Slow-Cooked Carnitas Tacos with Homemade Guacamole and Pico de Gallo
Makes enough meat for 40 tacos
The Pico de Gallo and Guacamole recipe are for 20 tacos, so DOUBLE THOSE RECIPES if you eat all of the pork in one meal
Carnitas adapted from Gimme Some Oven
For Carnitas:
4 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into 3-inch chunks
1 cup chicken stock
1 medium onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, diced
1 chipotle in adobo sauce, minced (or 1 tablespoon chipotle powder)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
1½ teaspoon sea salt
For Pico de Gallo:
3 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced (seeding the tomatoes helps reduce the amount of liquid in the Pico)
½ red onion, diced
½ cup cilantro, coarsely chopped
¼ cup fresh lime juice, about 2-3 limes
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
½ teaspoon sea salt
For Guacamole:
1½ avocados
½ lime, juiced
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon cayenne
¼ medium red onion, diced
¼ jalapeno, seeded and diced (optional) (use less if you want a little less heat in your guacamole)
1 Roma tomato, seeded and diced
½ teaspoon cilantro, coarsely chopped
½ garlic clove, minced
For Garnish:
10 - 12 taco tortillas
Lime wedges
Cilantro, coarsely chopped
For Carnitas:
Add all of the ingredients for the carnitas in a slow cooker. Give everything a good stir to mix it all together. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours. You’ll know you’re done when the pork shreds easily with a fork.
As the pork is cooking, make the Pico de Gallo and guacamole. Cover both dishes and put them in the refrigerator until you’re ready to eat.
Once the pork is done, remove it from the broth and place in a large bowl. Reserve the broth that’s in the slow cooker and set aside. Using two forks, shred the pork into bit-sized pieces.
At this point, you can freeze the shredded pork and the broth to save for another day or continue to Step 5 and eat everything right away! If you want to freeze the pork and the broth, let it cool down first before putting them in the freezer.
Heat a skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, add a layer of shredded pork to the skillet so that it covers the entire pan. Using the broth that you set aside, skim at least 2 tablespoons, per batch, of the fat off the top of the broth. Add 1 tablespoon of the broth to the skillet and toss it with the pork.
FYI: You don’t want the meat to dry out, so if you see it getting dry, add a bit more broth to the skillet.
Fry the pork up until it starts to turn crispy, about 5 minutes. Remove the crisped, shredded pork from the skillet, cover, and set aside.
Repeat with the remaining pork.
To serve, warm the tortillas. Add a layer of guacamole to the bottom of the tortilla. Top with the carnitas and Pico de Gallo. Garnish with lime juice and cilantro.
Enjoy!
For Pico de Gallo:
In a medium bowl, mix all the ingredients for the Pico de Gallo. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
For Guacamole:
In a medium bowl, combine the avocados and lime juice and mash until the avocados are creamy.
Pour in salt, cumin, and cayenne and mix to combine.
Fold in the red onion, jalapeno, if using, tomatoes, cilantro, and garlic. Mix until everything is well incorporated. Taste and season to your preference.
Nutritional Values for: Carnitas, Pico de Gallo, and Guacamole
