Crispy Crock Pot Pulled Pork Tacos

Digging myself out of the pit of overdue posts, I present these amazingly flavorful carnitas (aka: pulled pork). They were a bit spicy, but in a good way.  That heat in the back of your throat way, which I can deal with more than the singing my tongue all the way through way.  I pinned these courtesy of Gimme Some Oven, which is a rising star in my favorite recipe sites.  An honor well earned, if this recipe is any indication for you.

Also?  Tacos are REALLY hard to photograph.  Just sayin.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4.5-lb lean boneless pork roast, excess fat trimmed (of which there was much in my particular cut; I actually find that to be the norm), cut into 3-inch pieces
• 8 ounces of beer (Mmmm, beeer.  Note this is not a full can- you get to drink the rest!  Bonus!)
• 1 large white onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon chipotle chili powder (and yes, this does make a difference; don't cheat with regular)
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder (see?  we use two kinds for a reason!)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Sear the pork on all sides until browned (6-10 minutes total).  Remove pork with a slotted spoon and transfer to a crock pot.
2. Add remaining ingredients, with a gentle stir to mix.  Cook on low 6-8 hours until the pork is tender and shreds easily with a fork.  Shred all of the pork.
3. Once the pork is cooked, preheat your broiler.  Herein lies the crispy magic.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and with a slotted spoon transfer the pork from the crock pot to the baking sheet.  Reserve the remaining liquid.  Spread the pork into a single layer, using two baking sheets if necessary.
4. Broil 5 minutes or until the edges are crispy but the pork is still juicy/not dried out.  Drizzle with 1/4 cup of the reserved juice from the crock pot, and gently stir to coat.  Broil another 5 minutes, remove from oven, and ladle with another 1/4 cup of reserved juice.
5. Serve with tacos, burritos, on sandwich buns, on salad, etc.  I personally think the soft taco approach is a home run.