March 27 2018 recipe by Kristie Sullivan, PhD![Kristie Sullivan, PhD]()
, photo by Jill Wallentin![Jill Wallentin]()
, nutritional review by Franziska Spritzler, RD, CDE![Franziska Spritzler, RD, CDE]()
in Recipes, Dinner, Meal
, photo by Jill Wallentin
, nutritional review by Franziska Spritzler, RD, CDE
in Recipes, Dinner, Meal Keto carnitas
Carnitas are great for feeding a crowd. Roast or smoke the pork or cook it in a slow cooker for busy days. Just be sure to follow the final step of browning the meat in some of the roasting juices. The browned bits are where the magic happens.
USMetric
servingservings
Ingredients
- 5 lbs 2.3 kg pork shoulder
- 2 tbsp 2 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp 2 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp 1 tsp salt
- 1 oz. 28 g fresh or pickled jalapeños
- 1 1 orange, zest and juiceoranges, zest and juice
- 1 1 lime, the juicelimes, the juice
- 1 1 lemon, the juicelemons, the juice
- 2 oz. 55 g coconut oil (optional)
- 1 (4 oz.) 1 (110 g) yellow onion, slicedyellow onions, sliced (optional)
- 2 (10 oz.) 2 (280 g) green bell pepper, slicedgreen bell peppers, sliced (optional)
Serving
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Making low carb simple
Instructions
- Mix the dry spices and rub them on the meat. Place the meat fatty side up into a slow cooker, and add the remaining seasonings.
- Sprinkle jalapeños over the pork shoulder. Pour fresh orange zest and juice, lime juice and lemon juice, over the pork. Cook on low in the slow cooker for 10-12 hours or overnight.
- When the meat is tender, remove it from the slow cooker and chop into smaller chunks. Reserve the drippings and add to a pot. Over medium high heat, reduce drippings in half.
- Optional step: Warm the coconut oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Sauté the onions and peppers until tender, and set aside in a bowl.
- Add some of the reduced drippings to the pan. Once drippings are hot, add pork, and fry until the pieces are browned and crispy. Continue this process until all pork is fried. Getting the meat crisped up is really important in making it so delicious!
- Serve with avocado, tomato, jalapeño, shredded cheese, sour cream. Don’t forget the fresh cilantro!
Tip
Dice up some limes and squeeze lime juice over each serving!
Recommended special equipment
Slow cooker.
PS Don’t omit the juice from the orange as the sugars are (unfortunately) essential for getting that classic crispness of carnitas.
The same size should be fine.
Glad you are enjoying it! Carnitas are one of my family's favorites as well.
I am so glad you enjoyed this one! My family loves it so much that I tend to make 10lbs at a time :)
Check out Step #5! "Add some of the reduced drippings to the pan. Once drippings are hot, add pork, and fry until the pieces are browned and crispy. Continue this process until all pork is fried. Getting the meat crisped up is really important in making it so delicious!"
They can be used as topping, or mixing them in with the meat is a good choice!
Yes, plus the tomatoes. There are a few other vegetables included in our recipe, like bell pepper that are not always included in carnitas recipes.
Hi, Hannah! Leftovers should be fine in the fridge for several days.