Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas – Easy Meal Prep Idea!

This Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas recipe is easy to make and is perfect if you’re looking for meal prep ideas for the week. Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas, plus all of the ingredients you need for a pork carnitas bowl, equals lunch or dinner all week long!

Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas

Alright guys, I’ve finally jumped on the meal planning bandwagon and I have to tell you it has made such a difference in my daily routine. Easy meal prep ideas like this simple Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas recipe allow me to prep my meals on Sunday so during the week I don’t have to worry about waking up early to make lunch or rushing home from work to make dinner. My only regret is not starting it sooner. 

I’ve been making Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas for years. You just throw the ingredients in a slow cooker and let it cook for about 6 hours. The result is super moist, tender pork that shreds apart easily, and the flavor…OMG guys, it has so much flavor from the onions, garlic, orange juice, and a little spice (VERY little) from the jalapenos. The special thing about pork carnitas is that the meat is slightly crisp. You get that crispness by taking the shredded meat and pressing it into a skillet, letting it cook for a few minutes to crisp up the bottom.

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For me, part of meal prepping is making better decisions about what I eat. I find that having everything made ahead of time and portioned out keeps me on track. I know when people hear “organic” they immediately think it must be expensive but I shop at Harris Teeter and for less than $20 I can get all of the Harris Teeter Organics ingredients I need to turn my Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas into 6 Pork Carnitas Burrito Bowls. That means I have lunch, or quick dinners all week!

Harris Teeter has 351 Harris Teeter Organics products to choose from and all of them are free from GMOs, synthetic fertilizers/herbicides/pesticides, artificial preservatives/colors/flavors, antibiotics or growth hormones. Some of the Harris Teeter Organics products are even priced BELOW conventional, non-organics brands. They are a great solution to making good choices about what you eat and not breaking your wallet doing it.

How to Prep Pork Carnitas Burrito Bowls:

• Use 6 resealable, microwave-safe, containers.
• In each container place the following:
  • 4 ounces of Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas
  • 1/2 cup of Harris Teeter Organics Black Beans, canned
  • 1/2 cup of Harris Teeter Organics Corn Kernels, canned
  • 1/2 cup of Harris Teeter Organics Diced Tomatoes, canned
  • 1 cup cooked Harris Teeter Organics Basmati Rice

The bowls are stored in the refrigerator and throughout the week I can just pull them out, microwave them for 2-3 minutes to warm them up, and lunch/dinner is served. If you want to take it up a notch you can add a little Harris Teeter Organics Shredded Mexican Cheese, and Harris Teeter Organics Sour Cream. Yum!!

Harris Teeter offers a satisfaction guarantee. So, if you aren’t satisfied with a Harris Teeter Organics item for any reason, you can return your item to the store and Harris Teeter will refund your money as well as replace the item with a like item of your choice (restrictions apply). That’s on all Harris Teeter products so you really can’t go wrong with giving them a try!

SLOW COOKER PORK CARNITAS
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5 from 8 votes

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Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

6 hrs 12 mins

Total Time

6 hrs 27 mins

 

This Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas recipe is easy to make and is perfect if you're looking for meal prep ideas for the week. Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas plus all of the ingredients you need for a pork carnitas burrito bowl equals lunch or dinner all week long!

Course: Main dish

Servings: 8

Calories: 194 kcal

Author: Kat Jeter & Melinda Caldwell

Ingredients

• 2 pounds Pork Shoulder or Pork Butt
• 2 tablespoons Olive Oil divided
• 2 teaspoons Salt
• 2 teaspoons Dried Oregano
• 2 teaspoons Ground Cumin
• 1 Onion diced
• 4 cloves Garlic minced
• 1 Jalapeno seeded and ribs removed, diced
• 1 Orange juiced

Instructions

1. Rub olive oil all over the pork.
2. In a small bowl combine salt, dried oregano, and cumin. Sprinkle it over the pork, rubbing it into the pork to cover it.
3. Place the pork in a slow cooker and add the onion, garlic, and jalapeno. Let some sit on the pork and some fall into the slow cooker.
4. Pour the juice of 1 orange over everything.
5. Set slow cooker to high for 4-6 hours.Cover and wait.
6. When the pork has finished cooking it should be super tender. Remove it from the slow cooker and use two forks to shred it.
7. Skim the fat off of the top of the juices in the slow cooker and pour into a measure cup to use as you cook.
8. In a large skillet heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium high heat.
9. Add the shredded pork pressing it into the pan. You will probably need to do this in batches so you don’t crowd the pan. You want all of the meat touching the pan.
10. Pour about ½ a cup of the reserved juice over the shredded pork and let it cook for 3-4 minutes until the meat gets crisped and brown on one side. Remove from the pan and continue the process until all of the shredded pork has been crisped.