slow roasted dried chili pork carnitas, caramelized onion and peppers, creamy avocado, lettuce, Greek yogurt crema, refried beans, all the cheese
- Seasoning (already had): $0
- 1/3 pork butt: $10 (divided by 3)= $3.33
- 1/8 onion: $.89 (divided by 8)= $.11
- 1/2 pepper: $.80 (divided by 2)= $.40
- 1 avocado: $1
- Refried beans: $1.25
- 1/4 c cheese: $2.00 (divided by 4)= $.50
- 1/4 c lettuce: $.10
Total meal cost: $6.69
In our case, this turned out to be $2.23/person
Recipe: mix garlic powder, onion powder, coriander, ginger, paprika, chili powder, salt, pepper, homemade chicken stock (1 cup), and apple cider vinegar (1/4 cup) together until it’s a rough runny rustic mix. Slap that stuff on a 3 pound pork butt and massage it like you’re a cocktail waitress at McGettigans.
Cook in a slow cooker for six hours on low. Til she falls apart. Turn off the cooker. You can either pull it or chop it from here. For a pork butt, I like the chop method because the fat gets all juicy and adds some real texture to the meat. Pull it out of the juices and chop it up. Place it back in the juice for another 30 minutes (cooker still is off). Serve without draining!
After eating all the carnitas your little heart could want, drain and separate the remaining mixture into two sustainable containers, saving the juice.
The $10 chopped pork butt will be used in two more meals: pork bbq sandwiches for lunch tomorrow, and carnitas grilled cheese for another lunch. The broth (strained after tonight) will be the base of a pork posole or ramen—whatever we’re in the mood for!
