Carnitas

Notes

• You didn't grow up with Carnitas but these are so good that I had to pass them on.
• This started with a post someone shared on Facebook but, as cooks do, I've tweaked it and made it my own.
• This is cooked in a Crock Pot all day but there is still a little bit of work to do in the evening before serving.
• The night it is cooked we make tacos with salsa (and avocado, if we can) and Jarritos to drink.
• A night or two later: nachos.

Ingredients

• Pork shoulder/butt (depending on where you go) with a nice layer of fat on top and preferably a bone inside
• 1C Orange Juice
• 4 California Chile pods (they're smoked Anaheims)
• Salt
• Pepper
• Cumin seeds
• 2 heaping tablespoons Garlic (I use minced)
• 1 Medium Onion, chopped
• 3 Jalapeño Chiles, chopped
• 3 Serrano Chiles, chopped

Directions

1. Start preparations in the morning.
2. Pour orange juice into Crock Pot.
3. Place pork, with fat layer on top, into pot.
4. Cut/tear the California Chiles in half and place in the bottom of the pot.
5. Place the rest of the ingredients on the pork (don't worry, most will fall off and that's fine) and cover.
6. Turn Crock Pot on high and let cook until 30 minutes before serving.
7. Turn off and unplug Crock Pot.
8. Scrape fat and whatnot off top of pork.
9. Transfer pork from pot to large plate, breaking it up as you go.
10. Set up a colander over a bowl in the sink and pour contents of Crock Pot into it.
11. Heat up a cast iron skillet (medium high or 8/10) and pour a couple of tablespoons of oil into it.
12. Dump the pork from the plate into the skillet.
13. Cook pork long enough that the bottom gets a bit crunchy.
14. Turn pork (in sections) over with a flipper spatula. Cook until that side gets crunchy.
15. Turn pork over halfway and spread out over pan.
16. Pour the liquid from the bowl into the pan and simmer until almost gone (some of the liquid is fat and that will not boil away).
17. Serve.