast from the crockpot and  place in a caserole dish. Roast the pork at 350 from 30 minutes to get a nice color on the top. Or you can pan sear it, either way works.
Shred the pork with 2 forks. Add a bit of the cooking liquid from the crockpot to keep the pork moist.
Serve on warmed tortillas (I used white corn tortillas) and any topping you would like.
I used chopped cilantro, avocado slices and a spritz of lime. 
Laine serves with warm tortillas, shredded cheese and pico de gallo.

Enjoy!

Sha :)