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 took me about 10 min. to prepare this morning with chopping the onions, mincing the garlic, and preparing the rub…but man, oh man, did my house smell good when I got home from work! This was so delicious! I used a 3 lb pork shoulder and just scaled back the spices. My family of four enjoyed this for dinner with refried beans and chips and salsa (and Coronas for my hubby and me!). Best part — leftovers for tomorrow!! YUMMMMY! Thanks for this easy and delicious recipe! ?
AWESOME!
I’m on a no carb diet to fight some health issues. I’ve been getting carnitas at Chipotle and Freebirds. I could save a bunch of cash if I made them at home. But, concerned about carbs on oarnge juice. Could you recommend a different luquid? Diet coke maybe? Or even lime juice?
I don’t think the orange juice will add too much carbs you gotta think that little amount of juice is getting deluded by the juices in the meat plus we are working with 4 pounds of meat. I’m a low carb eater too and I’m not worried on the added sugar from the juice. it may make a serving have 2g of carbs. remember the pork is 0g of carbs.
Hi Holly! Hmmm….. makes it hard because the sugar in the orange juice is required. Definitely not diet coke. Is there any sugar free sweetener in liquid form that you are able to use?
I have the Instant Pot. What would the time be in that ? This looks wonderful , thanks 🙂
Hi Julanne, on the slow cooker setting it should be the same 🙂
I want to replace my crock pot (ancient, and only 4 qt), and am curious about the one you’re using. There are 2 Breville models available on Amazon (Breville BPR700BSS and a cheaper one: Instant Pot IP-DUO60). Which one do you have and do you have any experience/knowledge of the differences between the two. Thank you!
Hi Eloise! The Breville BPR700BSS is a newer version of the one I have. I haven’t used an Instant Pot before, I find that the Breville I have does more than what I need! 🙂
Could you provide suggestions for an alternative to pork? This looks so scrummy ….. Maybe beef?
Hi Ria! This will definitely work with beef too, I’d suggest increasing the spices though – maybe double it because beef has a stronger flavour that pork 🙂
Put the rub on mine this evening. Will put the Roast in the slow cooker with the onion, oranges, garlic, jalapenos in the morning for a day-long slow cook. Carnitas tacos Sunday night for dinner, yum!
Oooh! Hope you love it Steve! 🙂
Do you brown it before you put it in the crockpot or no?
Read the recipe.
Nope! After shredding 🙂
I no longer have to look for a perfect carnitas recipe! This is delicious!
Thank you Andrew! I’m so glad that you enjoyed it, and thanks for letting me know! N xx
So I am definitely not big on pork. I will eat it once in a while, But I definitely don’t crave it.
That is, until today! I made this recipe exactly as stated and oh my gosh! It is so moist and so flavorful! I made it in the crockpot a day ahead of when we would eat it and followed the tips in the recipe for making ahead. The next day I fried it and well I have to admit I was standing there eating what I had already fred while I was doing the next batch lol!
Afterward there was a ton left so the next night we had pulled pork bbq. I like mine just plain no sauce, just a little onion and mayo and once again….I could NOT stop eating it.
This is going into my keeper book to be made on a regular basis! Thank you so much!
AWESOME!!! I am so glad to hear that Kesha, thanks for letting me know! N xx
Super excited to try this tomorrow for dinner! I love the addition of orange. Now to convince myself to part with the last couple of cara cara oranges I have…
Oooh I hope you love it!
Greetings from Oakland, Calif.! I picked up some pork leg from the neighborhood groceria and will be making this today. Thanks for including all the little tips. Very thoughtful and thorough!
Hi from Sydney! 🙂 Hope you enjoy this Sue!
Nagi thank you for this fabulous recipe! My husband has a habit of making a sandwich out of everything…he loves good bread and for as long as I’ve known him puts every sort of filling on it. So when I made this yesterday, and he told me this pork was too tasty to make a sandwich out of (I had never heard him say such a thing!), I knew it was a grand-slam home run! He is accustomed to excellent food and so has very high standards…and now has complimented this recipe multiple times since eating it, which is also unheard of. Wow!!!
OMG! What a compliment!!!!
A few weeks ago I tried this recipe and found it to be amazing! Crisping it at the end really made a huge difference. We used the leftovers the next day in quesadillas…yum!
So today my plan was to make it again, but I realized I didn’t save/bookmark the recipe! I was wracking my memory, trying to remember what blog I had found it at… After an hour of searching was so happy to land back here! I’ll be bookmarking it for sure this time. Thank you for such a great recipe!
Don’t lose me, don’t lose me! 😉 So glad you like this recipe, thanks for letting me know! N xx
Great easy recipe loved it….. used a pork shoulder roast 10hrs low
AWESOME!!! I’m so glad to hear that Joanne, thanks for letting me know! N xx
This was so easy and so amazing tasting!! I made this in my dutch oven stainless steel cookware and it
turned out amazing! I broke my inside of my crockpot getting it out to make this! lol
Anywhooo, it was scrumptious! Thanks for the great recipe!
AWESOME!!! I’m so glad to hear that Tammy, thanks for letting me know! N xx (Err, not breaking the crockpot obiovusy, did you seriously break it??? How…..???)
Hi! I can’t wait to try tomorrow! I waited tables at Old Town Mexican Cafe in college! I miss the carnitas and the chicken all the time and try to go when I visit:) Now if I could only make those tortillas! Thanks!
I KNOW!!! I took videos of the ladies cooking them and they played up for the camera – ba ha ha!!
Nagi… this is fantastic!! I am not a pro in the kitchen, so when I told my husband I was attempting carnitas he was a little skeptical (he’s from San Diego and knows what carnitas is supposed to taste like… and he is also aware of my cooking skills). Anyway, he was beyond delighted with how your recipe turned out! Our whole family thoroughly enjoyed our feast, and I think the leftovers even tasted better than the first night! We will absolutely make this again! Thank you!!!
oooh high praise from a San Diegan! (Is there such a word? Ha ha!) I’m so happy to hear that Joanne, thanks for letting me know! N xx
Can I use something else for the orange juice like lemon?
Hi Larisa! Another fruit juice like pineapple or a breakfast juice works well. It needs to be a sweet fruit juice, lemon is too sour 🙂
Hi Nagi!
I just wanted to swing by and THANK YOU profusely for this carnitas recipe! I’m from San Diego and been on the search for years for the “right” authentic carnitas to make at home. Everything I’ve tried just seemed off…until I discovered you on Pinterest. I have since made this recipe too many times to count. It is PERFECTION! Now I’m pretty much obsessed with your blog and every recipe on it. What are some of your favorites that we must try??
Wow Meredith, thanks for the compliment!! I’m so glad you enjoyed these, especially being from San Diego which has such amazing Mexican Food! Gosh, I don’t know where to start with my favorites! All the Mexican recipes – shredded chicken and beef are personal favorites, as are the Beef Enchiladas (I make the sauce from scratch, has stronger flavour than store bought). Pad See Ew are Thai Noodles which are really popular, my mothers Gyoza (Japanese dumplings) recipe is epic, the One Pot Greek Chicken and Lemon Rice is a huge personal and reader favourite, Irish Guinness Stew, Shredded Beef Ragu, Slow Cooker Lamb Shoulder, the BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich, slow Roasted Mojo Pork Shoulder, Sausage Rolls, Spinach and Ricotta Rolls, Parmesan Crusted Salmon with Lemon Cream Sauce – OK, I have to stop!! I could go on for days and days!!! N xx
Beautiful! We will definitely have to try the Pad See Ew. That’s my go-to at Thai restaurants. I had never considered making it at home. I also pinned the Greek Chicken and the Salmon with Lemon Cream sauce as well. You seem to enjoy food the way I do, simple but tasty. Thanks again for the yumminess! I will be trying a lot of them.
For slow cooker pulled pork: do I use mexican oregano or regular (Italian) oregano?
Hi Melissa! Mexican would be wonderful but I use ordinary because it’s all I can get! 🙂
I am really excited to see the outcome of this recipe! Mine is in the slow cooker right now 🙂 Only……I just realized I have 2.80 pounds of boneless pork shoulder and I didn’t halve the ingredients. DOH!
Do you think its going to be too salty?
Hi Candice, I know this is a really late response because this got caught in my filters, sorry! I will respond anyway just in case it assists others 🙂 To fix this, I would have just drizzled a bit less liquid on the pork when searing, that way it won’t be too salty! N x