Carnitas Recipe

The first time that I tried carnitas was in Chicago. There was a "super mercado" a couple of blocks from my apartment that sold them from a counter in the back of the store. Since then I have preferred carnitas over similar dishes that feature beef. Although this recipe takes a few hours to prepare, it's worth the wait. Carnitas have alot of flavor and they are inexpensive to make. For this recipe, I used a flour tortilla (heated in the microwave for 20 seconds), the carnitas, salsa, cilantro, and diced red onions. Here is how you make the carnitas:

Recommended Equipment:
slow cooker

Ingredients:
2 tspn kosher salt
2 tspn ground cumin
2 tspn garlic powder
1 tspn oregano
1 tspn coriander
4 pound pork shoulder
1 bay leaf
2 cups chicken stock

Preparation:

1. In a bowl, mix together the first 5 ingredients.
2. Cut pork into large chunks about 2 inches by 2 inches.
3. Run spice mixture from step #1 into the pieces of pork.
4. Place the pork and the bay leaf into the center of the slow cooker.
5. Pour the chicken stock around the pork. Try to avoid pouring the stock directly on the pork so that the spices stay adhered to the pork.
6. Place cover on the slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours.
7. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
8. Shred the pork into smaller pieces, place them on a baking pan and then bake the pork in the oven for 20 minutes. Reserve juices in the slow cooker.
9. Remove pork from the oven and place it back into the juices in the slow cooker.
10. Serve with rice, Cuban Black Beans, tortillas, guacamole, salsa, cilantro, juice of a quarter of a lime, and diced red onions.

Mexico