This slow cooked, mildly seasoned, low-fat freezes well and is great to have on hand as a filling for many Mexican dishes like tacos, burritos, nachos, and enchiladas. It's also good on sandwiches.
The pork is first browned on the stove top. Then the slow cooking takes place either in a Dutch oven on the stove top or in a slow cooker. The final step is to brown the shredded pork in its own juices in the oven. That's where the flavor really gets infused into the meat. The result is tender, flavorful pork with browned, crispy bits mixed in. Yum!
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Ingredients
- 1 lean boneless pork roast fat removed, cut into 3-4" chunks, 4-5 lb
- 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 cup low sodium fat-free chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 large onion minced
- 2 cups salsa verde store bought or homemade
Ingredients
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Instructions
- Pat pork pieces try with paper towels; sprinkle with seasoned salt. In a Dutch oven over med-high heat, add canola oil and brown pork pieces on all sides. Remove pork and set aside; add chicken broth and deglaze the pan, stirring in the browned bits from the bottom.
- Slow cook the pork using one of these options.
- STOVE TOP OPTION: Add pepper, garlic, onions, and salsa verde to broth in pan and stir; add pork pieces back in. Bring to simmer, cover and simmer on lowest setting until pork is fork tender (approx. 2-1/2 to 3 hours).
- SLOW COOKER OPTION: Place browned pork pieces in slow cooker. Pour on the chicken broth liquid that was used to deglaze the Dutch oven. Sprinkle with the black pepper; top with the garlic, onions, and salsa verde. Cover and cook on high for 3-1/2 to 4 hours or on low for 7-9 hours, until fork tender.
- Transfer cooked pork to cutting board and shred it using two forks; discard fat. Degrease the cooking liquid left in the pan.
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Spread out the shredded pork in a large shallow baking pan. Pour up to 3 cups of the degreased cooking liquid over the pork. Bake uncovered for 30 min. or until crispy pieces appear on top. Remove from oven and stir. Return to oven for 20 minutes or until crispy pieces appear again on top. Repeat baking, crisping, and stirring for 10-20 min. intervals until all or most of the liquid are gone from the bottom of the pan. For a moister meat, cook until approx. 1/4" liquid remains on the bottom of the pan, stirring remaining liquid back into the shredded pork. For dryer/crisper meat, cook until all liquid has cooked away.
Recipe Notes
SERVING SUGGESTIONS: a filling for tacos, burritos, fajitas, chimichangas, enchiladas or a topping for nachos. mix with barbecue sauce and serve on a bun for a quick, tasty sandwich add to chili or stew add to grilled sandwich/panini along with melted cheese and additional salsa verde Freezes and reheats well.