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!
Thanks for the carnitas recipe, changes my perception. The best carnitas I have ever cooked, just like my favorite Mexi places. You are right, the high heat browning w/ drippings/sauce to finish, awesome. This adds new flavors, I could not create before!
Thx-
cd
So glad you enjoyed it Chris! N x
Made this for supper and turned our great did add extra garlic powder to the rub cause I love garlic and I added a good glug of white white then used a Dutch oven (cause crock pot is packed as we are moving soon) and it turned out great. Thanx for the recipe
Yay! So glad you loved it Kirsty, thanks so much for coming back to let me know! N x
I used the left over next day for breakfast heated them up in a skillet then fried an egg placed meat over fresh baby spinach and topped with egg and avocado sprinkle of s&p oh my goodness so yummy!
YUM! Now THAT is a breakfast fry up!!! Oooh, I think you’ve just totally inspired me to make this for BREAKFAST SOON!!
Made this tonight and it turned out pretty good (even though I over cooked mine). I always worry about over seasoning, but this is one of those recipes where it’s good to go hard; use big oranges, kick up the oregano, dont be sheepish with the salt and pepper. I piled this over some refried beans and home made torillias and was definitely satisfied.
That’s so great to hear Jenn! Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed it! – N x
Question: I have not tried this yet but, do you NOT add water or any other liquids other than the juice of 2 oranges? Just wondering.
Hi Cal! Yes, do NOT add water!!!! 🙂
Just put it in the crockpot. Fingers crossed.
Think positively! It will be GREAT!!! 🙂
Thank you Nagi!! This is by far my favorite pork recipe. You are a genius to come up with the idea of frying the meat to get that great crunch. Amazing! I have tried endless pork recipes and none compare to this. This will be my standard now. Why mess with perfection? It is juicy and super flavorful and goes so well with all kinds of Latin food.
I wanted to share a way I reduced the fat from using a pork shoulder while following your recipe. The animal fat is delicious but I try to avoid it for health reasons. I cook this the day before I serve it. After the meat is cooked, I separate the meat from the juice. Then remove all the fat from the meat and shred the meat. I put the shredded meat in the refrigerator separate from the liquid. The next day when the fat turns solid on top of the liquid, I remove the fat from the liquid. When I am ready to serve it, I fry the meat in olive oil per the recipe then add the liquid back into the meat. This is so delicious I don’t think anyone misses the fat. Any way you make it, it is a winner!!
PS I have tried cooking a pork loin in the crock pot and even if it is cooked in juice, it tastes dry. I agree with you, the pork shoulder is the way to go.
Thank you Randy!! I am SO glad you enjoyed this!!! I swear, the pan frying is the tip – the gorgeous caramelisation 🙂 Just like real pork carnitas in Mexico!! Thank you for sharing the tip to reduce the fat Randy!!! N x
This recipe sounds great. I am a huge carnitas fan and have yet to find a knock out recipe.
I am going to try this out this weekend but i have one question. I bought a pork shoulder last weekend and cut it all up into 2″ cubes. Removing the fat cap ( but still leaving some fat ) Do you still i can do this in a slow cooker, and if so sould i reduce the cooking time? Thanks for the recipe.
k.c
Hi KC! I haven’t tried it with the pork cut up into 2″ cubes. But I think 6 hours in the slow cooker will be enough!
This recipe rocks.
Making this for the 2nd time tonight and going to make Torta’s de pork! Last time had as tacos and it was unbelievable – 5 min cook time and so easy.
My mexican gf apporves.
Just about the highest praise I could ever hope for that your Mexican Grandfather approves! ?
I am sure you’ve answered this question in your comments, but I can’t find it! I’ve let my 4+ pound pork shoulder defrost in the fridge for 24 hours, but it’s not completely thawed. Can I put it straight in the crockpot or do I need to thaw it completely? Any changes to cooking time?
Hi Cassie! I’m sorry, I don’t recommend putting it in until properly thawed, health hazard! The outside will cook and the inside will not, if you leave it in for longer than the outside will overcook. 🙁 Sorry!
This was SO good!! I bought a huge pork shoulder and cooked it with this recipe and it was the best pork I’ve ever made. The browning at the end made all the difference. Shared with everyone! Thank you so much 🙂
Thank you Carol! I’m SO SO GLAD you enjoyed this!! 🙂
Aaaaack, Nagi! I coulda sworn the recipe called for boneless, not bone-in (think I misread skinless as boneless). Should I cook it less…don’t want it to be dry.
Doh’!
Mari
Hi Mari!! I highly doubt it will be dry with the same cook time even if you have boneless, as long as it has the fat on the surface (at least some!). 🙂 There’s plenty of fat throughout the shoulder too so that helps keep it beautifully juicy too! N x
I am so excited to try this tonight for dinner but one thing has me confused. 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?
Hi Michelle! I leave them in because they are so soft they just blend right in!
This looks like it will be awesome! I’m wondering if I could substitute the orange juice for another citrus juice? My SO is only allergic to oranges. Any ideas?
Hi Ashley! I would use half the amount of lime juice with 2 teaspoons of white sugar. 🙂 I hope that helps!
Hi Ashley, Any citrus will work great. Lime or lemon maybe. Don’t have those? Any vinegar would work as a substitute. I would probably go with white wine or apple cider vinegar. But use what you like. A few healthy splashes should do the trick.
Thanks so much for helping Ashley out Don, that’s so sweet!! We’re on the same page, I suggested lime plus a bit of sugar because oranges are sweeter. I didn’t think of white wine or apple cider vinegar, but both are great suggestions!! I’d add a bit of sugar to those too 🙂 OH – and you know, I think apple juice might work too! In fact, possibly better than the other alternatives because it’s got a more similar flavour to oranges. What do you think Don??
This recipe is interesting, can I do it with a pressure cooker instead of a slow cooker? I just got my self a piece of Wild Boar tenderloin. You might think a boar meat is too lean but this one is quite fatty. So I’m gonna try with this meat.
Hi Raymond! If it’s fatty then it should work just fine! Yes it will work in a pressure cooker – I’m guessing around 1 hour on high. 🙂
I made it with a pressure cooker. And i make a terrible mistake.. LOL. I forgot to add some water, after i turn it on high, I leave it to take a shower, by the time i get out my house is all smoke.. the pork survived though, abit charred on the lower side, but the inside taste great. Lol, I will try another one.
I have a pork tenderloin in my freezer, do you think this will be ok to try or will it not have enough fat for the good flavor?
Hi Colleen! Sorry to say that tenderloin is too lean for this 🙂 Shoulder is best!
Hello,
I am trying these Carnitas for the first time tomorrow. I already bought a beautiful 4.5 lb pork shoulder tenderloin that was calling my name from the store. After reading many different recipes and ways to prepare crockpot carnitas, i realized your recipe was by far the best and stood alone atop my list.
Do you by any chance happen to have the nutritional value of these carnitas, or maybe an average calorie amount on a per serving basis?
We are trying to watch a bit more what we eat at home and our intakes, and eating crockpot meals is a good way to make good meals that are healthier for us.
Hi Cesar! This needs to be made with pork shoulder, not tenderloin. Do you know which you have??? I am sorry but nutrition is very hard to calculate for this because so much of the fat renders out during cooking! Per serve I would estimate <300 calories each 🙂
Pork shoulder tenderloin? I got a bridge to sell you if you actually paid for such a mythical cut off meat.
I just made the recipe tonight – but am having confusion as to what to do with my leftovers. I know now what to do if I want to freeze them……. But what if I’m just storing them in the fridge?
Hopefully you can answer soon, cuz it’s sitting on my counter.
Hi Katie! Sorry for delay, I was out in the country with limited internet. It can be stored in the fridge for 3 days!
Hi! I found your recipe and can’t wait to try it. I have some pork stew chunks would those work? Do I have to adjust the time? Also can I use regular store bought orange juice instead of fresh orange juice?
Thank you!
Hi Karolina! Unfortunately not because they will cook faster so you won’t get the same flavour infusion. But yes if you have pork shoulder you can use regular store bought OJ!
Hi!
This worked great! My only comment would be to clarify the browning only after removing from the crockpot once cooked . Since its mentioned in the first line of the recipe it’s unclear that it’s actually the last step. I browned in the beginning and end and it was fine.
Great recipe and I appreciated the extra salt information.
Thanks so much for the tip Michelle! I’ll check over the recipe again to make it clearer!! 🙂
Hi Nagi! Thanks for this recipe!! My mouth is watering just thinking about it. I am going to make this tomorrow for the SuperBowl (so not sure I’ll get a response in time) but, do you get equally good results by cooking it on high vs. low? Which do you prefer?
Thanks! Can’t wait to try it!
Hi Al!! Hope I got to you in time! 🙂 Yes I get the same results, I just use Low by default because it’s the setting I typically have it on 🙂
Nagi, thanks for the reply! I ended up doing it on high for 6.5 hours (I was doing 7 lbs). I increased all the ingredients by 150%. I ended up adding a couple slices of orange peel into the slow cooker (I also used mexican oregano, not sure if this makes a huge difference). The pork shredded very nicely. I removed all the veg from the broth, reduced it and put it back in the slow cooker and then added the pork back and kept the slow cooker on low for the whole party. It was delicious. I did add a little more salt before serving. It was good enough and so juicy out of the slow cooker that we didn’t feel the need to crisp it up. Everyone took leftovers home! Thank you so much and this will be a go to recipe.
Hello,
I’m looking forward to making this tomorrow. I was just wondering if the oranges are the only liquid in the recipe? I usually use a broth or something in a slow cooker. Can you please confirm or deny my suspicion?
Cheers
Hi Kyle! Yes the oranges are the only liquid, that’s all you need 🙂 It won’t burn, it won’t dry out. The meat is so juicy itself, it ends up cooking in it’s own juices!
I would love to try this recipe but cumin makes my husband very ill, can you recommend a substitution?
Hi Lisa! Coriander powder is a good sub 🙂