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’ve been making this recipe on a regular basis for two years now–it’s my family’s absolute favorite. Incredibly versatile. Even my father (who is a meat and potatoes guy who thinks pepper is spicy) raved about this and asked for me! Freezes really really well. Absolutely amazing!
Pressure cooker time needs to be changed. In the pressure cooker, it takes at least 4 1/2 hours to cook on high using an instant pot. Made this twice using it. Never EVER was 1.5 hours to cook. And the flavor isnt as rich. Very disappointed, but in a crockpot, best meal ever,
I have made this recipe several times and it is delicious. So freaking good. Just make it.
Amazing recipe! So easy (did the pressure cooker version due to time constraints) – it smelt mouth-wateringly good and tasted good too! Will definitely be a regular on the menu this year! Thanks Nagi 😊
Pork cooked beautifully per the recipe. Very good but would suggest to anyone giving it a go to double or triple the spices and seasoning. I found the meat a bit bland (but was good on tacos with pico de gallo and chipotle mayo!). Will def make again but just amp up the flavourings a bit next time
This is one of the best recipes! My partner and I love how this turns out, and the flavor is soooo good. I would cook this for anyone that I was trying to impress.
Made this tonight for the first 2024 dinner because I wanted to start the year right. Highly recommend this recipe paired with the Mexican Red Rice. It’s turned out great every time!
Loved, loved this, just a great tasting recipe, will be making it again, only difference is I made a much bigger piece of meat, next time will add more spices
Easy to prepare e very tasty. I added a tsp of ground chilli during the crisping step,
What is the cooking time when putting it in a dutch oven in the oven? Any suggestions on the methods? I dont have a slow cooker unfortunately but would like it to be in the dutch oven
I made this a couple of weeks ago and it was a hit! I froze leftovers that have been defrosted for dinner tonight. Last time we made tacos or burritos (I had both size tortillas and all the toppings for a do-it-yourself). Tonight I’ll provide items for a build your own bowl. I’m getting hungry just thinking about it!
LOVE THESE. I have made them a few times and after trial and error i have made some minor adjustments, and have found the perfect ratio for my own tastes.
I am of the belief that we use what we have, I had all of the above ingredients except for Jalapeno, so i left that out.
The only differences in my version was that I was generous with my spices, I used more in volume then what the recipe calls for. I also didn’t bother with mixing the spices in oil, just added the spices directly onto my pork.
I added lime juice to my orange juice, making the liquid a full cup,
I used a whole head of garlic and I added some fresh Cilantro.
I did slow over 10 hours and the final product was perfect. Very flavourful, juicy and tender.
Thank you much, I’ve made this a few years ago a bunch of times and love it.
I have 10lb picnic shoulder, what should I do? Double the seasoning rub? Cook the same amount of time?
Thank you!!! Love your recipes!
I have found it works well to cut a large shoulder into 2 or 3 pieces so that I can keep more to the cooking time. Otherwise it can be a bit dry on the outside and not quite pull apart on the inside. It doesn’t make a difference to serving as it going to be shredded anyway.
I’ve made this about 5 times now. I actually upgraded my 4qt crockpot to a 10qt one just so I could fit an entire 10lb bone-in pork butt in there lol yes, this recipe made me buy an entire new crockpot!! So easy to freeze, so versatile, AND now my husband is finally excited for Taco night! Can’t wait to check out your other recipes 🙂
Adding that I also tried this recipe with chicken breast. It (of course) came back drier and it was slightly sweeter, but still quite tasty. I probably wouldn’t make it for tacos again (solely because the pork was way better for that) but the chicken did make super yummy nachos! In case anyone is curious 🤤
Adding that I also tried this recipe with chicken breast. It (of course) came back drier and it was slightly sweeter, but still quite tasty. I probably wouldn’t make it for tacos again (solely because the pork was way better for that) but the chicken did make super yummy nachos! In case anyone is curious 🤤
I’ve made this about 5 times now. I actually upgraded my 4qt crockpot to a 10qt one just so I could fit an entire 10lb bone-in pork butt in there lol yes, this recipe made me buy an entire new crockpot!! So easy to freeze, so versatile, AND now my husband is finally excited for Taco night! Can’t wait to check out your other recipes 🙂
This was fabulous!! I seared it in my slow cooker and followed the recipe (sorry Peggy). It was outstanding, easy and makes delicious carnitas for tacos. Thank you!!
I just made this yesterday and finished it up for lunch today. It was delicious, tender, moist, salty, crispy, and flavored perfect! The only thing i had to change was the jalapeños to canned green chillis because it was all i had.
I started the rubbed 4lb bonless pork shoulder oh high for two hours in the slow cooker at 4pm. Then I set the cooker to low for 8 hours and let it cook until 11pm. By then the meat was falling apart tender. Then I scrapped all the fat off and shredded the pork. I returned the pork to the juice and put it in the fridge until lunch today. I crisped up the carnitas in my skillet until brown and crunchy and seared the other side. I burrito wrapped it all up with feta, Colby jack, salsa, sour cream and green onion. 😋 so good! It may be better than all my local authentic Mexican restaurants.
These directions must be followed to get optimum yum. It’s hard to put down the pork once you’ve got a taste!
This recipe is an absolute staple in our household. We always have some in the freezer for quick tacos or burrito bowls during the week.
Great recipe so easy…so tasty and freezes well for extra meals.