Slow Cooker Carnitas {Whole30} | Real Food with Dana

Dear pulled pork, I LOVE YOU. Specifically…well, no. I love all kinds of pulled pork. Dry rubbed, with BBQ sauce, a BBQ spice blend (this one is my faaaave), carnitas (specifically Slow Cooker Carnitas), Hawaiian pulled pork, ginger-garlic pulled pork…basically, I love pork butts and I cannot lie. I haven’t met one that’s been cooked down to delicious pulled pork goodness that I DIDN’T like.

So when Cinco de Mayo rolled around this year and I realized I didn’t have a carnitas recipe on Real Food with Dana I was pretty disappointed in myself…LIKE WHY?! And sure, there are a lot of carnitas recipes where you have to braise them in the oven for a few hours, turn them, and braise for a couple more, do some stovetop stuff, and then more braising…Which, don’t get me wrong. That kind of recipe will deeefinitely get you the most authentic results. But ain’t nobody got time for that on a work day – who wants to be tending to their oven all day on a day that isn’t Thanksgiving? No thanks. And that’s coming from a food blogger who happily spends all day in the kitchen cooking up recipes for you guys.

Solution: Slow Cooker Carnitas.

And these babies have a few flavor-packed, secret ingredients you’d probably never guess too. Well, mostly just the one: KOMBUCHA. Yep, you read that right. A couple of the most popular carnitas recipes I found call for beer. Weird, huh? And a definite no-go for me as someone who has celiac, for anyone who eats gluten-free, etc. So I thought, why the heck not?

Results? AMAZING. I also threw in my faaavorite smoky spice blend (that I use on this BBQ pulled pork) with a couple small adaptations, and I would literally put that sh*t on ANYTHING it’s so good.

Want a little crisp on your carnitas? (Um, who doesn’t) Once they’ve been totally cooked through and shredded in the slow cooker, transfer to a foil-lined baking sheet and broil for about 5-10 minutes, until they begin to crisp up – but watch them so they don’t burn!

Slow Cooker Carnitas {Whole30} | Real Food with Dana

Slow Cooker Carnitas
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Dana:
Serves: 10+ servings
Ingredients
  • 4-5 lbs. pork butt/shoulder
  • 1 medium yellow onion, sliced
  • 2 Tbsp minced garlic
  • 1 Tbsp sea salt
  • 1 Tbsp onion powder / dehydrated minced onion
  • 2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp chipotle powder
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • ½ tsp cayenne pepper
  • 12 oz kombucha (I recommend an “original” flavor.)
  • ½ cup salsa
  • juice of 2 oranges (about ½ cup)
  • juice of 2 limes (about ¼ cup)
Directions
  1. Line the bottom of the slow cooker with the sliced onions.
  2. Combine the ingredients for the spice blend (garlic, sea salt, onion powder, pepper, cumin, chili powder, chipotle powder, oregano, and cayenne pepper) in a small bowl, then rub all over the pork. Place the pork on top of the onions in the slow cooker.
  3. Pour in the kombucha, lime juice, orange juice, and salsa. Cover and cook on LOW for 10-12 hours, or HIGH for 5.
  4. Preheat the broiler on HIGH. (My oven is 500 F - 550 F on high) Meanwhile, shred the meat directly in the crock pot with two forks.
  5. Line a large baking sheet with some aluminum foil and transfer the shredded pork to the baking sheet. Don’t forget to add some of the sauce on top! Broil for 5-10 minutes or until the pork begins to crisp up. Watch so it doesn’t burn!
  6. Serve on a taco salad, with some tortillas, guacamole, salsa, chopped veggies, and whatever your heart desires! Highly recommended with some sliced avocado and cilantro. Devour.

Adapted from Pinch of Yum.

Slow Cooker Carnitas {Whole30} | Real Food with Dana

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17 Comments

  1. Carnitas are my favourite, and I love the addition of kombucha in this recipe! How fun. I have some pork butt handy now, so a set it and forget it recipe is just what I need xx

  2. Wow – I would never have thought to use kombucha but it definitely sounds like it could be great! Will definitely have to try this!

  3. I love carnitas, and your use of kombucha here is so awesome! Back before I changed my diet, I used to make my carnitas with Coca Cola, but I think your kombucha version would do the same thing making for super tender carnitas!

  4. Love the name of your blog and these tasty recipes too. Do you have any suggestions for using other Meagan instead of pork for this? Would a lamb shoulder work for example?

    1. Thank you!! I’ve never tried cooking with lamb shoulder before, but I bet it would be great as long as you get the times right!

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