Screamin' Good Carnitas

Screamin' Good Carnitas
4.5 (2 ratings)
This is a sure hit for any event. I have friends who served these carnitas at their big family Christmas get-together. People kept telling them all afternoon that they’d never enjoyed a Christmas dinner more!—Phyllis Good, author of Stock the Crock12 taco recipes that break tradition
Servings
4
Ingredients
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 4 -pound boneless pork butt roast
  • 2 cup chicken broth
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 ⁄2 to 3⁄4 cup orange juice
  • salsa
  • sour cream
  • fresh tomatoes, chopped
  • red onion, chopped
  • shredded lettuce
  • fresh cilantro, chopped
  • guacamole
  • sliced black olives
  • hot sauce
  • jalapeño chile slices
  • radish slices
Directions
  1. Grease the interior of the slow cooker crock with butter or nonstick cooking spray.
  2. In a small bowl, mix together the salt, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, coriander, and cinnamon. Rub the spice mixture all over the pork roast, holding it over the cooker so any get-away spices fall into the cooker. Lay the rubbed roast in the prepared crock.
  3. Pour the chicken broth down along the sides of the cooker (you don’t want to wash off the rub). Lay in the bay leaves.
  4. Cover. Cook on Low 8 to 10 hours, or until the pork shreds easily with a fork. Remove and discard the bay leaves.
  5. If you’re home, turn the meat over after it has cooked 4 hours. If you can’t do this, the flavor will still be good.
  6. Remove the pork from the crock and use 2 forks to shred it.
  7. Place the shredded meat in a bowl. Stir in the orange juice. Add some of the liquid remaining in the crock to moisten the meat as much as you want.
  8. If you have time, preheat your oven to 400°F. Spread the meat on 1 or 2 large, greased baking sheets. Bake it for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the meat begins to crisp on the bottom and around the edges. Then broil it for 5 minutes or so, drizzling it with additional sauce so it continues to get crispy but doesn’t burn.
  9. Serve the pork as filling for tamales, enchiladas, and/or burritos, with desired toppings. Or, serve it on buns or over white rice.
  10. Excerpted from Stock the Crock by Phyllis Good. Copyright © 2017 Oxmoor House.