With most of the heavy-lifting done by a slow cooker, this juicy and flavorful dinner will quickly become a weeknight staple! In this video, Nicole shows you how to make her easy recipe for slow cooker carnitas. Served alongside a homemade margarita, the tender and seasoned meat from the pork shoulder practically melts in your mouth. To learn how to enjoy this fulfilling meal in your own home, watch this video!
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00:00 By the end of this video, I'm gonna convince you
00:02 that this is gonna become a staple in your household.
00:04 This is my version of carnitas, okay?
00:07 What makes mine different than the true authentic version
00:10 is that I'm making it in the crock pot
00:12 because I'm all about ease.
00:14 Very minimal ingredients,
00:15 nothing to be intimidated by here.
00:17 All you need are a few things and some time.
00:20 So I'm starting out with just boneless pork shoulder.
00:24 You could do this with the bone in
00:25 and then shred it off the bone later,
00:27 but those folks in the meat department
00:28 were being nice today.
00:30 And I'm gonna cut it into like four to six large chunks.
00:34 Carnitas literally translate into little meats
00:37 or little pieces of meat.
00:39 So what it is is like a braised, roasted pork shoulder,
00:43 so tender that it shreds apart.
00:45 Then we make it crispy.
00:46 Salt and pepper, a little bit of chili powder and cumin.
00:51 This is ancho chili powder,
00:53 which just has a little bit of a smokier taste,
00:55 but you could just use regular.
00:56 The cumin also just adds that kind of smokiness
01:00 and it's gonna pair really well with the citrus.
01:02 And then a little bit of garlic powder
01:04 because I'm just being lazy with the fresh garlic.
01:07 I'm just gonna take this, sear it,
01:10 and I'll season the other side once it's in the pan.
01:12 Come on, come on.
01:14 If you don't want to do this step
01:17 and you just wanna go straight into the crock pot,
01:19 be my guest, okay?
01:20 But I'm trying to show you the best carnitas
01:23 and so I just think this stuff
01:25 is lending more to the best than just really good.
01:29 You know what I mean?
01:30 So you know the drill when it comes to sear.
01:33 We want a really hot pan.
01:35 Just a little bit of oil.
01:37 While I have made this recipe like dozens of times,
01:41 I've never really written it down for you,
01:42 so I'm kind of developing this as I go
01:44 because I know y'all love a recipe.
01:47 So that was like a couple teaspoons of olive oil
01:50 in a really hot pan and down with our pieces of pork.
01:54 You might have to do this in batches
01:55 if your pan isn't big enough.
01:56 We're gonna let those cook undisturbed
01:58 until they're really crusty brown.
02:01 Don't touch it.
02:02 Actually, we can prep our other ingredients
02:03 while this happens so we're not tempted to cheat.
02:06 The key elements are the orange and the lime.
02:10 So this citrus with that pork
02:11 just kind of cuts through that richness,
02:14 adds flavor against the spice.
02:16 I'm also gonna throw in an onion that's just been quartered.
02:22 Not one bit of this is intimidating,
02:24 so far.
02:24 I'm gonna go ahead and squeeze my juice
02:26 so I can use these juices to deglaze my pan.
02:28 I'm also gonna be juicing some limes later
02:31 for a little cocktail.
02:32 As you know, it goes good with carnitas.
02:34 Oh yeah, you wanna see this?
02:37 (sizzling)
02:39 Oh, look at that.
02:41 (sizzling)
02:43 Gorgeous.
02:46 I'll let that go like two or three minutes
02:48 and then we will finish her off.
02:50 Get my crock pot ready to go.
02:52 I'm gonna take the meat out
02:53 and then just deglaze the pan and add the liquid in.
02:56 In double layers here.
02:57 To our pan, I'm gonna go in with my onion
02:59 just to wake it up a little bit.
03:02 And then I'm gonna pour in my orange and lime juice.
03:04 (sizzling)
03:07 And about a cup of water.
03:10 Scrape up any bits and just pour it right over the pork.
03:14 If y'all could just smell it.
03:16 Set it in the crock pot, I'm gonna add in those
03:19 two orange halves and then two bay leaves.
03:22 Told you it was easy.
03:24 This might be better than pulled pork and I'm from the South.
03:27 You can also do this in the oven
03:29 if you really wanna cut the time.
03:30 We're gonna go high for four to five hours
03:35 or you can go low for like eight hours.
03:37 Woo!
03:39 Look at that!
03:41 You wanna see the magic?
03:43 Look at that.
03:44 Y'all, y'all.
03:46 We're gonna shred this up and make it crispy, okay?
03:49 The crispiness is what makes it different and so special.
03:52 I mean, talk about tender.
03:54 Like butter!
03:55 Do you see how perfect that is?
03:58 Please look at the audience.
04:00 (laughing)
04:03 There's more to your right.
04:04 Their mouths are watering.
04:08 A lot of times, classically, they will just fry it
04:11 in oil on the stove.
04:12 I promised you I would keep it easy.
04:14 So we're just gonna place it on a sheet pan
04:17 and put it under the broiler.
04:18 So minimal cleanup, super easy,
04:21 and you can do all this part ahead of time
04:23 and then just crisp it in the oven
04:24 right before you wanna serve it.
04:25 I got this whole pork shoulder bit for less than $25.
04:30 This is enough food to feed several people,
04:34 so it's perfect for entertaining for not a lot of money,
04:36 but like super impressive.
04:38 Before I pop it under the broiler,
04:39 I'm gonna take some of this cooking liquid
04:41 with some of that fat that's kinda risen to the top
04:44 because that's what's gonna help it kinda fry in the oven.
04:48 As a bonus, I'm showing you how to make
04:50 a top shelf margarita.
04:52 A, because I think you should know how to make it.
04:53 B, because I really wanna drink it and work's paying for it.
04:56 (laughing)
04:58 She's honest.
04:58 Ice.
05:00 I prefer the Reposado over the white tequila.
05:04 I think it's just a little bit smoother
05:06 and I drink my margaritas on the rocks, no salt.
05:09 In with a shot of tequila.
05:12 Also, Cointreau, you could also do Grand Marnier.
05:15 This is kinda like the part
05:17 that makes it more top shelf besides the better tequila.
05:20 Alternatively, you would just use Triple Sec, but we fancy.
05:23 At the end of the day, they're both orange liqueurs.
05:25 And then fresh lime juice.
05:28 I'm going in with about one and a half limes.
05:30 I don't think you really need simple syrup.
05:33 However, if you find that the limes
05:35 are just too tart for you,
05:37 you might just put in a little squeeze of agave.
05:39 I prefer that over the simple syrup.
05:41 Now to me, what is key in a margarita,
05:43 and I think a lot of people skip this step
05:45 if they make a margarita at home, is the shake.
05:48 But I like it a little frothy
05:49 and I think that's essential in a margarita.
05:51 So that's what we do.
05:52 (ice clinking)
05:54 Can never have too many rocks.
05:55 (ice clinking)
05:58 Cheers.
06:02 Mm, it's nothing like it.
06:07 This is the color of a real margarita.
06:09 Not that electric green that sometimes you get
06:12 at the really cheap happy hour
06:14 or on the grocery store shelves.
06:16 That's what I'm talking about.
06:18 Oh, y'all wanna eat carnitas?
06:19 Okay.
06:21 You can listen to it sizzle.
06:23 This proves that the oven is just as effective
06:26 as the stove top,
06:28 'cause we put some of those little
06:29 cooking grease juices on there.
06:31 Listen to the sizzle.
06:32 Like one minute, one minute and we're there.
06:39 The beauty of these carnitas is the simplicity of it.
06:42 Lime, cilantro, white onion.
06:45 I'm adding in just a little bit of jalapeno
06:46 because I like a little kick.
06:48 Another reason why this makes a great dish for entertaining.
06:53 Look at that, look at that.
06:55 You see that?
06:56 It's action happening.
06:58 I'm gonna finish it off with a little more salt.
07:00 Okay, serve it up.
07:01 Tortillas, simple, classic, flour is what I prefer.
07:06 The closer to homemade, the better.
07:08 And then we just put on our little crispy bits of pork,
07:12 onion, cilantro if you please, and I please.
07:16 Just a couple of these.
07:18 Good squeeze of lime.
07:21 I mean, we already know it's gonna be good,
07:23 but I guess you wanna see my reaction.
07:25 Oh my God.
07:27 This kinda makes me wanna cry.
07:28 It's so good.
07:29 Before it really even got fully in my mouth,
07:31 I could already taste the burst of deliciousness.
07:34 It was the lime juice meeting with that pork.
07:36 Y'all, please make these.
07:38 I mean, it's perfection.
07:43 If this is wrong, I don't wanna be right.
07:45 What I really want you to do is not only make this,
07:49 but if and when you do,
07:51 I need you to tell me what you think about it.
07:53 Okay, please let me know.
07:55 Between the carnitas and the margaritas, got you covered.
07:58 - This thing looks so good.
08:00 - Well, I'll make you one.
08:02 (crunching)
08:04 Do you like it?
08:10 - I love it.
08:11 - Is it delicious?
08:12 - Yeah.
08:13 - Leave me alone.
08:15 (laughing)
08:17 you