Wow, that is a mouthful - literally, but these are so worth it. Don't hate me, because the recipe looks long, but it's super easy. The meat slow cooks all day, the rice cooks in the rice cooker, and basically you just really have to saute some peppers and onions and throw it all together. With this recipe, we had dinner (tacos), I made 5 days worth of burrito bowls and froze 2 lbs of meat for later. I make this spicy, because my children wouldn't eat pulled pork if their life depended on it. But, you can always go easy on the chipotle peppers in adobo should you want your children to eat it (or if you don't like things spicy).
Pulled Pork Carnitas Recipe
6 lb bone-in pork shoulder, trimmed of excess fat
Salt
Pepper
Adobo seasoning
Ground cumin
8 tsp. minced garlic (from the jar)
1 can chipotle peppers in adobo (approximately 6 peppers)
2 cups chicken broth
3-4 bay leaves
Salt and pepper pork shoulder. Spray a large skillet with cooking spray and place on medium high heat. Add the pork shoulder and brown well on all sides. Remove from heat to cutting board. Cut slits all over the large sides of the shoulder with a sharp knife and place minced garlic in each one, distributing fairly evenly. Season all sides in a thin coat of Adobo and Sazon seasonings. Lightly sprinkle cumin all over as well.
Place pork shoulder in the crock pot. Add chicken broth, chipotle peppers and bay leaves. Cook on low 8-10 hours until pork reaches 205 (the temperature at which pork shoulder shreds best). Shred pork in crock pot and allow to soak in juices on "warm" for 15 minutes. Serve on tacos with cilantro and white onion, or make burrito bowls using the rest of the recipe below!
You will have extras unless you are feeding 15 people. So, either invite people over for a carnitas party, or put it in freezer bags in dinner-sized portions (2 oz per serving) to freeze for later. I generally make up several 8 oz bags. It freezes perfectly for up to 4 months and is great for burrito bowls, empanadas, tacos, or fancy nachos.
Cilantro Lime Rice Recipe
2 cups long grain white or Basmati rice
3 cups water
1 tsp salt
1 small bunch cilantro, chopped
2 limes, juiced
Place water, rice, and salt in your rice cooker and let it work it's magic. If you don't have one, you should. They are cheap, and cook your rice perfectly every time. For a long grain white rice, use a 1.5 water to 1 cup rice ratio and it will come out perfect.
Once the rice has cooked, add the lime juice and cilantro. I've also made this with freeze dried cilantro and the stuff in the tube. It's not 100% the same, but it's good enough if you're in a pinch.
Black Beans Recipe
1 - 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
sazon seasoning (link shows you what I bought)
Sprinkle sazon, as desired over black beans in a microwave safe bowl. Mix until beans are well covered. Cook beans in microwave for 2 minutes.
Sauteed Peppers and Onions
1 tsp olive oil
2 bell peppers
1 yellow onion
Place a large skillet over medium high heat and add olive oil. Allow to warm, and then add peppers and onions. Turn down to medium heat and cook to desired texture.
Burrito Bowl
The great thing about burrito bowls is that they basically can be altered any way you like and are super filling. But, here's how I build mine. And, I have a confession - I hate brown rice. So, I'd rather eat a smaller portion of white rice and call it a day.
125 grams cilantro lime rice
2 oz shredded pulled pork carnitas
1/4 cup black beans
1/5 of the sauteed peppers and onions
And, when I pack the burrito bowl for lunch, I pack a 100 calorie mini Wholly Guacamole container in my lunch too. It's the perfect addition!
Comments