The beauty of the crockpot is one can throw everything in and walk away for hours, and have a meal ready to go. During the school year, when sports have us running from one practice to another, the crock pot enables us to have a healthy, warm supper in the midst of the busy.
Enter carnitas, a sweet and spicy pulled pork that has potential as is, in a tortilla, on top of a salad. Tender, hitting all of your palette, and versatile.
Something else that works about carnitas is the fact that you can pull it out of the crockpot, refrigerate it or freeze it, and when you are ready for it, place it on a sheet pan in the oven at 350* until it has those crispy edges. This would be a meal I crockpot on Sunday, then serve later on in the week when my creativity has waned.
Sweet and Spicy Peach Carnitas
For this recipe I am using boneless pork butt roast. I am not a fan of trimming or touching raw meat- but for the sake of this recipe, I did try to trim the excess fat off of the roast first, then tried it another time just putting the roast into the crock pot as it was…and essentially I did not notice a change in flavor or consistency. SO, for this gal, from now on the roast will be going in as is.
I made a nest in the bottom of the crock pot of fresh onions, red pepper, a few pepperoncini, and here’s the summer specialness… a local farm fresh diced peach. You can add more if it suits you, the peach texture gets soft and lost into the juices but the flavor adds just that right amount of sweetness.
Place the roast on top of the fresh peach and vegetables, add your spices, and turn that crock pot on. I take the low and slow road with crockpots. So it will cook for at least six hours. When the roast falls apart and is easy to shred, it is done.
At this point, you can either throw the shredded pork into the oven to roast, or refrigerate. I save the peppers and onions to roast along with the meat in the oven, but again, that’s a personal choice.
Now to serve! I love mine with a salad and a fresh cabbage coleslaw to lighten the meal, and my daughter loves hers on a tortilla, with fresh avocado and sour cream. I don’t serve this meal like I would for a taco bar night, the toppings are simple. If I was being really good, I would make a fresh peach salsa to go with this meal.
With Fall closing in (August is like one long Sunday for teachers), I’m thankful for recipes like this, where simple and easy doesn’t mean drive-through or less than stellar suppers.
I hope you enjoy this recipe, and as always, thank you for coming to the table!
Chrissy
Printable Recipe
Sweet and Spicy Peach Carnitas
Sweet and Spicy Peach Carnitas
chrissy@mythankfultable.com
Ingredients:
4 Lb. Boneless Pork Butt Roast
1 Onion, sliced
1 Large, ripe peach
1 Red pepper, diced
1 tsp black pepper
1 ½ TBSP Ancho Chili powder
1 Tbsp. Adobo seasoning
Optional:
¼ C Barbecue Sauce of choice
2-3 dashes of hot sauce of choice
Directions:
Dice red pepper, peach, and slice onion, place in the bottom of the crock pot.
Add Boneless Pork Butt Roast
Cover with spices
Cook on high 4-5 hours and low 6-8 hours or until pork is cooked through and tender
Take roast out of crock pot and shred, using two forks or method of choice.
Refrigerate or freeze
When ready to serve, place shredded pork on cookie sheet and roast in the oven at 350* until warmed through and crispy on edges.
