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!
My search for the perfect carnitas recipe is over. I would give 10 stars if I could. I used pork loin since that’s all I had and it still turned out great. It was delicious before frying and even more so after. I used a cast iron skillet and bacon fat and it put it over the top.
Made this in my digital pressure cooker, then browned the pork in cast iron. This recipe is awesome! Thanks
Perfect Jen! N x
This recipe couldn’t be easier & it is soooooo delicious. Made them today for the second time and they were just as good as the first time. My kids love them, too!
Nagi, I love a heap of your recipes. This one is delicious. The crisping of the pork and using the juices takes it to another level at the end. Thanks again!
Thank you so much, Nagi, for another amazing recipe. I made carnitas tonight for the first time and they were incredibly delicious. Can’t wait to use the leftover pork in enchiladas, quesadillas and soup!
You’re the best!!!
Nagi, this was wonderful. Hubby is a BIG fan of pork, and of Mexican food. He loved it. Of course he had to pinch a few bites of the roast when it came out of the Crock Pot and liked the flavor, but he said the browning was the ticket! Wish I could send you a jumbo jar of tomato bullion, it really does punch up the flavor of rice. I’m in the Southern USA. Thanks for all the great recipes.
Made this once before and it is EXCELLENT – thanks for the recipe!
This time around I ended up buying a 5 lb roast – would cooking time still be 10 hrs on low/6 on high?
Hi Alex, I talk about this in the recipe notes 🙂 Enjoy! N x
Could I add bay leaf and some of the orange zest into it?
Hi PKS, sure can! N x
Hi Nagi, my pork shoulder isn’t skinless. Should I remove the skin before using?
Yes remove the skin or you’ll end up with a big piece of blubbery skin 🙂 N x
I wanted to make this but was worried if the jalapeno will going to be very spicy for kids. But I have read previous comments it is not spicy right? If so, can I use 1kg meat for this, any changes for the rest of the ingredients in the recipe?
Hi El, there isn’t really any spice from the jalapeño, you can always leave it out if you prefer. You can also adjust the servings (so it shows 1kg of meat) and the rest of the ingredients will adjust for you. Cook time for this size is noted in the recipe notes. Enjoy! N x
Ok. Thanks Nagi. So I will leave out the jalpeno just for the kids. If 1kg meat I will half the ingredients for the recipe?
El,
We gave this to our 11 yo as is. There was not spice. When we told him it included jalapeno he was surprised. Probably due to the seeds not being used
Thanks so much Tony for your helpful reply. Will definitely try to make this as it is. Much appreciated.
I cooked this for family taco night and my wife, who grew up with authentic Mexican food, said I had officially won taco night! Fantastic recipe, not changing anything about it, thank you!
FYI for anyone using the high slow cook setting on an instant pot, I had to add on some cooking time for a total of 7.5 hrs. At 6 hrs it just wasn’t quite ready, but at 7.5 it was perfect!
I don’t have a slow cooker so put the pork in a cast iron pot and cooked it at 200 for 5 hours. PERFECT! I feel like I am in Mexico. Thank you
Tasty and easy to prep! I don’t know what real carnitas taste like, but this one is very tasty. Not spicy at all! Not salty, well balanced taste. My 21 month old liked it very much. Love recipes like this that the whole family can enjoy. made home made tortilla wrappers as we ran out and still isolating but it was worth it. Weirdly, my husband tried it with hoisin sauce, it was actually good lol! – thank you Nagi and dozer .
Hi Nagi,
I don’t like electric slow cooker so I’m going to cook in oven slowly. You mentioned to put in roasting pan. Do I use the rack or put the pork directly on the pan and add the water? Thanks!
Gayla
Hi Gayla, you can put it directly on the pan 🙂 N x
Hello, just wondering if the jalapeno makes it very spicy? If just for me a wouldn’t hesitate with the jalapeño!! But also want a meal that my 4 year old and 18 month old can eat
Maybe leave it out for the kids if you are worried Kelly! N x
Hi Kelly, no it doesn’t make it spicy at all but you can always leave it out and add spice to it later 🙂 N x
THIS IS HANDS DOWN DELICIOUS. do it just how Nagi says. I dont even like cumin or mexican cuisine. Served in a grilled flour tortilla. You MUST do the browning process with the juices. AWESOME!!!!!!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Judith, the browning step is EVERYTHING! N x
I cooked in the slow cooker, on high from 10-4, but I turned it down because it seemed like it was cooking too quickly. It was fine everyone in the family enjoyed it,
Oh no! Mine cam out really dry and the sauce had burnt around the edges, I know it was something I done because all dat it was looking and smelling amazing! I’m going to pan fry soon and see what happens, hope I can savage it with something. It’s definitely something I done to it probably when I put it down to cook
Hi Abby, it definitely shouldn’t be dry – how did you cook it? N x
Made this for tonight, I have left out the jalapeño, although wish I had put it in now but couldn’t find any at local shop, 😫, will do it again and add it next time, it smells delicious and will be serving in wraps with tomato and cheese etc… I really wanted to make the Pico de Gallo that’s definitely a bit of me, but I can’t get all the bits, it’s hard trying to get to the big store with both the children when they are fed up with shopping with mummy! Next time I will be buying all the stuff I need to make this exactly like that! Can’t wait to try tonight
I just cooked mine in stove pressure cooker. Followed recipe to a tee but like Abby it came out tender but no juices left at bottom. Meat tastes great and tender but I have no juices to pan fry it for crispness. What can I use?