Low Fat, Full Flavor Pork Carnitas!

I absolutely love carnitas. One of my fondest memories from the two plus years I have spent in Mexico, is driving to a ranch in the middle of nowhere in a Suburban with six other screaming girls for my first experience with carnitas. I was about seven and I remember pulling up to what appeared to be a small house with holes scattered throughout the front (dirt) yard. In those holes were spits with whole pigs slowly turning, basting themselves in all of their family-farm raised glory. We scattered out of the car and into the “restaurant” where we each received a real coke (no corn syrup) and clay tortilla holder. Upon opening the lids, we discovered small hand formed corn tortillas that happened to be dyed green, for an extra touch of Mexican pride. The leading lady of the restaurant then came flying through the door, not once or twice but three times, with platters of glistening carnitas. Each of us dove in, elbows on the long wooden table and put together amazingly fresh tacos to eat until we burst. Okay, maybe we didn’t burst, but we did get really quiet for a while. Everybody won.
 

Fast forward 20 years and I have been experimenting with how to scale down on the size and fat in this dish. I actually starting with a whole pork butt (shoulder)  and found the fat actually watered down the flavor of the great spices. Enter the pork tenderloin. Did you know that a trimmed pork tenderloin actually has less fat than an equal portion of boneless, skinless chicken breast? Everybody relies on chicken for a go-to weeknight, healthy meal! Frankly, I think the pork tenderloin is more versatile. It grills quickly, it bakes beautifully and it holds up perfectly in the slow cooker. Seriously, stock up on these babies. You can freeze them easily if you can find a good deal. 

I have adapted this recipe for 3-4 people. It can be served in a burrito, as tacos or as I did tonight; you can make a delicious burrito bowl with brown rice and black beans!

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp chili powder
• 2 tsp. kosher salt
• 2 tsp. brown sugar
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• ½ tsp. cayenne
• ½ tsp. dried oregano
• ½ tsp. onion powder
• ½ tsp/ garlic powder
• 1/8 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 small sweet onion
• 1 1/2 pound boneless pork tenderloin
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil

Method

Stir together all ingredients except for the pork, onion and oil in a small bowl. Roughly chop the onion and place it in the bottom of the slow cooker. Trim the tenderloin of any larger pieces of fat and silver skin. Pat the tenderloin dry with paper towels. Pat the spice mix onto the roast all over, reserving any leftover spice mix for later. 

Heat vegetable oil in a grill or cast-iron pan on high heat. Place the roast in the pan and brown on all sides. This usually takes 2 minutes per side. Place the roast in a slow cooker and add any extra spice rub. Cook on a low setting for 8 to 10 hours or until the pork pulls apart easily with two forks.

Remove the roast from the slow cooker and place on a cutting board. I chop the pork into small chunks. You can leave it in chunks or shred it with forks. Return the chunks shreds to the slow cooker and mix the pork so that is well coated with the onions and remaining juices. 

Enjoy!

The Beauty that Stems from Contradictions

Five years ago if you had asked me if I would be living in a house in the suburbs with an 11X20 ft. garden, a picket fence, two dogs and canning everything from pasta sauce to pickles; I would have informed you kindly that you are out of your mind! Having grown up in a condo overlooking Lake Michigan, I always considered myself a person of contradictions; a brick and mortar city girl who appreciates natural beauty, if you will.

The contradictions started at a young age. My window overlooked the beach bike path, but I resisted learning to ride a bicycle. Even when my friends were driving up and down Lincoln Ave in their SUVs, listening to the Backstreet Boys, I never wanted a car. If the destination were two miles or less, I walked. If it were more, I took public transportation. 

These contradictions were apparently a heredity trait. Even though we loved a good Target or Costco deal, my family rarely loaded up the car with tons of groceries at one time, favoring more frequent trips to a farmer’s market or European style grocery store.

In my new, “adult” suburban life I often see food, laundry and flower delivery services buzzing around my neighborhood. I think back to all of the flower shops that were just blocks from my door as a child.  Regardless of the premade convenience, I am reminded of how crafty my family actually was (and this was pre-Pintrest.) Never did my mother buy arranged flowers for the Christmas table or any holiday for that matter. Every year, our home was adorned with beautiful homemade creations; from handmade bird’s nest centerpieces with pastel-painted eggs for Easter, to a gathering of gourds and fall colored candles, arranged in colorful clay pots that my mom brought home from Mexico. 

Feeling ashamed of my latest rash of purchases from 1800-Flowers and Edible Arrangements, I decided to embark on a mission to create a handmade floral arrangement for my Mother-in-Law’s birthday gift. I still wanted to stay within my budget, so I had to get creative. 

I began by heading to my local Goodwill. They have a whole rack of nothing but vases, baskets and ribbons. One dollar and fifty cents later, I had a nice, sturdy vase and some pebbles to help secure my arrangement. After polling some fellow couponing and savings junkies on one of my favorite sites – jillcataldo.com, I found out that both Trader Joe’s and Costco have great deals on really fresh flowers. After checking out both stores, I found two dozen beautiful peach, yellow and pink roses for $14 at Costco. All that was left was to put a personal touch on the arrangement. My mother-in-law happens to love citrus, especially lemons. She had mentioned wanting to plant a lemon tree in the yard of the town home were she and my father-in-law plan to retire in California. Fifty cents later, I had some fresh citrus. 

A view I never had in the city :)

It took be about 15 minutes and $17 to pull this arrangement together. I know that some naysayers may point out that I could have paid a bit more and had a prearranged bouquet delivered. Yes, and after a couple hours of research I found that had I been willing to spend $10 to $20 more I could have saved myself some time, but only gotten a dozen roses delivered, without a vase.  

My final ruling on this topic is that if I am going to be in the area of or even at one of these stores, I will definitely be making my own arrangements from now on.  Don’t worry, since my childhood in that condo, I have learned to ride a bike, I own my own car and while I would never call myself a crafter, I now know that I can be crafty in my own way.