Slow Cooker Mojo Pork Bowlwith rice / chopped spinach / fresh salsa
Citrus juice and zest are used in this Mojo pork that as been featured in previous meal plans (most recently in 2017). The pork is shredded and served over rice with chopped baby spinach and homemade salsa to keep things fresh in the warmer temps.
Smarts: The pork in this recipe could be made in the Instant Pot. For tips, join the Cook Smarts Instant Pot Facebook Group.
Ingredients
- Onions, medium - 1, chopped
- Garlic - 6 cloves, peeled and crushed
- Jalapenos - 1, sliced
- Pork, boneless shoulder roast (enough for 2 nights) - 3 lbs (sometimes labeled pork butt)
- Orange juice - 3/4 cup (store-bought or fresh-squeezed)
- Limes - 1, zest of
- Cumin - 1 1/2 tsp
- Paprika, smoked - 1 1/2 tsp
- Oregano, dried - 1 tsp
- Salt - 1 1/2 tsp
- Black pepper - 1/2 tsp
- Bay leaves (opt) - 2
- Rice, uncooked white or brown - 2/3 cup
- Baby spinach - 5 oz, roughly chopped
- Limes - 1/2, wedges
- Vinegar, rice - 2 tsp
- Honey - 1 tsp
- Oil, cooking - 1 Tbsp
- Sour cream (opt) - for serving (sub plain or Greek yogurt)
- Tortilla chips (opt) - for serving
- Shallots - 1 clove, diced
- Cilantro - 2 tsp, chopped
- Tomatoes, medium - 2, chopped
- Limes - 1/2, juice of
- Red pepper flakes or hot sauce (opt) - to taste
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Rice - (Skip if rice was made ahead for Monday.) For white rice, rinse until clear. Fill a saucepan or Dutch oven (or rice cooker) with rice, water (use 2:1 ratio for water to rice), and some salt. Cover with lid and bring to a boil. Once water boils, stir, lower heat to a low-medium, and cover. Check white rice after ~20 min; brown at ~45 min. Rice is done when it's absorbed all the water. If it's not done, leave the cover on until all water has been absorbed. Take cover off to release steam and fluff with a wooden spoon after 5 minutes. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Onions / Garlic / Jalapenos / Shallots - Prep as directed. Combine onions, garlic, and jalapenos. Store shallots separately. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Slow-cook pork - (This makes enough for 2 nights.) In the bowl of a slow cooker combine pork, onions, garlic, jalapenos, orange juice, lime zest, cumin, paprika, oregano, salt, pepper, and bay leaves. Set slow cooker to low and cook until pork is falling apart and tender, 7 to 8 hours (or 4 to 5 hours on high). (Note: You can also bake the pork and other ingredients in a Dutch oven, covered at 325F / 163C, until pork is falling apart and tender, 2-1/2 to 3 hours.
- Spinach / Lime wedges (for bowls) / Cilantro / Tomatoes - Prep as directed.
- Make salsa - Combine shallots, cilantro, tomatoes, and lime juice. Season with some salt and pepper. Add some red pepper flakes or hot sauce if you’d like the salsa spicy.
Make
- When pork is finished cooking, discard bay leaves. Transfer pork to a cutting board and roughly chop. Return pork to slow cooker and combine with cooking liquid. Taste and season with some additional salt and pepper if needed. Keep warm until ready to serve.
- In a large bowl, whisk together vinegar and honey with a pinch of salt. Add oil while whisking. Add spinach and toss until combined.
- If rice was made ahead, reheat in the microwave.
- Assemble bowls with rice, then pork (reserve half for Thursday), spinach, salsa, sour cream, and lime wedges. (You can also set all of the components out and let everyone assemble their bowls at the table.) Serve with chips if you’d like (crumble some over top for extra crunch). Enjoy!
Reviews
This meal has 29 reviews
The pork was really good. I made the plantains but they were not ripe enough, so they were not that great. I will definitely try this whole meal again and give the plantains a long time to ripen
My whole family loves this meal! Probably their favorite CS recipe! I do it in the instant pot by cutting the boneless pork shoulder into three chunks, adding in all the ingredients and did high for 70 minutes with a quick release. It falls apart and the juice is just so good! I saved the juice for a quick egg drop soup lunch this week. We add guacamole to our bowls. My kids even love the chopped spinach in their bowl!
Instant Pot- I used a 2.2lb pork loin instead of the pork butt and cut the pork into numerous chunks. First, I sauteed the onions and garlic in the IP. Then I browned the sides of the pork pieces which has already been rubbed with the seasoning ingredients. I pressure cooked it all for 17 minutes and then did a 7 minute natural release before manual release. For the salsa, I used red onion instead of shallots. We had guac rather than sour cream. It was very tasty and less greasy with the pork loin.
Super easy! Couldn't ask for anything more. Yum yum
Slow cooker pulled pork is excellent and very easy to make. A really nice dish!
Overall, very tasty. I did find the pork to be pretty greasy, even though I had trimmed the fat away before cooking. I would love to try this again with either a leaner cut of pork or with chicken. One change: After cooking and shredding the pork, I put it on a baking sheet and broiled to make it crispy, like carnitas. My family definitely liked the taste and texture of the meat better this way, so it was worth the extra step.