#2,796 and #2,797: Pork Carnita Enchiladas and Homemade Enchilada Sauce

This is a terrible picture b/c it doesn't do it justice. Yes these are enchiladas, but they are filled with pork carnita shredded meat, black beans, corn, and cheese. Chloe (my kid who isn't a big meat eater), was eating the pork filling directly out of the pan on the stove. Yep, it's that good.  The next time pork butt is on sale go grab one (or two!).  This filling freezes well, but the best way to eat this is to pan fry it in its juices after it's done cooking because it gets this nice little cripsy crust on it.  Oh my gosh, so good.  So I cooked it in the crockpot, then sauteed it in a pan to crisp it up, THEN I added it to the tortillas with beans, corn, and cheese and turned it into enchiladas.  HUGE hit at my house!  Only some of us like enchilada sauce so I usually don't have it on hand, so I found this easy recipe to make it from scratch.  So today you get both recipes here. Did you know how easy it is to make enchilada sauce?!  SOOO easy.  

4 lb pork shoulder (pork butt) , skinless, boneless 

2 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 onion , chopped

1 jalapeno , de-seeded, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 oranges , juice only (or 3/4 cup juice)

Rub

1 tbsp dried oregano

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tbsp olive oil

Rinse and dry the pork shoulder, rub all over with salt and pepper.

Combine the Rub ingredients then rub all over the pork.

Place the pork in a slow cooker (fat cap up), top with the onion, jalapeño, minced garlic, and squeeze over the juice of the oranges.

Slow Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. Remove from slow cooker and let cool slightly. Then shred using two forks.

Set the cooking liquid aside - don't bother straining onion etc, it's super soft.

To Crisp:

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large non stick pan or well seasoned skillet over high heat. Spread pork in the pan, drizzle over some juices. Wait until the juices evaporate and the bottom side is golden brown and crusty. Turn and just briefly sear the other side - you don't want to make it brown all over because then it's too crispy, need tender juicy bits.

Remove pork from skillet. Repeat in batches, don't crowd the pan.

Just before serving, drizzle over more juices and serve hot.

Note: Best way to store/freeze: Shred pork but don't pan fry. Keep pork and juice separate, refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to 3 months.

Enchilada Sauce:

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 Tablespoons flour

3 Tablespoons chili powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin

2 cups chicken broth

Heat the oil in a small saucepan over med/low heat. Add the flour and whisk for approx. 1 minute.  Add all the spices and stir.  Gradually and slowly add the broth, whisking to prevent any lumps.  Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes or until enchilada sauce thickens.

Use immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge.