Slow Cooked Carnitas Tacos

If you are looking for a good taco recipe and are tired of those ground beef tacos, TRY THIS! They are sooo yummy! I originally found a carnitas recipe on RecipeGirl.com a few years ago, I tried it a few times, altered it, and leave you with my version below!

Slow Cooked Carnitas Tacos 

Ingredients

• 2 lbs pork shoulder (Boston Butt), bone removed, cut into 1½-inch pieces
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp ground black pepper ( I use fresh cracked pepper, but it doesn't matter)
• ½ tsp dried oregano 
• ½ large onion, cut into 4 pieces
• corn tortillas (small or medium are fine, but don't get the big burrito tortillas 
• canola oil
• diced onion
• fresh cilantro
• fresh lemons (2-3)

Method (use slow cooker, if you don't have one, a large pot will work too, but you will need to keep an eye on it as heat may not be distributed evenly)

• Trim excess fat off pork and make sure pieces are roughly even in size (1 ½ inch cubes)
• Add pork to slow cooker and top with salt, pepper, oregano and onion wedges
• Set slow cooker to "low" heat setting, or use the lowest heat setting on your stove. Let cook for ~6 hours or until meat is very tender and falling apart.  
• When meat is almost finished, begin frying tortillas in Canola oil. Add about ⅓ cup oil to frying pan and warm to medium-high heat. Add one tortilla and let fry flat about 1 minute. Then, using tongs, fold the tortilla in half and continue frying until golden brown and slightly crispy (about 30 seconds on each side). I don't like them hard, just a little crispy, but if you want them hard, keep flipping on heat for one minute extra. Transfer to paper towel and repeat process with remaining tortillas.You may need to add more oil  as you go if the pan gets low.
• To serve: Shred meat and add to taco shell. Top with diced onion, cilantro, and spritz some fresh lemon juice on top.
• Enjoy!