Friday, August 24, 2012

Chick Lit made me want Carnitas (with slow-roasted tomatoes and avocados....)

I've never had carnitas before last week. Sheltered child, I suppose. What prompted me to search out a recipe for them was a particularly good chapter I read in the book, The Next Best Thing by Jennifer Weiner. (This is total Chick-Lit, by the way).

Carnitas with slow-roasted tomatoes and avocados....



The recipe I tried follows but I wanted to share the food photos with you, just in case you were also reared in a sheltered home (palate wise) and want to give these a try.



I folded the meat inside a soft tortilla and we both enjoyed servings of black beans and rice, freshly slice avocado and those tomatoes.



You can check out the book review at Novel Meals. Very soon I will have reviews on books by Peter Robinson, Mark Terry and George R.R. Martin.

As promised....here is the recipe. Try it, trust me, you'll love it!

Slow-Cooker Carnitas

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 (4 pound) boneless pork shoulder roast
2 bay leaves
2 cups chicken broth

Directions

Mix together salt, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, coriander, and cinnamon in a bowl. Coat pork with the spice mixture. Place the bay leaves in the bottom of a slow cooker and place the pork on top. Pour the chicken broth around the sides of the pork, being careful not to rinse off the spice mixture.

Cover and cook on Low until the pork shreds easily with a fork, about 10 hours. Turn the meat after it has cooked for 5 hours. When the pork is tender, remove from slow cooker, and shred with two forks. Use cooking liquid as needed to moisten the meat.

Easy. Delicious. Recommended.

Enjoy!

My review of The Next Best Thing may be found at Novel Meals.

I am hooking up to Beth Fish Reads and her Weekend Cooking Series.

25 comments:

  1. I have never had carnitas. They look wonderful.
    Have a great week!

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  2. That avocado looks so buttery - gorgeous!

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  3. *wanders off to Google carnitas*

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  4. Yummm. I love carintas. Isn't it great when a novel motivates you to head off to the kitchen and try something new?

    I still haven't read Weiner's book. Must get to it soon.

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  5. Oh I loved The Next Best Thing, and I have to say that I craved carnitas too after reading it. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

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  6. That looks delish! And thanks for pointing out Novel Meals - that's a new site to me and I love the concept.

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  7. You have me wanting to dig out the old crock pot! Slow roasted tomatoes are the best. Have you tried roasting cherry tomatoes? They turn out like candy.

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  8. Carole - Oh, so recommended!!

    Jo, do you get decent avocados in England? If you make carnitas I know Simon will love it.
    Beth, thank you and I sure love your Weekend Cooking series.

    Diane, you are very welcome. There was a quite a bit food in that book.

    Tanya - There are quite a few book/foodie blogs and I am new to it, but I love my book site :-)

    Debra - Yes! They are like little candies...love them.

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  9. Always good to learn of another slow cooker recipe. This looks easy and delish. Thanks!

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  10. Pass me a plate...this looks mouthwatering, Tina.

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  11. The cinnamon is a clue that this will be especially tasty, and the tomatoes finish the meal in an appealing way. I just bookmarked this to try.

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  12. Sounds terrific! I've had carnitas in restaurants but never thought to make it at home.

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  13. Slow cooker recipes are where it's at and these look tasty to boot :-)

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  14. One of my favorite dishes. When I have extra time, I fry the pork after cooking in the crockpot. Shred, heat some oil and fry it so the outside of the pieces are crispy and the inside is soft. Delicious.

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  15. I am sure we will love it! I've pinned it:)

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  16. It looks very tasty and the addition of the avocado would be even better.

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  17. pork, with all those spices..the avocado is just icing on the cake. but then, I like icing on the cake.

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  18. Avocados here and in and England are delicious yes ... I was just jealous oh HOW GOOD yours looked. Love avocado with red onion, crisp, hot fried lardons piled on top of lamb's lettuce and watercress - dash of reduced sticky balsamic and chunks of baguette or polka *dribble*

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  19. I did a slow-cooker pork a few weeks ago and it was just 'meh', so I'll have to try your recipe next. Those tomatoes look delicious, too!

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  20. Carnitas are one of my very favorite things to order at tex-mex restaurants, but I've never made them myself. I shall have to do so, soon! Your food looks deeeeee-licious.

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  21. Thank you all for such nice comments and for visiting me :-) I am off to do some visiting and emailing. Hope you all have a great week and stay out of the way of Hurricane Isaac!

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  22. I've never tried carnitas either! I think I am making a big mistake. Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe Tina!

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