Have you eaten at Chipotle Mexican Grill? Well, my family and I eat there on a regular basis. My daughter’s diet limits eating out a bit, but we have found Chipotle to be consistently delicious (they only use fresh ingredients) and not harmful to her tummy. (We skip the rice in our burrito bowls.)
After having Chipotle’s carnitas for about the 57th time, I decided to try and make them at home. I doubt that highly esteemed chef and owner, Steve Ells, would make carnitas this way, but I have to say – it has become one of our favorites. Does it mean I will forsake my beloved Chipotle carnitas? No way! But, it is nice to make a big batch at home and freeze the leftovers.
This recipe is easy to make and my husband, especially, oohs and ahhs over it. I hope you enjoy it too. Ingredients are important, so be sure to use good quality pork. I buy boneless pork shoulder roast (a/k/a pork butt, Boston butt or Boston shoulder) from my Whole Foods or Fresh Market.
Serve the Carnitas over a heap of cooked white navy beans and top with homemade salsa, guacamole and lettuce. The carnitas would be delicious in a grain free tortilla such as Simple Paleo Tortillas (Stupid Easy Paleo), Plantain Wraps (Simple and Merry) and Tortillas (Against All Grain).
- 1 (3-4 lb.) pork shoulder roast or Boston Butt with fat cap removed
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 5 bay leaves
- 1 orange
- 1 lime
- 1 onion, peeled and cut into eighths
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed
- Rinse pork roast and pat dry.
- In a small bowl, mix all spices together. Rub spices on the roast, coating all sides. Place in a slow cooker and turn on low. (Throw leftover spice mix into slow cooker.)
- Squeeze lime juice into slow cooker. Squeeze orange juice into cooker and throw in orange halves as well. Add bay leaves, onion, and smashed garlic.
- Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours, depending on slow cooker. The meat is ready when it can easily be pierced with a fork and fall apart. If it's still firm, it needs more time.
- When finished cooking, remove meat from slow cooker. It should be falling apart. Shred into chunks, removing the large pieces of fat.
- For the sauce - Heat a large pot on medium to medium high.
- Strain the sauce from the slow cooker into the pot, discarding the solids.
- Bring to a boil and reduce the liquid by about three/fourths. This should take around 10-20 minutes if yo are boiling it steadily. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Pour sauce over meat and carefully mix together.
- You can eat it at this point BUT the following extra step takes delicious to fabulous and is very easy.
- Line a rimmed cookie sheet with tin foil. Place a stainless steel cooling rack into the rimmed pan.
- Spread the meat (with the sauce incorporated) onto the cooling rack.
- Broil the meat for a few minutes until the edges are crispy. Watch carefully and do not overcook.
We absolutely loved the Pork Carnitas! Thanks for a great recipe 🙂
http://heal-balance-live.blogspot.com/2011/10/recipe-review-pork-carnitas-from-my-big.html
I'm SO glad you liked the recipe! Thank you for trying it and for the encouragement!
Making Carnitas again and thinking about you! Thanks for the inspirational recipes. I hope we can get together again soon.
Ooops – you know me as Dawn – not Olga! Ha!
Jen! Although we do not have food allergies and are not on a limited diet, I decided to give them a try! Delicious! Next time I need to reduce the sauce down a little bit more because it wasn’t quite thick enough. Thanks for the great recipe!
These were AMAZING! Two things I learned when making them: Be sure you use the right cut of meat (Boston butt), and be sure you use SMOKED paprika. The first time I made carnitas I didn’t do those two things; the second time I did, and what a difference! They are now a family favorite!
Just tried your recipe tonight, it was fabulous!!!
I also threw in 5 juniper berries and added a little bit of beef stock to have plenty of that amazing sauce!
Thank you Sarah! So glad you enjoyed them. Carnitas are one of our favorite meals and one I like to serve to guests.
Take care-
XO
Jen
Did you add the beef broth to the crock Pot or to the sauce pan?
Do you mean the beef broth from cooking? The recipe talks about what to do with the accumulated juices from cooking everything in the crock pot. You strain it into a sauce pan and then cook it down. It’s YUMMY and really makes the dish.
Hope you enjoy.
Jen
This really was delicious and will definitely make again
I meant to add that I served this with a side dish of Roasted mini peppers from this simplerecipes.me
Thank you for sharing all of these great recipes!
This was a gluten free, dairy free, sugar free meal. Yummm!
Thank you so much Lindy-lou! (love your name BTW) It’s one of our favorite dishes. I usually make extra and freeze for an easy meal.
XO
Jen
Made the carnitas for my birthday party with pickled red onions, Pico de gallo and shredded mexican cheese in corn tortillas. Everyone raved about the pork and my gluten free friends were so thankful For the tasty meal. Excellent recipe!
Um… these are amazing! I even skipped the last step and they were still so moist and delicious. Nothing dry about this meat at all. Cooked for 8-9 hours. I enjoyed them on butter lettuce leaves with homemade guacamole and sautéed bell peppers. Will be making this again and again!! Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for letting me know.
Jen