Carnita Salad with Citrus Chipotle Dressing

I’m not going to lie: for most of my life I’ve hated salad. Mostly, it’s the lettuce. It’s so limp and flavorless. I’ve never had a true BLT because the lettuce was always the first thing to be discarded from any sandwich. But earlier this year I realized the problem wasn’t all lettuce it was just iceberg lettuce. So I put aside my lettuce prejudice and tried a bunch of other kinds of lettuce only to discover that they’re not that bad. Especially once you add a bunch of veggies, cheese and dressing on top.

Since making that discovery I’ve implemented a weekly Salad Night where we eat a very large salad, usually topped with chicken. It’s a simple but filling dinner on nights when I don’t feel like making much effort and it saves us from ordering pizza like we used to. It’s been especially great while we’ve been doing the Whole30 because it’s one less meal I have plan out every week.

This is a tasty salad, but there’s not much to say about it because, well…it’s a salad. The point of this post is really to say: YOU HAVE TO MAKE THESE CARNITAS. Seriously. Stop what you’re doing, go to the grocery store and buy the biggest pork shoulder you can find and make these carnitas. The recipe only has a few ingredients and it’s incredibly simple to make. The pork is slow-cooked in the oven, but you could easily skip the foil packet and make it in a slow cooker instead.

I’m not posting the carnita recipe here because you should head over to Heat Oven to 350 and get the recipe. The only change I make is to add 2 teaspoons of chili powder to the spice rub. It adds a bit more spiciness, if you like that sort of thing. Once you make these carnitas, they will become a regular addition to your dinner menu. Brandon once asked me if I could make them every night and I don’t think he was joking. So now I just make as much as possible and we spend the rest of the week incorporating the leftovers into other meals like this salad.

This simple salad has tomatoes, red bell peppers, carrots and chunks of avocado, plus a nice big helping of cheese and carnitas on top. You can add whatever else you like, roasted corn would be a great addition, for instance. I topped the whole thing with a dressing made with fresh orange juice, lime juice, chipotle peppers and a little bit of honey. It’s tangy and spicy and a little sweet and I think it complements the spices in the carnitas and makes them even better.

Get the recipe for Carnita Salad with Citrus Chipotle Dressing »