Mojo Pork a.k.a. Cuban Roast Pork

Step 1

Place untrimmed pork, fat side up in the slow-cooker.

Step 2

Toss garlic cloves around the roast and scatter the salt, pepper, oregano, cumin, and crushed red pepper flakes or fresh jalapeño around the pork shoulder.

Step 3

Dollop the frozen orange juice concentrate over the roast. Pour the 1/3 cup of lime juice around the edges and toss in the cilantro stems. Cover and turn the slow cooker to "HIGH".

Step 4

Allow to cook for 1 hour, turn the heat to ’LOW’ and continue cooking for another 7 hours or until meat falls apart when prodded with a fork. When the meat is tender, turn off slow cooker and place the slow cooker bowl in the fridge until it is cool enough to handle comfortably.

Step 5

(If your slow-cooker doesn’t have a removable insert, transfer the contents to a large container with a tight-fitting lid and pop that into the fridge.

Step 6

Use a spoon to remove the congealed fat from around the pork shoulder. Discard the fat.

Step 7

Transfer pork shoulder to a large cutting board, preferably one with a groove to catch juices. Otherwise, keep the paper towels handy! Let sit while attending to the pan juices.

Step 8

Pour the cooking juices that surrounded the pork through a fine mesh strainer positioned over a saucepan. Remove and discard any solids left in the strainer. Add the remaining lime juice to the cooking juices.

Step 9

Whisk until evenly combined and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Allow to boil (while working on shredding the pork) until reduced to about 1/4 of the starting volume. Set aside until pork is fully shredded.

Step 10

Pull the bone out of the pork and discard. Scrape as much fat as you can from the outside of the pork shoulder. Discard the fat.

Step 11

Pull large chunks of the shoulder apart. It should naturally come apart at places where there is additional fat you can remove. Take as much of the fat out as you can without wasting meat.

Step 12

Using your hands -or two forks- shred the meat into small pieces. When you’ve shredded all the meat, you can leave it as is or chop through it quickly with a knife to ensure that you have small bite-sized pieces.

Step 13

When pork is fully shredded (and chopped, if desired) transfer to a 9? x 13? baking dish with sides. Pour the reduced pan juices over the pork and toss. Tightly cover the pan with foil.

Step 14

If you plan on serving it immediately, put into a preheated 350ºF oven and heat for 25 minutes, or until hot all the way through. If you are preparing this ahead of time you can either place the pan directly into the freezer or into the fridge.

Step 15

Place, still covered in foil, in a preheated 350ºF oven for 30 minutes, or until heated through.

Step 16

Place, still covered in foil, in a preheated 350ºF for 45 minutes, or until heated through