PW Style Carnitas Pizza

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… 

PW Style Carnitas Pizza

Print Recipe

• Author: Prairie Californian
• Prep Time: 25
• Cook Time: 360
• Total Time: 6 hours 25 minutes

Ingredients

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• 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)

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Instructions

1. Mix the chili powder, cumin, oregano & salt in a small bowl. Rub the spice mixture on both sides of the roast.
2. 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.
3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees (preheat for about an hour with baking stone or baking sheet inside)
4. Saute the onions and peppers in a skillet with about 1 tablespoon of butter, until slightly caramelized and soft. Set aside.
5. Roll out pizza dough. Assemble pizza on parchment paper dusted with corn meal.
6. 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.
7. Slide pizza onto hot baking sheet or stone. Bake pizza for 12 – 14 minutes, sliding parchment paper away halfway through.
8. Sprinkle with sliced green onions and slice into pieces. Serve with sour cream.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 8