If you are a vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, or really any other ‘tarian, this post may not be for you. If you could eat bacon with every meal whether sweet or savory, then READ ON! Do you remember those infomercials for the RONCO 4000 where the tagline was “Set it and Forget it”? That will be the focus this week! You always need a meal (or 4 meals, in this case) that you have to do little prep for but get HUGE yield. Look no further. You are going to buy a pork shoulder roast (usually costs about $2.49/lb, super reasonable, huh) and create a little spice rub, throw a little sear on the outside of the meat and then pop it in the crockpot for 8-10 hours on low. It’s harder to change a flat on your bike than it is to make this recipe FO SHIZZLE! Once you have the meat cooked and shredded, now the real fun begins. You can use it however your little heart desires….tacos, rice bowl, BBQ pork pizza, sloppy joe sandwiches, fajitas, quinoa salad, grilled cheese sandwich with pork, or quesadillas. I wouldn’t recommend putting it in a smoothie, but what do I know.
My suggestion is to rock the taco, smother it in chimichurri sauce, let it drip down your hands, lick it all off and your plate while you’re at it.
CARNITAS TACOS
– 1 4-5 lb. pork shoulder roast, bone in
– 1 TBS. garlic
– 2 tsp. cumin
– 1 TBS. coriander
– 1 ½ TBS paprika
– 2 tsp. smoked paprika
– 1 tsp. oregano
– 1 TBS. salt
– 2 tsp. pepper
– 1 large vidalia onion, sliced
**Heat 2 TBS. olive oil in a large pan that will fit the pork roast. Combine all the spices together and mix. Rub the spice mixture on the pork. Once the pan and oil is hot, sear the meat on all sides for just a couple minutes allowing the meat to brown and the spices to caramelize a bit.
**Place the sliced onions in the crock pot and then put the browned roast on top of the onions. Turn the crock pot on low and let it cook for 8-10 hours. Once the meat is done, take it out and place it on a baking sheet to shred. There is usually quite a bit of fat to discard, but you should be left with a little over 3 lbs of shredded pork. Now for the sauce…
CHIMICHURRI SAUCE
– 1 ½ c. parsley
– 1 ½ c. cilantro
– zest and juice of 1 large lemon
– 4 garlic cloves
– ¼ c. apple cider vinegar
– ½ c. olive oil
– 1 tsp. chili pepper flakes
**Place all the ingredients in a blender (I have a VitaMix that I LOVE and will blend up just about anything. If your blender isn’t very powerful, throw it away and buy a VitaMix. You will thank me later!) Blend until smooth. This sits in the fridge beautifully and is actually better the next day because the flavors have had time to marry. I am pretty sure I can drink this stuff, you will likely want to as well.
As for the tacos, do what you would with any taco. A little corn tortilla, some pork, slather some chimichurri sauce on it, maybe top with radishes and guacamole and a little queso fresco cheese and you are rocking the taco!! AND, with 3 lbs of shredded pork, you could be rocking the taco ALL week. Picture it….you come in endorphin drunk from a long run or ride RAVENOUSLY hungry and boom, you nearly have a meal ready for you in the fridge. No prep time, just assemble and eat. LOVE IT!
Thanks for joining me on another Foodie Friday! Food is a constant journey that takes you to new places… & I love being part of your journey.
~ Jamie
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