Keto Carnitas
Carnitas are great for feeding a crowd. Roast or smoke the pork or cook it in a crock-pot for busy days. Just be sure to follow the final step of browning the meat in some of the roasting juices. The browned bits are where the magic happens.
USMetric
servingservings
Ingredients
- 5 lbs 2.3 kg pork shoulder
- 2 tbsp 2 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp 2 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp 1 tsp salt
- 1⁄3 cup 75 ml pickled jalapeños or fresh
- 1 1 orange, juice and zestoranges, juice and zest
- 1 1 lime, the juicelimes, the juice
- 1 1 lemon, the juice
- 1 1 yellow onionyellow onions (optional)
- 2 2 green bell peppergreen bell peppers (optional)
Serving
- 5 5 avocadoavocados
- 4 4 tomatotomatoes
- 1 cup 225 ml (100 g) shredded cheese
- 1 cup 225 ml sour cream
- ½ cup 125 ml pickled jalapeños or fresh
- ½ cup 125 ml fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Mix the dry spices and rub them on the meat. Place the meat fatty side up into a crock-pot or oven safe skillet and add the remaining seasonings.
- Sprinkle jalapenos over the pork shoulder. Add fresh orange juice, lime juice and lemon juice. Cook on low in the crock-pot for 10 to 12 hours or overnight.
- When the meat is tender, remove it from the crock-pot and shred it into smaller pieces. Reserve the drippings and reduce it to half in a pot.
- Sauté the optional onion and bell peppers in fat. Add the reduced pan drippings. Fry the pork in a heavy skillet until the pieces are browned and crispy. Getting the meat crisped up is really important in making it so delicious.
- Serve with avocado, tomato, jalapeño, shredded cheese, sour cream. Don’t forget the fresh cilantro!
Meals
Breakfasts
Desserts
Snacks
Dairy free
Vegetarian
Bread
Only keto
PS Don’t omit the juice from the orange as the sugars are (unfortunately) essential for getting that classic crispness of carnitas.