Since I am from California, the land of the most delicious and authentic carnitas in the world, every time I hear a recipe involving Carnitas, my ears perk up. When I received the Pioneer Woman’s second cookbook and was flipping through it, I came across a Carnitas Pizza recipe. The recipe involves cooking a slow braising a roast in mango papaya pinapple juice AND THEN using it on a pizza with salsa verde and sauteed onions and peppers. Sounds amazing right? Yep, it was all that and more.
True to her Rancher husband roots, the Pioneer Woman used beef. I decided to keep it true to my California Carnitas roots and use pork. I also didn’t have a red pepper on hand so I used a green bell pepper and paired it with a red onion.
Now before I give you the recipe for this delicious pizza, let’s talk pizza crust. You could certainly pick up a pre-made crust and get down with your bad self making this pizza. But may I suggest to you, make your own crust! It honestly takes a few minutes to prepare for rising and can be done a day in advance. And honestly, there is no comparing to homemade crust.
Just in case you’re a kitchen nerd like me and interested in the holy grail of pizza crust. I found this crust recipe via America’s Test Kitchen and I haven’t looked back. Please note, you do have to subscribe to ATK in order to get the recipe but I promise ATK is full of all kinds of amazing information and recipes that, plain and simple, WORK!
Ok, now onto the pizza…
PrintPW Style Carnitas Pizza
- Prep Time: 25
- Cook Time: 360
- Total Time: 6 hours 25 minutes
Ingredients
- Carnitas
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3–4lbs. pork shoulder roast
- 1– 12 ounce can pineapple, papaya or mango juice
- 1 recipe for pizza dough (makes 2 pizzas)
- 1 cup salsa verde
- 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 cup cheddar cheese
- 3 green onions, sliced (optional)
Instructions
- Mix the chili powder, cumin, oregano & salt in a small bowl. Rub the spice mixture on both sides of the roast.
- Place roast in slow cooker on low. Pour juice into slow cooker and let roast for 4-6 hours or until meat starts to fall apart. You can also place in 300 degree oven for about 4 hours. When done, use 2 forks to shred the meat, set aside.
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees (preheat for about an hour with baking stone or baking sheet inside)
- Saute the onions and peppers in a skillet with about 1 tablespoon of butter, until slightly caramelized and soft. Set aside.
- Roll out pizza dough. Assemble pizza on parchment paper dusted with corn meal.
- To assemble, spread salsa verde thinly all over dough. Top with mozzarella, shredded pork, and then sauteed onions and peppers. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheddar cheese.
- Slide pizza onto hot baking sheet or stone. Bake pizza for 12 – 14 minutes, sliding parchment paper away halfway through.
- Sprinkle with sliced green onions and slice into pieces. Serve with sour cream.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8
Looks wonderful. Nice photos!