Slow-cooker carnitas: Attempt #1

It was March 19, 2010 when I used our slow cooker for the first time.  After spending a few days researching the pros and cons to several slow cookers, we decided on a Hamilton Beach 6-qt programmable slow cooker.

The thing did me right.

My first dish was slow-cooker carnitas.  I knew that was going to be my first dish.  I had no doubt in my mind that it wasn't going to be stew, beef bourguignon, or soup.  No, it was going to be pulled pork, and not just any pulled pork... I wanted carnitas.

What exactly are carnitas?  According to Rachel Laudan, historian, scientist, and food writer, carnitas, Mexican-Spanish for "little meats", are little chunks of pork cooked in its own fat.  For many of us here in America, Epicurious' definition basically says it all: it's small bits or shreds of pork, made from an inexpensive cut.  Check out Rachel Laudan's site for something more authentically Mexican in description.

I didn't have a whole pig, and I didn't even know at the time that it was more authentic to use one.  I just figured I'd get a pork shoulder, thrown in some spices, and make some mouth-watering pulled pork, Mexican style.

So, I did.

I referenced several recipes for spices and cooking times.  Every recipe had something different to offer: some cooked the pork on high, some low; some cooked for a shorter time while others cooked for about 10 hours.  I found a recipe that used no liquid at all (the juices from the meat would have provided the liquid, eventually).

In addition, there were some spices and herbs that I just wasn't going to buy.  I'm broke, and I wanted to use as much of what I already had in my kitchen as possible.  Anything I was going to buy needed to be used either immediately or fairly frequently.  Therefore, I did not buy bay leaves.

I also did not want to use water, which is a popular liquid used in many recipes.  I wanted to use something with flavor (a la Alton Brown's philosophy) since I was going to keep the liquid once the cooking was finished.

After referencing several recipes, I assembled the following:

Ingredient

Prep/Use

---

MEAT

6 lbs pork shoulder

trim large chunks of excess fat around outside of shoulder

PRODUCE

1 onion

quartered, leaves separated

SEASONINGS

1 1/2 tbsp kosher salt

1 1/2 tbsp garlic powder

1 1/2 tbsp ground cumin

3/4 tsp oregano

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

LIQUIDS

1 bottle Shiner Bock or beer of choice	for braising
olive oil	for searing pork

HARDWARE

large skillet	for searing
slow cooker	for the long, long braise

1. Place the onions in the crock, spreading them out on the bottom.
2. If the pork shoulder has bone, remove the bone and cut the meat into large pieces.  If there is no bone, leave in one large piece, if desired, or cut into large sections.
• When it comes time to sear, you have the potential for more flavor if you sear several chunks rather than the entire shoulder as you will be searing more surface area with the chunks.
3. Heat the skillet on medium high heat.
4. Combine the seasonings into a large bowl. Place the meat into the bowl to coat with seasonings.
5. Add the olive oil to coat the bottom of the skillet. Once the oil is hot, brown the meat on all sides. Do in batches, if necessary.  Once browned, place the pieces on top of the onions in the crock.
6. Add the bottle of beer, making sure all the pieces of meat are at least partially submerged in the liquid.
7. Secure the lid on the slow cooker and cook for 8.5 hours on low. Be sure to turn the meat over halfway through cooking.
8. Remove meat to a separate bowl when done. Pull meat apart and place back into liquid in the slow cooker.

VERDICT:

We served the carnitas with tortillas (corn or flour), with a simple guacamole, minced onions, and cheddar cheese available should one desire them. I personally skipped the cheese, not because I don't like cheese but I didn't want to many things getting in the way of the meat, which I wanted to be in the spotlight.

The meat turned out awesome, but there was a little too much cinnamon.  Meat also gave up a lot of liquid (not necessarily a bad thing) and I ended up pouring a little out.

Next time, I may cut back on the cinnamon. I also have a theory that Shiner Bock, being a beer with a crisp, wheat flavor, may bring out the cinnamon flavor. I have no scientific proof of this, just that when I had a Shiner Bock with the meal the wheat flavor seemed to pair well with the cinnamon aspect of the meat, which caused me to believe that the beer may have enhanced this spice. It’s something I’ll have to look into.

Also, perhaps use half a beer instead of a whole, next time. This will reduce the amount of liquid at the end… and I’ll get to drink the other half.