Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas with Citrus Finish

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Score: 5/10

A conceptually sound and flavorful recipe that suffers from a critical flaw in its cooking time and temperature. A 3 lb pork shoulder cooked on low for 4-5 hours will be tough and impossible to shred. Additionally, the salt ratio is too low for the volume of meat.

Strengths

• The broiler method is excellent for replicating the crispy edges of traditional carnitas.
• The inclusion of fresh lime juice at the end provides necessary acid to cut the rich pork fat.
• Clear, engaging description that sets up the recipe's use-case perfectly.

Issues

• high / timing: Cooking a 3 lb pork shoulder on LOW in a slow cooker for 4 to 5 hours is vastly insufficient. The meat will not reach the required internal temperature (around 195-205F) to break down connective tissue and become shreddable.
• medium / flavor: 1 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt is inadequate for 3 lbs of pork plus vegetables. Standard seasoning ratios dictate roughly 1 teaspoon of kosher salt per pound of meat.
• low / cookability: Broiling the pork with the sweet orange juice cooking liquid can lead to rapid burning. The 5 to 8 minute broil time needs a caution to watch closely.

Suggested fixes

• Correct the slow cooker settings: specify 'LOW for 8 to 10 hours' or 'HIGH for 4 to 5 hours'.
• Increase the kosher salt to at least 2 1/2 to 3 teaspoons.
• Add a note to the broiling step advising the cook to watch the meat closely, as the sugars in the orange juice can burn quickly under the broiler.