Thursday, August 11, 2011

Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas



The other day I was looking for some slow cooker recipes and came across Gina's Skinny Taste.  I've been on  her blog before, but it's been a while.  She has tons of light and healthy recipes as well as conversions for Weight Watchers!  All of her recipes look absolutely divine, but I was most intrigued by her lightened up Chipotle style meat.  I LOVE Chipotle and Moe's so this was super exciting!

After looking over several options like the Chicken Ropa Veija  and the Barbacoa Beef  I settled on the Mexican Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas.  I'll definitely be back to try the others though. ;)

I used a 1.5 pound pork loin to make these since it's such a lean cut of meat and our grocery store didn't have the pork shoulder that was listed in the original recipe.  It was the perfect size for us.  My only suggestion is to use reduced sodium broth and then adjust the salt content to taste after you shred the meat.  When I liberally seasoned the meat, I didn't take into to account that the adobo seasoning listed salt as its first ingredient. 

Also, 2 chile peppers made this just spicy enough to give it a kick without making us break out in to a sweat. I loved the flavor that the peppers gave to these.

We served our Pork Carnitas up in a tortilla with a mixture of lettuce, cilantro, lime juice, avacado and white onion.  Tomatoes would have been a great addition too.  Next time, I'm thinking about a nice crunchy taco shell with these or a burrito!  Yummm!

Recipe:
1.5 lb pork loin
3-4 cloves of garlic cut into slivers (I used bottled minced garlic.)
cumin
dry adobo seasoning (like Goyas)
garlic powder
1 c low sodium/low fat chicken or beef broth
2-3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
2 dried bay leaves
  1. Salt and pepper pork.  Brown all sides in a hot, lightly oiled skillet.  Remove from heat and allow to cool.  Make small slits in pork and fill with garlic.  Sprinkle with lots of cumin, adobo seasoning and garlic powder.  
  2. Chop peppers and place in crock pot with broth and bay leaves.  Place meat on top.  Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours.  
  3. Remove meat and shred with 2 forks.  Discard bay leaves.  Return meat to the crock pot and toss with liquid.  Add more liquid if needed.  (Mine was a little salty, so I added water instead of more broth. )  Add more cumin or salt if needed.  Cook an additional 15 minutes.
Source: Gina's Skinny Taste
Printable Recipe
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Linked to:
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16 comments:

  1. Yummy - thanks for this recipe. Can't wait to try it. Slow cooker cooking is my fav! Another pork slow cooker recipe I like is:

    3-4 lb pork roast
    28 oz mild Rotel
    1 tsp ground black pepper
    1 Tbl ground sea salt
    1/2 c apple cider vinegar
    2 Tbl Worcestershire sauce

    Cook on low 10 hours or high at least 6. Add some water as needed.

    Glad I found you on VB. I'll come back and visit again!

    ReplyDelete
  2. That sounds great! Thanks so much for sharing!!

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  3. I think you may want to add a twitter button to your site. I just bookmarked the blog, but I had to do this manually. Simply my 2 cents.

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    ReplyDelete
  4. I am always up for a slow cooked dishes. Left overs can be made into pulled pork sandwiches. :)

    Janie vB

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  5. Oh! That looks great. ;) My hubby and son are not adventurous on cuisines so I only prepare classic food, it seems I have to get my mexican dose to the restaurants instead.:)

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  6. Yay! This looks so good and I've been wanting to find another delicious recipe to use my slow cooker for. Thank you for sharing this.

    Many blessings,
    Rosann
    http://www.christiansupermom.com/

    ReplyDelete
  7. I sure could get a lot bigger just looking at your pictures lol.

    I hear Zumba calling my name for sure.

    Stopping by from voiceboks & www.couponsavingsinthesouth.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. yummmm...loooks absolultely delicous! Wil have t gve this a try. :)

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  9. Oh my gosh! That looks great! Stopping over from Voiceboks! Already a follower but I'm so glad I stopped by and saw this! I need some good excuses to break out the slow cooker, it doesn't get nearly enough use, this looks like a great reason!
    Have an awesome day!
    Angela @ First Comes baby...

    ReplyDelete
  10. Usually, when I visit foodie blogs, I am so jealous of the recipes because I'm on my diet, trying to lose extra baby weight, and I can't savor the yummy goodness. But as soon as I saw Weight Watchers conversions, I got super excited! Now, I'm no cook, but my hubs is, and he always likes a new recipe. Think I can get this made for me next week????

    Visiting you from vB :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Just found your blog from voiceboks. I LOVE IT. I love finding new mommy bloggers to read. This recipe would be a total crowd pleaser at my house. We love southwest flavors.

    Became a follower so I can get more great kitchen ideas.

    ReplyDelete
  12. @ Laura- yes, Gina's website is all Weight Watcher's friendly. It's great to know that what you're eating is healthy and good? =)

    @ Anonymous- the twitter button is added. Thanks!

    Thank you all for the comment love.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Stopping by from Voiceboks... That dish looks wonderful! Hope you have a great week.... :) http://www.OliviaBlueMusic.com/

    ReplyDelete
  14. I am stopping by from voiceboks, i am a new follower via GFC, Twitter and Facebook. I hope you get the chance to stop by my blog and check it out and follow back.
    http://www.atthemapletable.com

    ReplyDelete
  15. This recipe sounds delicious and scrumptious especially for slow cooker. I love meals on the slow cooker since they can provide a meal so easily.
    Great to visit from vB blog hop.
    Wishing you a fabulous day,
    Barbara
    Español para Niños (Spanish for Kids)

    ReplyDelete

Your comments make my day! I treasure each one. :)

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