Slow Cooker dishes are my all time favorite! So little effort, so much reward! These Slow Cooker Venison Carnitas Tacos or Tostadas are among my family’s favorite venison recipes!
These can be made with beef, chicken or pork in the same manner if you don’t have venison readily available.
Honestly, doesn’t everyone love their slow cooker? What’s not to love? Put your food in it, turn it on and a while later, you have a perfectly cooked, delicious meal!
I use mine all year long for a variety of tasty dishes!
Your Slow Cooker is a great way to cook venison!
These Slow Cooker Venison Carnitas Tacos or Tostadas are so delicious! Venison carnitas pull just like pork carnitas does.
How to Make Venison Carnitas
These Venison Carnitas Tacos literally take less than 5 minutes to put together, once the meat is cooked.
How to Make Venison Carnitas Tacos and Tostadas
Just add the meat to the slow cooker, no need to brown.
Quarter the onion and orange. Add a few basic spices, that, if you cook with Mexican flavors, you definitely have in your pantry, and barely cover with stock or water.
Turn the slow cooker on low for about 6 hours and you are rewarded with the most tender and juicy meat you have ever eaten!
The deer meat should be cooked to an internal temperature of at least 195-205°F, for it to pull easily.
Let it rest for at least 45 minutes to 1 hour, before shredding.
Once the meat is pulled, it can be made into taquitos, enchiladas, burritos, Huevos Rancheros, just about anything you can think of. Pile some on top of nachos for a great, quick dinner!
It is not only good for Mexican dishes, though. How about this totally American BBQ Sandwich? All you have to do is add your favorite BBQ sauce to this venison, like my Cherry BBQ Sauce!
My theory is, unless you are vegan or vegetarian or pescetarian, and you like beef, there is absolutely no reason that you wouldn’t love this, deer meat.
If you try to cook with venison (or any game for that matter) and it is tough or has a gamey flavor, you didn’t cook it right.
You can not rush these less tough cuts of the deer, or elk, whatever you have. It is basically that simple!
The other added benefit of using venison, is that it is about half the calories of beef and five times less saturated fat, according to this article from Outdoor Life!
If you have never attempted to cook with deer meat and want to give it a try at some point, this is the perfect recipe to get you started! It is literally foolproof!
So go ahead and give it a try and let me know what you think!!
I hope you like the recipe today for Slow Cooker Venison Carnitas! Let me know what you think in the comments below!
Also, don’t forget to sign up for the newsletter so that you don’t miss any new recipes! Sign up is just below the recipe!
Enjoy! And have fun cooking!
Tools I Use to Make Venison Tacos or Tostadas
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- Slow Cooker
- Bamboo Cutting Board
- Meat Thermometer, for testing doneness level of meat
Slow Cooker Venison Carnitas Tacos or Tostadas
Ingredients
- 2 - 3 pounds boneless venison leg roast
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons dried coriander
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon granulated garlic
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons adobo spice
- 1 onion , quartered
- 1 orange , cut in half
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- Corn or Flour Tortillas
- Lettuce , diced tomatoes, grated cheese, salsa, etc. for garnish
Instructions
- Salt and pepper roast liberally. Place the roast in a slow cooker and top with the onion, orange and spices. Add about 2 cups water or stock to slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or on high 4 hours. Reserve liquid.
- Once the meat is tender, remove from slow cooker and let cool slightly before pulling apart with a fork.
- Optional
- In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil over high heat. Press the carnitas into the oil and fry until crusty on one side. I added about 1 cup of the juice and vegetables from the crock pot to moisten.
- Place about 1/2 inch olive oil in a small pan over high heat. Fry tortillas on one side for about 1 minute. Turn and fold in half. Fry on first side of folded tortilla then turn and fry on the other.
- Place meat in tortilla. Serve with your favorite toppings. Lettuce, tomato, cheese, salsa, etc..
Nutrition
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Tim
This is a really good idea for a seemingly tough cut of venison! Giving this a try!
Binky
It really makes the venison tender and juicy! Let me know how you like it! Thanks, Tim!
Jason K
Great recipe, I used the deer neck for it. Worked very well.
Binky
Oh, that’s great, Jason! I haven’t used this one for the neck, but it would certainly be a good cut for Carnitas! So glad you liked it!