Pork Carnitas

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Carnitas

Suzanne Elizabeth Anderson

There are few things I love more than pulled pork in all of its garlicky, peppery, yumminess.

What I like even more is that it’s the perfect meal to make in the summer when you’d rather be outside than inside. Using a slow cooker to allows you to invest about 5 minutes of prep time, then turn the slow cooker on low, come back in 8 to 10 hours and dinner is ready. Meanwhile, you get to enjoy your day.

Another advantage of slow cooker pork carnitas is its versatility:

•   Serve with rice and vegetables

•   Add a bun, BBQ sauce, and chips and eat out on the deck

•   Grab some soft tacos, cilantro, cohito cheese for pork tacos

•   Change up your usual chili recipe by swapping in pulled pork

•   Or try my recipe for pork enchiladas with homemade tomatillo sauce

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Place the following ingredients in your slow cooker, turn on Low, let cook fro 8-10 hours:

·      Pork Shoulder Roast

·      1 cup of chicken stock or 8 oz of beer

·      ¼ cup of lime juice, bitter orange juice

·      4 cloves of garlic

·      ½ teaspoon smoked paprika

·      1 teaspoon of cumin

·      2 teaspoons of chili powder

·      salt and pepper to taste

Tomatillo Sauce or Salsa

Place the following ingredients on a baking sheet, place under the broiler for 4 minutes, until the skins of the tomatillos blister. Then place the ingredients in a food processor and blend until you get a chunky sauce. You can use this as a salsa with chips or as a sauce for your enchiladas.

·      1 lb tomatillos, remove the papery outer skin

·      2 onions, outer skin removed, cut in half

·      4 cloves are garlic

·      1 jalapeno, cut in half, seeds removed

Pulled Pork Enchiladas

This is a great make-ahead meal because all the ingredients are already cooked. You can freeze or take to a pot-luck dinner.

Preheat an oven for 350F.

·      Coat the bottom of a 9x13inch baking dish a thin layer of the tomatillo sauce.

·      Holding your flour or corn tortilla in one hand, add shredded pepper-jack cheese, shredded pork, close gently and place seam-side down in the baking dish. Continue until baking dish is filled.

·      Ladle the tomatillo sauce over the enchiladas and top with the remaining shredded cheese.

·      At this point, you can freeze the dish for later. Or bake it for 20-30 minutes until the enchiladas are heated through and the cheese is melted.

Enjoy!

This week’s book review: The Elements of Pizza by Ken Forkish

If you've read my blog for any length of time, you know I'm crazy about pizza. I love pizza because there are an infinite variety of topping you can try to suit your mood. For example, take the pulled pork we cooked today and use that as your meat topping with hot peppers and cheese!

When The Elements of Pizza became available on bloggingforbooks.com, I jumped at the chance to request a review copy. I'm happy to report that it is as good as I'd hope!  

The directions for making your own pizza dough are straightforward and easy to follow. You will be up and running quickly.

And then the fun begins.

There are endless varieties: There are the classic pizzas with meats and vegetarian varieties that will have you searching the Farmer's Market for gorgeous vegetables to make your own versions, such as:

•   Pizza Margherita

•   Pomodoro Royale

•   Prosciutto and Bufala

•   Pizza Bianca

But what I can't wait to try are the creative ones such as:

•   Mortadella and Pistachio Pizza

•   Chanterelle and Garlic Pizza

•   Raclette Pizza

•   Escarole Pizza

•   Zucchini Blossom Pizza

I'm willing to bet that within a year, this book will be covered in messy fingerprints. If you are a pizza lover like me, you will love The Elements of Pizza.

Suzanne Elizabeth Anderson is the author of 10 books, including a cookbook: Comfort Me: Easy Meals to Bring Your Family Back to the Table Join Suzanne at: www.facebook.com/suzanneelizabeths or www.suzanneelizabeths.com.