Slow Cooker Carnitas

This recipe was doomed. I got the meat in a huge hunk, cut it in half and froze half. I gave it a whirl, but forgot to turn the slow cooker ON after setting up the timer and everything. Damn. Next day, I remembered to turn the cooker on, but somehow messed up the timer. Damn. Threw out the meat, since it had been sitting out on the counter for two whole workdays.

Tried again with the frozen meat. WTH, again the timer was messed up. So, I just let it go from where I was, refridgerated it, and had it the next day.

I was concerned M wasn't going to like it, but he commented that it smelled REALLY good. He didn't like the corn tortillas at all, though, but said the carnitas themselves weren't bad.

I liked it... I wasn't thrilled with the corn tortillas because of their texture and that they sort of fell apart (maybe a different brand would be better?) but I really enjoyed their flavor with that of the meat. I thought the meat tasted great, esp considering how few ingredients there were to this one.

I wasn't really sure what toppings to use on this, though. I mentioned to M that he should treat it like a taco, so he topped it with black olives, sour cream, and cheese (we didn't have any of our usual toppings in the house), while I topped with sour cream, cheese, and avocado.

I had used up all my beef broth the first time I tried this one, so I tried chicken broth in the final take.... it still worked well.

This one comes from The Crockpot Lady, whose picture looks way better than mine ever would have (even if I had taken one). Check out her original post here.

2 pounds pork shoulder
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (about 1 large orange)
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (about 1 large lime)
7 cloves garlic (whole intact)
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon cumin
1/2 cup beef broth
corn tortillas
sour cream, salsa, sliced avocado (optional)

Use a 6 quart slow cooker. In a small bowl, combine the salt and cumin. Rub mixture all over the pork, then plop into the slow cooker. Add whole garlic cloves. Squeeze on the citrus, and pour the beef broth evenly over the top.Cook on low for 8-10 hours, or until the pork shreds quite easily with a fork. If your meat is still fully intact after 8 hours, remove and cut into chunks, then return to the crock and flip to high for about an hour or two.Shred meat fully and serve on warmed corn tortillas with desired toppings.