Paleo Crock Pot Pork Shoulder Pernil Carnitas Style (2024)

Ok everyone, hold the phone….I made another Cuban inspired crock pot meal. The way I see it is, life is too short to just have one pork shoulder/ pork butt slow cooker meal in your repertoire. Two nights ago I made this pork meal and it was too good to hold out on you guys so I knew I had to create a blog post STAT. Since I have gotten so many hits and searches for my first Cuban Crock Pot Pernil I decided to make another recipe with a few new twists (and ingredients). This 2.0 version of my Cuban PaleoCrock Pot Pork Shoulder is just as good as the previous IF NOT BETTER. Again, a lot of people think pork is not healthy but I want toput an end tothat myth right here and right now. Imust remind you that pork tenderloin is leaner and has less saturated fat than chicken; there is a reason why it is referred to the other white meat. Similarly, pork shoulder and pork buttcuts, although more fatty or marbled,have so much flavor that a little goes a long way.A trick to cut down on the saturatedfat in these cuts is I simply trimoff a lot of the excess fat; it’s not rocket science. There is no reason to avoid pork.

I love pork for4 reasons:

1. It is less fat and healthier than other red meats.
2. It is flavorful.
3. It is forgiving and cookswell in the crock pot; it usually doesn’t dry out like chicken.
4. It is cheap. I paid $1.99 a pound for the pork shoulder last week and you can find pork tenderloin when itgoes on saleanywhere from $2.50to $2.99 a pound.That’s a bargain!

Going back to the recipe, I served this yummy porkwith an amazing chorizo no grain cauliflower rice and that is why I think thisrecipe is now one of my new fave crock pot recipes. When you make this recipe TRY the cauliflower rice. It was THAT good. If you are scared or just not feeling the paleolifestyle, then substitute brown rice for the cauliflower. Either way, the flavors were amazing! When we were all said and done with this meal, Ben and I ate 1 and 1/2 bags of cauliflower in addition to all the pork! And yes folks that was in one sitting. I also served the pork with my yummyavocado tomatillo sauce, another favorite in my house. If you end up with more pork left over than you expected, try one of my two favorite “leftover makeover” meals: Mexican Carnitas or Breakfast Suited for Kings.

I am still dreaming about this meal. No joke. The pork was so moist and there are so many options for you to use the pork leftovers. My personal favorite is adding it to your eggs in the morning. The kids love when I make them quesadillaswith left over pork. I also add shredded leftover pork to my salads the following day for lunch. Eat it plain, throw it in a soup, or make a pulled pork BBQ sandwich,the possibilities are endless.Pork is so good, I promise you won’t have too many leftovers.

So are you hooked yet?