Slow Cooker Carnitas for Tacos

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Ingredients

For the carnitas:

  • 4-5 pounds pork shoulder, chopped into 3-inch pieces
  • 6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
  • 1 tablespoon chicken bouillon powder
  • 4 bay leaves
  • 1 orange, halved
  • 1 bottle Mexican Coca-Cola® or cane sugar cola.
  • 1 white onion, quartered

For the pickled vegetables:

  • 2 tablespoons agave syrup
  • 2 cups white vinegar
  • 4 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 2 carrots, sliced thin
  • 1 white or yellow onion, sliced
  • 1 green pepper, sliced
  • 1 jicama, sliced
  • 2 jalapeños, sliced (optional)

Directions

  1. Place the pork into the slow cooker and rub the chopped garlic into the top of the meat.
  2. Sprinkle the pork with the bouillon powder and bay leaves.
  3. Squeeze the juice from the orange halves over the roast, then add the orange halves, Mexican Coca-Cola® and onion to the slow cooker.
  4. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.
  5. Meanwhile, mix the agave syrup, white vinegar and oregano in a bowl. Place the carrots, onion, green pepper, jicama and jalapeños (if using) in a large bowl and pour the white vinegar mixture over the vegetables, mixing everything together. Let this mixture sit for at least one hour.
  6. Once the meat is cooked, remove from the slow cooker and allow to cool for a couple minutes. Use a Cleaver to chop the meat into small pieces, around one-quarter of an inch.
  7. Place meat into a hot skillet. Add some of the liquid from the slow cooker to the skillet and over medium-high heat, brown the edges of the meat so they are crisp.
  8. Serve on corn tortillas topped with pickled vegetables.

https://www.cutco.com/learn/slow-cooker-carnitas-tacos