Every tortilla dreams of being stuffed with Carnitas. Picture seasoned pork slow-cooked into tender submission, gently shredded and pan-fried to golden, crispy perfection. Carnitas has that elusive combination of juicy and crispy that’s so irresistible. The best part of this Carnitas? 5 minutes prep!
This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
Carnitas
Is there anything better in this world than pork slowly cooked until it’s crazy juicy and fall apart tender, then crisped to golden perfection?
Yes.
When it’s inside a taco. 😂
Carnitas is one of my specialities. I make this recipe often – for everyday purposes, a freezer standby and for taco-bar gatherings with friends!
The one and only Pork Carnitas
I went through A LOT of Pork Carnitas recipes before settling on this as The One. I’ve been loyal to it for over a decade because it ticks all my boxes:
✅ Extremely quick 5 minute preparation
✅ Made with easy to find natural ingredients
✅ Enough flavour to eat plain (and you will pick it out of the pan!)
✅ Subtle enough flavour so it can be used in any Mexican dish (over salting and over spicing is a common problem);
✅ Perfect caramelized brown bits while retaining the incredible juiciness from slow cooking;
✅ Perfect freezer food – reheats 100% perfectly; and
✅ Excellent food for gatherings – big batch recipe, stays fresh even hours after cooking it
What are Carnitas?
If you’re new to Carnitas, let me be the first to welcome you to your new addiction.
Carnitas are Mexico’s version of pulled pork. It’s the first thing you seek upon landing in Mexico. It’s why we trawled the back streets of Mexico City in torrential rains, hunting down a hole-in-the-wall carnitas joint that was popular with locals.
Made by slow cooking pork fully submerged in lard, this confit method of cooking yields pork that’s unbelievably rich and tender with loads of crispy golden bits.
Unfortunately for most home cooks, a huge cauldron of lard isn’t viable or practical.
But fortunately, it is possible to make carnitas that tastes very similar to authentic Pork Carnitas without gallons of lard. And it’s unbelievably simple.
How to make Pork Carnitas
Best Pork Cut for Pork Carnitas – for ultimate juicy pulled pork full of flavour, you can’t beat pork shoulder, aka pork butt. Bone in or out, it needs to be skinless so it can be rubbed with the Carnitas seasoning
Carnitas seasoning – rub pork with a simple spice mix of oregano, cumin, salt and pepper.
Flavour for cooking – top pork in slow cooker with onion, garlic and jalapeño, then pour over orange juice (the secret ingredient!). It sounds so simple, but with hours of slow cooking, mingling with the pork juices, it transforms into the most incredible braising broth that more than makes up for the absence of gallons of lard.
Slow cook until the pork is pull-apart tender and infused with incredible flavour
Pan fry until golden, doused with the juices from the slow cooker. Pan frying is so much better than broiling/grill or oven!
Can Carnitas be made in an Instant Pot or pressure cooker?
Yes! The outcome is exactly the same – no one can the difference once browned in the skillet. I make this in a pressure cooker when time is of the essence!
The BEST Pork Carnitas are browned in a skillet!
Don’t skip the step to brown the Pork Carnitas! This is the key that makes this the best Pork Carnitas you will have outside of Mexico.
Hand on heart, it is as good as the carnitas I had at a really authentic Mexican joint called Old Town Mexican Cafe in San Diego which is famous for its Pork Carnitas.
So if you think you’ve had great carnitas before, but you haven’t tried browning in a skillet, this is going to be a game changer!
What to serve with Pork Carnitas
While I have a great fondness and tendency to favour Tacos de Carnitas (Pork Carnitas Tacos), pork this juicy and full of flavour is highly versatile – plus it freezes 10000% perfectly.
I use Pork Carnitas to make Enchiladas, Burritos, Quesadillas, Sliders, Mexican pizzas. I toss them into my Mexican Fried Rice (don’t laugh, this is a firm favourite with many readers!), and I make Carnitas Plates – pile Carnitas over Mexican Red Rice with a side of Pico de Gallo or Guacamole, and steamed corn.
And of course, I eat it straight out of the skillet. 😂
And the best part?
• You’re just 5 minutes away from getting this Pork Carnitas in your slow cooker, pressure cooker or oven.
• It can be frozen without any loss of quality.
• There are easy ways to pan fry to golden perfection and still be juicy and fresh hours later – even after refrigerating.
There’s a reason I am rarely without a stash of Carnitas in my freezer!!! – Nagi xx
Mexican recipe favourites
Mexican Fiesta Menu and recipes
Carnitas
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
This recipe features in my debut cookbook Dinner. The book is mostly new recipes, but this is a reader favourite included by popular demand!
Is that a pressure cooker in the video??
Yes and no! My slow cooker (Breville Fast-Slow Cooker) is like an Instant Pot. It’s multi-functional, a pressure cooker and slow cooker in one. Hence why it looks like a pressure cooker with the twisting top. The slow cooking function is no different to any standard slow cooker.
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Carnitas (Mexican Slow Cooker Pulled Pork)
Ingredients
- 2 kg / 4 lb pork shoulder (pork butt) , skinless, boneless (5lb/2.5kg bone in) (Note 1)
- 2 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 onion , chopped
- 1 jalapeno , deseeded, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 3/4 cup juice from orange (2 oranges)
Rub
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Rinse and dry the pork shoulder, rub all over with salt and pepper.
- Combine the Rub ingredients then rub all over the pork.
- Place the pork in a slow cooker (fat cap up), top with the onion, jalapeño, minced garlic (don’t worry about spreading it) and squeeze over the juice of the oranges.
- Slow Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 7 hours. (Note 2 for other cook methods)
- Pork should be tender enough to shred. Remove from slow cooker and let cool slightly. Then shred using two forks.
- Optional: Skim off the fat from the juices remaining in the slow cooker and discard.
- If you have a lot more than 2 cups of juice, then reduce it down to about 2 cups. The liquid will be salty, it is the seasoning for the pork. Set liquid aside – don’t bother straining onion etc, it’s super soft.
To Crisp:
- Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large non stick pan or well seasoned skillet over high heat. Spread pork in the pan, drizzle over some juices. Wait until the juices evaporate and the bottom side is golden brown and crusty. Turn and just briefly sear the other side – you don’t want to make it brown all over because then it’s too crispy, need tender juicy bits.
- Remove pork from skillet. Repeat in batches (takes me 4 batches) – don’t crowd the pan.
- Just before serving, drizzle over more juices and serve hot, stuffed in tacos (see notes for sides, other serving suggestion and storage/make ahead).
Recipe Notes:
1.5 – 3 kg / 3 – 6 lb: Cook time per recipe.
3 – 4 kg / 6 – 8 lb: Use large oval slow cooker, 12 hours on low. 2. Other cooking methods: Electric pressure cooker or Instant Pot: 1 h 30 minutes on high. Let pressure release naturally. Proceed with Step 5 of recipe. Stove pressure cooker: use a rack or balls of scrunched up foil to elevate it from the base OR add 3/4 cup of water. Cook 1 h 30 minutes. Proceed with Step 5 of recipe. Oven: Follow recipe but put pork in roasting pan. Add 2 cups water around pork. Cover tightly with foil, roast in 325F/160C oven for 2 hours, then roast for a further 1 to 1.5 hours uncovered. Add more water if the liquid dries out too much. You should end up with 1 1/2 to 2 cups of liquid when it finishes cooking, and you can skip the pan frying step because you will get a nice brown crust on your pork. Shred pork then drizzled with juices. 3. Taco Fixings: Diced avocado or make a real proper Guacamole, Pico de Gallo or Restaurant Style Salsa or even just sliced tomato, grated cheese, sour cream. Sliced lettuce or pickled cabbage / red onions would also be great, but unlike other tacos, you don’t need it for the texture because the carnitas have the crispy bits! Also see this Carnitas Tacos dinner spread. 4. Other Ways to use Carnitas: Burritos (switch for the beef), Quesadillas (baked version here), Enchiladas, Sliders, with Mexican Red Rice, in Taco Soup or Enchilada Soup. 5. Storing / Make Ahead: Crispiness is retained very well, main thing is loss of moisture as meat cools (happens with all meat, shredded meat cools faster). a) Best way to store: Shred pork but don’t pan fry. Keep pork and juice separate, refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to 3 months (for freezer, I put pork in containers/ bags and put juice in ziplock bags in the same container). Gently reheat juice to make it pourable (congeals when cold). Pan fry per recipe, drizzling with juice. b) Storing leftovers after pan frying: Keeps extremely well, but tends to lose juiciness when it cools down. Just drizzle with juice, cover with cling wrap and reheat – the crispy bits hold up very well. It’s not quite as crispy as when cooked fresh, but still seriously tasty. c) Brown pork a few hours ahead / keep warm: Works extremely well. Brown pork per recipe, then transfer to slow cooker on warm setting or food warmer and drizzle generously with juices to keep it moist. Cover loosely. As long as the pork is warm when served, it’s really juicy. The crispiness holds up extremely well. 6. Source: This is a recipe I’ve been making for over a decade now, with minor tweaks over time so I can’t remember the exact source. I want to say Rick Bayless but I can’t find the recipe, however, I did find this one from Food Network which is very similar. However, I’m not sure when it was published. 7. Nutrition per serving, pork only, assuming 12 servings. Calories is higher than it actually is because it does not take into account discarded fat.
Nutrition Information:
Carnitas recipe originally published 2014. Updated with new photos and video in 2018, and some housekeeping in March 2019. No change to recipe, I wouldn’t dare! This has been one of the all time most popular recipes since I first published it!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use pork tenderloin? Sorry to say it’s not suitable for this recipe. Tenderloin is too lean so the long cook time will dry it out. Also, it does not shred into strands well.
Just to confirm – no liquid other than the juice from the oranges?? Really? YES, really. 🙂 The small amount of liquid from the oranges is all you need to keep it from drying out while it comes to temperature, then while it cooks the pork will drop juices. When this finishes cooking you will have more liquid than you started with.
Will it taste of oranges???? Nope, not at all! It magically turns into the most incredible broth that is then poured over the shredded pork.
Can I cook a frozen pork? Please don’t! This will mess with the cook time a lot because it will take sooooo long for the middle of the pork to cook, by which time the outside will be overcooked and when you shred it, it will almost look like mush! The pork must be defrosted!
After I skim off the fat, do I include the onions garlic and jalapeños when topping the meat, or do I discard these and only use the juices? It is up to you! Because it’s been slow cooked, the onion etc is really soft and it just melds into the pulled pork. I don’t bother straining it, but you can if you want to.
Will this work with pork stew chunks? It will definitely work and still be tasty but won’t be quite the same because smaller pieces of pork will cook faster so you won’t get quite the same amount of flavour. 🙂
Just to confirm – no pan frying to brown the pork before putting it in the slow cooker? That’s right! You brown the pork AFTER it is cooked and shredded.
What size slow cooker do you use? Mine is 6 quarts / 6 litres. I use this Breville Fast / Slow Cooker (I’m in Australia) which I love because it’s a pressure cooker and slow cooker in one, plus it has a saute setting! It’s basically an Instant Pot – but without one touch cook functions (like rice etc).
Life of Dozer
I first published this recipe back in 2014, when I was new to blogging. I took sooooo long with the photos – prolonged torture for Dozer!
This is super delicious! We make it in the oven as per the recipe and just can’t get enough of it. It has been part of our usual rotation for quite a while now!
OMG! So I just prepped two 7lb pork butts for a street taco night, I’m hosting in my back yard. They are in the crock pots now. As I’m putting away ingredients, I realize that I have used pepper instead of Oregano, for the rub. 2TBS of pepper per rump, plus Cumin and Olive Oil. Plus I added the additional pepper into the mix, with the onions, OJ, etc. Is all this pork going to be a total fail? Side note, I did go ahead and add in 2 TBS of Oregano into the OJ mixture, at the end…but not rubbed in. Please tell me everything will be ok. LOL!~
I don’t know Gwin – might be a bit on the peppery side! Let me know! N x
The pork tastes good. The broth for browning is a little peppery, but I think it will work. Thank God! lol
Tonight will be about the 5th time I’ve made this recipe. We love it so much. Thank you!!
Is it okay to use a pork butt with the bone in or should I cut the bone out?
Hi Gwin, you can use bone in – you’ll need to cook slightly longer though. You really can’t go wrong, just cook until the meat is fall apart and you can shred it easily. N x
Thank you!
Made this recipe for Labor Day. They turned out awesome! I only used a 2.5 lb pork shoulder because it’s just the two of us. However, I used the same amount of seasoning the recipe called for thinking it may be too over powering, but it wasn’t! I did only use 1 orange instead of two. That seemed to be a good ratio for the lesser amount of meat. Loved it, and will jazz up the dinner rotation!
This is an excellent recipe! Minimal effort but so delicious. I slow cooked it in advance, and then fried in the sauce the next day. Worked perfectly.
I made chicken tamales two weeks ago for the very first time and they were amazing. But the other day I was pondering making another batch with pork when I stumbled across this recipe. This was so easy to make I’m almost embarrassed to tell anyone how small an effort it was. My only two small hurdles were that I discovered, in mid-assembling, that I only had one tablespoon of cumin in my spice rack. I decided to use half chili powder and half coriander for the missing second tablespoon of cumin and the result was great so that worked. Also I didn’t have a slow cooker but I wanted to make this in that vein so I put it all in a Dutch oven and roasted it at 200 deg. for 7 hours and then bumped up to 250 for two hours and it came out perfectly. In fact, I have to say that even though living in Chicago I’ve eaten many carnitas, this was far and away the best I’ve ever had. And moreover, even though I’m a moderately accomplished cook, this was one of the most delicious things I’ve ever made. Screw the tamales, this stuff is like pork narcotics. Wonderful, and so easy to make it’s nearly goof-proof. I’ll be making this a favorite recipe and a go-to for the future. LOVED IT. And so did my two friends / roommates who have been practically following me around the house since these were done, hinting and hoping that they can get me to pull out the stuff and fry up another skillet worth of crispy, tender heaven. I might be able to turn this into a rent free life for me. I can withhold my heavenly pork magic until they make themselves worthy. Lol. Really really great stuff.
This comment make me laugh out loud! Thanks for the giggles Robbie!
Thanks for the awesome recipe Nagi!! Making this for a 4th time, and misplaced recipe, but felt relieved once I located online this morning!
Can I use orange juice instead of fresh oranges
Yep, see recipe notes! N x
Attempting the oven version because I had a larger amount of pork. Why is it’s cook time so much less? Wondering if the meat will be done/tender in time for guests!
This is a great recipe! I have made it several times and have used it for tacos, burritos and flautas. Perfect every time!
Hi Nagi,
We’re going to cook this on Sunday but I can’t find the recipe for that incredible looking chilli sauce in the photo near the top with the plate of pork. Also, what’s the sauce on the plate with the cheese sprinkled on it? It looks amazing.
Made this many times with pork shoulder and it’s a huge success. Any idea if it would work with pork neck?
Yes 100% Keleah!! N x
I forgot to take the skin off! Will it be ok to cut the skin off after it’s finished cooking?
Hi Bec, it should be, you may just need to drain off some of the fat from the juices too. N x
So making this recipe for loaded baked potato bar- steamed broccoli,
cheddar cheese sauce, sourcream, bacon bits, green onions …the star of the show of course is the pork carnitas!
This is THE BEST idea!!!! I love it Christina! N x
Nagi- you are a culinary masterpiece! I’ve been requested to make this sooo many times! The best was when I used EVO, seasonings, and garlic on roast and wrapped overnight before cooking…omg! Heaven! Your baked ziti recipe is to die for!!!
Recipe was easy and worked out great! Am really happy w/ salt ratio, texture and flavors. Thanks for sharing this recipe. Will add it to my collection!
THE BEST!! We just polished off the leftovers and, as promised, it’s even better the second time. I love your recipes and this is the best yet. You deserve a James Beard award for sharing the cast iron skillet trick for creating the tantalizing crispy texture. Better than anything you’ll get in a restaurant. Oh yeah, this one’s a keeper!! Thank you!!
This recipe was perfection. I will never make another carnitas recipe. So good! Thank you!
These were AMAZING! Everyone at the party LOVED them. Thanks for making me look like a great chef. So simple and so delish! I also LOVE that you have the measurement calculator on here if we need to make larger or smaller portions. Works like a charm every time! Thanks so much!
I am going to make this recipe with 2 lb of pork shoulder. How long should this be in the slow cooker on low and high?
Hi Augustine, the recipe notes will assist you here. Enjoy!! N x
Made this today while I was canning so dinner would be easy! Was delish! The Honey loved it. Easy and tasty, what more can you ask?