Steak Carnitas Tacos

I love having steak with mexican food but it’s hard to have on a day when you need to prep dinner in the morning or afternoon to be ready in the evening. Most steaks require pan searing right before dinertime and usually that’s the craziest time of my day! I love throwing some meat, veggies, and spices in the crock pot in the morning, smelling their delicious aroma all day, and having dinner ready right at 5:30. Not all days go that well but the best ones do!

I found a recipe online for steak carnitas meat in the slow cooker and altered it slightly. I cooked it the way the recipe called for but it just wasn’t spicy enough—probably because I didn’t have a jalapeno on hand so I use a green anaheim chile which has less kick. It had a great aroma but needed something more. I love spicy and I love lots of Mexican seasonings, so I added some extra (as noted below). Then I served with a homemade pico, some shredded cabbage drenched in lime juice, and corn tortillas. It was simple and delicious!

Steak Carnitas, Original Recipe from Bless this Mess Please - my notes or changes in italics:

• 1 T. chili powder
• 1 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, or more to taste
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 lbs flank steak
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• jalapeno, seeded and chopped (I didn’t have this so added 2 tsp of hot sauce instead of the jalapeno)
• 2 c. water
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• garlic salt (the recipe didn’t call for more but it still needed more salt to me so I added about 2 tsp. more, to taste)

Homemade Pico de Gallo

3-4 tomatoes on the vine or very ripe tomatoes, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1/2 white or yellow onion diced very thin

cilantro to taste

chili powder to taste

garlic salt to taste

Lime Shredded Cabbage

1/2 head of green (or red) cabbage, diced into very thin strands

Juice of 2-3 limes

Place all ingredients in the top section, for carnitas, in slow cooker. Cook on LOW for 5-7 hours. I think the low setting is important so the meat isn’t tough. This made my meat so tender and it shredded right apart. I also added some water to the bottom of the crock pot to keep the steak from getting dry. Once done and shredded it ended up being the perfect consistency for shredded taco meat with a flavorful sauce. Once cooked shred and leave on warm setting.

For the pico, dice all ingredients very small. Mix together and chill before serving. For cabbage chop and throw into bowl. Squeeze lime juice over and mix together. Let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving. The lime flavor with the sweet and spicy steak is so good!

Warm corn tortillas either in a skillet or in the microwave, then serve with meat, shredded cabbage, and homemade pico. The flavor of the corn tortillas is so good with all the other simple ingredients.