The 'I hate meal prep' meal prep

The recipe I turn to when I know I have a busy week coming up. And bonus for this heat wave: It's made in the slow cooker.

I’m sure this is news to you, but: I love to cook. I cook almost every day. It’s how I relax. It’s my happy place. But like everyone, there are some times when I just CANNOT. I’m busy, exhausted, whatever. And when I know I have one of those periods coming up, I turn to pork carnitas.

I’m not a huge meal prep person because I hate eating the same thing every day. But I love having something on hand that I can keep adapting and playing with throughout the week. This slow-cooker pork carnitas recipe from The Kitchn, while not traditional, is perfect for that. It was one of my big pandemic discoveries and it’s so, so good.

I’ll typically go to the store Saturday or Sunday before a big week, pick up a pork shoulder (which is super cheap, by the way) and toss it in the slow cooker and let it go all day. It’s pretty low effort and now you’ve got the base for a bunch of different meals for the rest of the week. I’ll turn it into burrito bowls, taco salad, enchiladas, taco night (see below the recipe for an indulgent idea there). Or, if you’re my fiancé, you’ll just eat it straight out of the pan or fridge with your fingers on its own. It’s great that way too.

Now, let’s get cooking.

This could be dinner on a busy night when you’re exhausted: Pork carnitas with rice, a can of black beans, salsa, shredded cheese and sour cream in front of the TV.

Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas

Ingredients:

• 1 pork shoulder or pork butt (You can adjust the timing to any size here, but The Kitchn recommends 7-8 lbs with bone, 6-7 pounds boneless)

• 2 tbsp kosher salt

• 1 tbsp ground cumin

• 1 tbsp ground black pepper

• 1 tbsp dried oregano

• 2 tsp ground cinnamon (I omit the cinnamon, I find it overpowering, but if that’s your bag, go for it)

• 1 tsp cayenne pepper

• 8 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed

• 4 individual chipotle chiles from a can of chipotles en adobo

• 14 oz. can diced tomatoes

• 3 cups liquid, such as orange juice, beer, low-sodium broth, or a combination (I do a whole can of Dos Equis, or another light beer I think I’ll drink, and do OJ for the rest)

Method:

1. Make your rub: Mix 2 tbsp kosher salt, 1 tbsp ground cumin, 1 tbsp ground black pepper, 1 tbsp dried oregano, 2 tsp ground cinnamon (if you’re using), and 1 tsp cayenne pepper in a small bowl.

2. Trim any excess fat and/or skin, if yours came that way, off the pork shoulder and cover every inch and crevice of it with the rub.

3. Put the pork shoulder in your slow cooker and toss in 8 smashed garlic cloves, 4 chipotle peppers, a 14. oz can of diced tomatoes and 3 cups of liquid (I do light beer and orange juice).

4. Cover and set on low for 8 hours.

5. Pull the pork out (tongs help here, it should be falling apart) and put it on a sheet pan. Remove the bone and any really fatty bits and shred the rest with forks. Now, you can place it under the broiler for a few minutes to get some extra crispy bits, which is great, but I’m usually starving from smelling this all day and skip it.

A warning from experience: You might be tempted to use the leftover liquid as a kind of sauce, but it is WAY too concentrated. Just looking out for you

Pork shoulder ready for a loooong cook.

Yes, and

I’m the sort of crazy person who is tempted to make their own corn tortillas from scratch for fun. That’s not everyone, but! Oh my god, if you can get your hands on masa harina, the only other things you need are salt and water for this Food & Wine recipe, and they are unbelievable.

I made these once without a tortilla press, I just covered them in plastic wrap and pounded them out with a heavy pan and a rolling pin to make small, palm-sized tortillas. Then I cooked them up and put a little of the leftover carnitas in them with pickled red onions (perfect recipe here) and Cholula and ate them over the stove with grease dripping down my hands while I fried up more of them. It was a life-alerting experience.

Separately: If you’re not using the rest of the adobo sauce from that can of chipotles to make chipotle mayo, we can’t be friends.

Background noise

I’ve been listening again to “Offerings” by Typhoon. I will say up front: This is a concept album about a man developing Alzheimer’s and that’s a really tough topic that may not be up your alley. But I think it is absolutely gorgeous and gutting in the best way. Truly one of my favorite albums of all time. I saw them the night the Roe draft leaked last year and sobbed. It was cathartic.

That’s it for this week, thank you so much for reading. I’ll be back soon with another recipe. And in the meantime: If you have any ideas or questions or feedback, hit me up in the comments. I’d love to hear what you’re interested in!