Crocked!

Well, that was easy. Now I know why crock pots are the appliance of choice for working adults everywhere. After some minimal prep work, the slow cooker made my kitchen aromatic as heck.

The one major concern was that the meat expanded during cooking, lifting the lid towards the end. I'm glad I was around to rectify that. One pre-cooking accident--sprinkling on oregano instead of ground pepper (oops!)--didn't really matter. It's not that precise of a cooking method (crock for 4 to 6 hours).

On the New Year's resolution front, I knocked out three birds with one meal. I tried the crock pot, bought fresh tortillas and continued my cookie crusade. The last one was a bit of a lark, as I couldn't resist the temptation of trying one "galleta" I saw in the case at the tortilla tienda. I asked the amiable clerk what kind it was and she said it was a "cereal" cookie. Thinking something had been lost in translation, I asked her (in my passable Spanish) what kind of flavor it had. "Corn Flakes," she said. Surrre. It was OK, but not great, like a heartier sugar cookie.

Anyway, the crock potting was fun for all. The Spoonstress and I enjoyed a nice taco fiesta, made all the better with those locally-made corn tortillas. It even yielded some nice bones for my Spooch (who, much to my chagrin, isn't named Sporky). She seemed to enjoy the crock pot experience.

I used this simple recipe I got from the web. To that template, I added the juice from one lime and red pepper flakes instead of a jalapeno pepper. I cooked for about seven hours, but then again, my pork shoulder was almost five pounds.

When it's done, the meat should come right off the bone with a fork and look something like this. If it doesn't break off in chunks and long strips, it's probably not ready. Overall, I'd definitley recommend making these crock pot carnitas, even though the clean up is a bit...greasy. If you do make it and have any bones left over, I know someone who wants 'em.