{recipe} Asian Crockpot Carnitas

While I love the idea of the crockpot, I have not had a lot of success with it. As one friend put it, you can make an OK dinner in the crockpot anytime, but it’s kind of a challenge to make a GREAT dinner in the crockpot. With the success of this recipe, however, that may all be changing for me.

hat would you give to make shredded pork that’s salty, sweet, saucy, melts in your mouth, makes your house smell delicious, and takes almost no effort on your part? I am happy to report that your ho-hum crockpot is totally capable of doing just that, and with a cheap cut of meat (pork shoulder) and a minimal amount of effort, you will actually be excited for dinner.

I made a little sriracha mayo (mayo + sriracha + soy sauce; mix together to taste) and toasted some buns so we could have this on sandwiches for dinner. That turned out to be an excellent idea. But you could also serve it over rice, of course. The next day I made quesadillas with the leftover meat. It all goes very well with a tangy salad, to cut the richness, like this one or this one.

Crockpot convert? I’m getting there…

Recipe: Asian Crockpot Carnitas
serves 6 if you make sandwiches with it

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 lbs. pork shoulder, cut in large chunks, some fat trimmed (in other words, trim what’s easy to get off, but there’s no need to go crazy over it)
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 Tblsp smooth Dijon mustard
• 4 large or 6 small garlic gloves, minced
• 3 inch piece of ginger, grated
• handful of cilantro leaves for garnish (optional)

METHOD:

• Put everything except cilantro leaves in a crockpot and cook on HIGH for 4-5 hours or LOW for 8-10 hours.
• When pork is tender enough to shred easily, remove with slotted spoon and shred with 2 forks.
• Pour a bit of sauce over and garnish with cilantro leaves.
• Serving suggestion: combine a bit of sriracha and soy sauce with mayonnaise and mix together. Toast buns in the broiler. Make sandwiches with the pork, sriracha mayo, and buns.

If you liked this post, you may also enjoy…

• Slow Cooker Honey Soy Chicken
• Easy Asian Shredded Pork Tacos
• Bo Ssam: Amazing 3 Ingredient Slow-Roasted Pork
  
• Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps