Pork Carnitas & Tomatillo Salsas

Pork Carnitas

• pork butt
• salt & pepper
• 2 t. oregano
• 2 t. chipotle chili powder
• 2 t. cumin
• 1 onion, diced
• 8 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeno, rough chop
• 3/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice (approx 3 oranges)
• juice of 1 lime

1. Trim the pork of excess fat. Season generously with salt & pepper. Rub with chili, cumin & oregano. Place in crock pot.
2. Top with the onion, garlic, and jalapeño. Pour the OJ and lime juice over the pork.
3. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-6 hours, until meat is fork tender.
4. Take the meat out of the crockpot and shred it into smaller chunks. Reserve the liquid.
5. Heat a pan over medium-high with a small amount of oil. Spread a single layer on carnitas in the pan and cook on one side until it starts to get brown and crispy, drizzle a little of the reserved liquid over the meat, flip and brown for a couple minutes. Repeat with all meat.
6. Or... if you don't want to take the time to pan fry, you can spread the meat on a baking sheet and broil in the oven until browned and crispy.

Fresh Tomatillo-Avocado Salsa

• 4 tomatillos
• 1/4 white onion
• 2 serrano peppers (I left the seeds in)
• 1 garlic clove
• handful of cilantro
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 avocados
• salt to taste

1. Peel the husks (skins? what do they call those things?) off the tomatillos. Rinse under warm water to get that sticky-waxy residue off.
2. Rough chop all the ingredients, then blend it all together in a food processor. Salt or add additional lime juice to taste.

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

• 1-1.5 lbs. tomatillos, husked and rinsed
• 2 serranos
• 4 garlic cloves, still in peel
• 1/2 white onion
• 1/2 cup cilantro
• lime to taste
• salt to taste

1. Cut tomatillos in half. Broil halved tomatillos, whole serranos & garlic until the skin is blistered and charred. Let cool. Remove seeds from serranos (or leave them in for a spicier salsa)
2. Process with the remaining ingredients in a food processor. Done!

Spicy Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork & Cilantro-Jalapeno Coleslaw

Two crock-pot meals in one week! Life has gotten easier on Indigo Street.
This recipe came from The Pioneer Woman, and it was freaking deeeeelicious! Michael said it was the most flavorful pulled pork he's ever had, the house smelled delicious, and I might make it the next time we have company over.

Crock-pot meals are so easy I really don't think they need the play-by-play with photos. I spent about 20 minutes prepping everything in the morning (it could have been cut down to 10.. but it was the morning, I was moving slow), and another 15 minutes doing the finishing touches before serving. In order to make this as easy as possible, I prepped everything for the coleslaw in the morning and stored everything separately (dressing, cabbage/jalapenos, cilantro- all in separate tupperware) so I could toss it together before eating. Definitely make this. And make a ton of it- the leftovers are amazing.

Spicy Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork

• 1 large Onion, peeled & quartered
• 3-5 lbs. Pork Shoulder Roast 
• Salt & Pepper
• 2 tablespoons Brown Sugar
• 1 can Chipotles in Adobo (I used a 12.5 oz can- you can use a 7 oz can if you prefer things more mild)
• 2 cans Dr. Pepper

1. Place the onion quarters in the bottom of the crock-pot. Generously salt & pepper the roast before placing it (fat-side up) on top of the onions. Pour the can of chipotle peppers (including the sauce) over the roast, add the brown sugar, then pour in the two cans of Dr. Pepper. 
2. Cook on low for 8-10 hours, turning 2-3 times during the cooking process (I wasn't home- mine was never turned, no biggie).Continue to cook until the pork is falling apart (use two forks to test). If the pork is not falling-apart tender, cook it for another hour.
3. Remove the entire roast from the crock-pot and place on a large cutting board. Allow to rest for 10 minutes.
4. While the meat is resting, skim the fat from the liquid in the crockpot. Discard the fat.
5. Shred the meat with two forks, discarding any large pieces of fat. Return the shredded meat to the liquid in the crock-pot, and keep warm until ready to serve.

Cilantro-Jalapeno Coleslaw

• 1/2 small head of cabbage, sliced thin
• 1/2 small head of purple cabbage, sliced thin
• 1 whole jalapeno, halved & sliced thin (including seeds & membranes)
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/3 cup mayo
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
•  2 cups cilantro leaves, barely chopped

1. Toss together the sliced cabbage and jalapeno slices in a large bowl. 
2. In a small bowl, mix the milk, mayo, sugar, vinegar, salt and cayenne pepper together. 
3. Pour the dressing over the cabbage mixture and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate for one hour (or not- I didn't). 
4. Before serving, mix in the cilantro leaves.

To Serve:

Michael's Preference: Tuesday Night
Split a kaiser roll in half. Lightly butter and grill until golden brown. Top with shredded pork and a little juice, and coleslaw.

My Preference: Leftovers on Wednesday Night
Heat up a flour tortilla- preferably the delicious kind that you brown yourself on the stove (such as TortillaLand or My Nana's). 

Sidenote:

I knew I would have a ton of leftovers, so I mixed together half the coleslaw on Tuesday so I could have 'fresh' coleslaw on Wednesday. Hate soggy coleslaw.