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!
I have now made this recipe more times than I can count. It’s my go to carnitas that my family actually judges all other carnitas by. I’ve shared it so many times with family and coworkers. Thank you for such a great recipe.
Woah!!! What a compliment! 🙂 So glad to hear you like this so much Julie, thanks for letting me know! N xx
Can I use a shoulder picnic roast?
Hi! Yes that should work fine 🙂 We don’t have that exact cut here in Australia but I just checked it out and it shreds great apparently 🙂
I made this yesterday and it was absolutely wonderful, better than any carnitas I have had at a restaurant. I usually alter recipes but for this one I followed it as written. I will definitely make this again. It was easy and a big hit.
I’m so pleased to hear that Lynn! Thank you for taking the time to come back and let me know you enjoyed it! N xx
Can limes be substituted for the oranges? If so, about how many do you think it would take? My kids have some sensitivities to oranges…but if you say no, then they’ll just have to “suffer” a bit (because I know they’ll enjoy the taste!) Tia!
I have a sensitivity to oranges, too, but I love them, so the suffering is sometimes worth it!
Hi Monique! The problem with limes is that they don’t have the sugar element…. or the flavour (it doesn’t taste like oranges at the end, it just adds flavour to the juices). If you really wanted to, you could just use lime dissolve in 1 tbsp of sugar, that will achieve a similar result? 🙂 Hope that helps! N xx
Hi Nagi,
The Pork Carnitas is a bit beyond my skills and purse – but I hope you won’t mind I used a link to your recipe in a blog post. People interested in it, land on your website and this recipe.
Please keep the yummy recipes coming!
Thanks!
I’m honoured! Thanks Kate! N xx
This recipe is perfect!! Just had it for dinner. I made it with corn masa gorditas & calabacitas?
Fantastic! So glad to hear that Ida! N xx
Any need to marinate the pork overnight with the rub?
Nope! Just cook it!
Will a pork sirloin roast work for this recipe?
Hi Manuel! I find that it’s not quite as juicy because it doesn’t have as much fat marbled throughout but it will work!
If I don’t have a slow cooker, can I put in a a pan in the oven with extra water on the bottom of it? Also, would I cover the pan in foil?
Hi Rachael! Please see recipe notes for directions 🙂
Holy carnitas!!
I actually followed the recipe without making any changes (something I rarely do), and it turned out smack your momma awesome!
Served with some pico, queso fresco, and crema.. holy yum!!
Having ro smell this all day was the worst kind od torture, so am going to use pressure cooker next time!
A billion Thanks Nagi for sharing!!
FANTASTIC to hear Kristin! Thank you so much for letting me know. Hope you have a great weekend! – N xx
This is one of my all time favorite recipes! It is absolutely delicious and very versatile! We order a whole pig once a year so we eat lots of pork. I’ve never commented on a blog before but I had to for this recipe. Thanks!
I’m so pleased that you love this as much as I do Alexis! Thank you for taking the time to come back and let me know – N x
I am doing this is a 7 qt crockpot and can see my lid is not air tight i am cooking on high for six hours a boneless 4lb and im wondering should i keep an eye on it every hour to make sure my liquid doesnt evaporate or what should i do?
Hi Athecia, yes please check it every couple of hours to ensure liquid doesn’t evaporate 🙂 Otherwise try putting foil under the lid? 🙂 N x
Tried this for the first time and it is amazing. I had to double everything due to a 9.5lb shoulder. Let it cook on low for 16 hours and then used it in quesadillas. Great recipe!
That’s so fantastic to hear Sheridan! Thank you for letting me know! N xx
Wow, this was amazing. I was expecting it to be good, but it exceeds my expectations. Super easy, too!
So glad to hear that Laura! Thanks for letting me know! N xx
This is the third time we have made this recipe. It is a “no brainer”- super easy and super delicious. Thanks so much for the recipe and the helpful question/answer section. This is a recipe we will continue to go back to. Thank you!!
AWESOME! I’m so pleased to hear you enjoyed this one Katy! Hope you have a great weekend – N x
Can you use pulled pork pre cooked? I didn’t see your recipe until a couple days after smoking our meat.
Hi Steve! Sorry, this one is for making from scratch 🙂 N xx
I just finished making this to take to a potluck supper tonight. It’s so delicious I want to keep it all for myself!! Thanks for the awesome recipe!
That’s so fantastic to hear Robyn! Thank you for letting me know! N xx
what type of oil for the pan frying? all I have is olive oil and vegetable oil….
Hi Jason! Olive oil is perfect 🙂 Or Vegetable, either is fine!
So I tried this for the first time last night and it didn’t turn out well. All of my liquids were scorched in the bottom of the pan. I set my crock pot on high, cooked it for 6 hours while I slept and woke up to sludge in the bottom of the pot. I used a 3lb boneless cut of meat because it’s just the two of us. The meat is cooked and tender but there is no broth or anything to be had. Maybe I found the single most anorexic pig on the shelf. Any tips?
Gosh I’m sorry to hear that J Love 🙁 It sounds like something was either wrong the pork or your slow cooker is not air tight so is leeching liquid OR maybe the temp is too high because the bottom should definitely not scorch in a slow cooker because the heat is not high enough.
I am currently cooking this in a large pot on the stove because my crockpot was too small, how long for 5 lbs on the stove.
Hi there! Sorry I haven’t tried this on the stove 🙂
Hey I got five pounds of shoulder chunks. Should I cook it for a shorter time?
Hi Jaci, what size are the chunks?
Well they’re long thick strips of the meat maybe a half pound each. I got boneless pork shoulder country style rib meat.
Hi Jaci, in which case 8 hours should be fine. 🙂
I’m looking no further. After making this twice, this is a no fail recipe. Today I had no orange juice so substituted one juiced orange along with wide swaths of its zest, and water to equate two cups. Also, in the absence of jalapeño, I sprinkled in some Chipotle pepper flakes. Either way, it was drool worthy. Thanks for this quick, scrumptious recipe.
Fantastic to hear Kerr! I’m SO glad you enjoyed it! N xx