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!
Jennifer says
I’m using a boneless 2.09 lb…. how long should I crockpot on high?
Nagi says
HI Jennifer – 4 – 5 hours 🙂 Needs the slow cooking time for flavours to develop.
Ruth says
I want to make this tomorrow and don’t have any oranges or orange juice. I’ll have some at the end of the cooking time. Can I substitute to make without oranges?
Nagi says
Hi Ruth! Actually, pineapple, apple or pear juice are great substitutes 🙂 You can’t taste the orange juice at the end, it’s more about having something slightly sweet in the liquid. Oh, or a sweet apple cider works great!
Sean Beasley says
Nagi –
I stumbled across your recipe purely by accident, and the first time I made it (last weekend, for my inlaws) I didn’t brown the meat enough, or add enough of the remnant juices to it while I was browning it (even though you stress several times how important those two things are!) – the results were underwhelming. But, as I had committed to a fund-raising “Taco Friday” for today (for about 40 people at work), I spent evenings this week preparing the pork and freezing it, following your instructions. I wanted to list a couple of lessons that I learned from my experience for your readers.
First off, since I was trying to prepare 24 lbs of pork shoulder after work, I chose to try the electric pressure cooker option that you mentioned as an alternative to the crock pot. I was only able to do (1) shoulder a night (I have a 6-quart pressure cooker that an 8lb shoulder barely fit in); the cook time needed to get it to the “falling off the bone” state wound up being around 2:30 (roughly 17 minutes / lb). Once I had made all the meat, and had followed your suggestion to reduce the leftover juices, I reserved about 3 pints of it, and put it in the fridge. I followed your advice about putting some juices in with the meat before I froze it.
Today I took everything to work, and got out (2) large frying pans. I used a little vegetable oil, and set the burners to med-hi, as I browned the meat by batches. Once I got one side nice and brown, I started to ladle spoonfuls of the leftover juices onto the meat. That is definitely the step that imparts the flavor to the meat; the moisture evaporated out of the hot skillet, and made the entire office staff come in to see what was cooking.
It took about 90 minutes to properly brown and season all the meat; after I finished each batch, I put it back into the pressure cooker, and turned on the “warm” setting. I added a spoonful of juice on top of each batch after I put it in the pressure cooker. It was a huge success. One fellow had (10) tacos, and I received praise from others who also happen to barbecue professionally. High praise for your recipe, coming from them!
A quick comment about tasting the cumin: a few people guessed that it was in there, but it is in no way overpowering. Everybody was so surprised that there were so few spices in there – but the flavor, the texture, the moistness of the meat – all of it was excellent. If you like lime, then the lime wedges are a must. I put some salsa out, but most people just put a little white onion, a pinch of cilantro, and a sprinkle of diced Serrano peppers on them. I used corn tortillas, and had success warming them in the microwave, between (2) paper plates (reversed to form a small cavity) so that they didn’t break – about 1 minute for (10) tortillas. My thanks to you for your guidance in this recipe.
Nagi says
Woah!You’re amazing Sean, to make that much pulled pork for a fund raiser ❤️ Thank you so much for your comprehensive feedback! And WOW to the high praise from the BBQ professional *blush* / all credit to you! N xx
Sarah says
Hi!! Question: can you taste the cumin? I can’t stand the taste when it isn’t incorporated. I’m sure it blends in; you sound like an expert!
Thanks so much,
Sarah
Nagi says
Hi Sarah! I don’t think anyone would pick that there’s cumin in it because the flavours all meld, but if you’re super sensitive to it, cut the cumin in half 🙂 It will still be super delish!
Jo Ellen says
Making this in my slow cooker RIGHT NOW! One of my favorite things to eat when i go out so i pray i love it as much as the others did! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Nagi says
I hope you do love it!! Honestly one of my most made recipes ever! N x
Ellen says
I just made a half recipe for 6 people for football Sunday. I changed the salt proportions, used the juice of one orange but kept the rub measurements the same. It turned out DELICIOUS! We did a taco bar with guacomole, queso, and salsa. It was a huge hit and I wish I made a full recipe for left overs since it was all gone. Def going to be my go to carnitas. Thanks for a the helpful hints!
Nagi says
I’m so glad you enjoyed this Ellen! Thanks so much for letting me know! N xx
Will says
I would like to make this tomorrow for a football party, I’m thinking of serving it buffet style out of a warmer. I have a 6lb roast, how would you suggest I deal with the browning of the meat? Could I crisp up one side after it’s done cooking then put it in a warming tray with the juice or would that negate the crisping? Or could I just searched the roast before throwing it into the slow cooker?
Nagi says
Sorry I missed your party Will 🙁 Definitely crisp it per recipe them keep it in warmer, it stays quite crispy!
James Hayes says
Hi, I’ve made this a few times and love it. I have two questions if you have time to answer them…
1. I seem to fail on the crisping up of the pork at the end. I use olive oil in a hot skillet… any tips?
2. Can i grid up a habanero chili or something to add to this while it’s cooking?
Thanks
Nagi says
Hi James! So glad you love it 🙂 For crisping it up, just leave it in the skillet without touching it until it goes golden at which point it will be crispy 🙂 And absolutely you can add chilli!
Dylan says
I cooked this last week and it was amazing in tacos with pico de galo, red cabbage, black beans and corn, and quesadillas for lunch the next day, still have at least 5 more meals for 2 worth in the freezer. Can’t wait to try the beef next.
Nagi says
FANTASTIC! I’m so pleased to hear that Dylan, thanks for letting me know!
Urbano pena says
I try to maked, but w/ different ingredient, this is how make from my town in Mexico. I never maked, but I try, I buy a slow cooker on Christmas Eve, but this recipe has many ingredients, my slow cooker is only 4 qts
Is good for small piece a pork meat??
Nagi says
Hiiiii! I wouldn’t recommend too small a piece because it will not cook long enough to get those flavours infused. 🙂 How large a piece of pork do you think you can fit in your slow cooker?
Terah says
Could you do this in an electric pressure cooker if you are short on time? Any adjustments?
Nagi says
Hi Terah! You sure can, I have directions in step 4 🙂
Amber says
Hi there! This recipe sounds delicious. Do you think this will work with a boneless pork loin roast (not tenderloin)? I have one in the freezer that needs to be used and it is just a touch over four pounds. Thanks for your help!
Nagi says
Hi Amber! It will work if it’s a fatty one, if it’s lean I just think it will come out drier than ideal 🙂
Amber says
Thank you! This one seems to have a good amount of fat, so I think I will have to try it!
Lindsey says
Yep this is the real deal! I have made this twice now and it is very good. I have made it for company both times and it was a hit and super easy since you can make ahead of time. I roast some pineapple and dice it up to be served on the taco along with small diced onions, cilantro, super spicy salsa verde, and a small crumble of cotija cheese . YUM!
Nagi says
High five! So glad you love this too Lindsey, thanks for letting me know! N xx
Robin says
This is by far the best pulled pork recipe I have made (and I’ve tried dozens). I really appreciate your specificity as I want a go to I can rely on every time. Perfect texture, flavor and moisture level. Super easy to boot. This is the recipe I’ll memorize and use in a pinch, without a doubt, whether for my family or to entertain. This was my first of your recipes but will certainly not be the last.
Nagi says
Thanks for trying my recipe Robin! I’m glad to hear you enjoyed it, thanks for letting me know! N x
Matthew Blankeship says
This recipe looks great. I will be trying this with tamales in the coming weeks (making chicken tamales this weekend…first tamale try). I’ll let you know how they turn out. The taco spread looks delicious!
Nagi says
Hope you do try it Matthew! It really is ridiculously delicious 🙂
Matthew Blankeship says
Made it tonight. WOW! I accidentally skipped doing the rub, but added the cumin and oregano just after turning it on. Also used a couple of habenaroes along with the jalapeno. No deseeding. It wasn’t too spicy. Thanks for this recipe.
Nagi says
Woo hoo! Thanks for trying my recipe Matthew, so glad you enjoyed it! N x
Jessi says
I have already made a basic pulled pork recipe in the crockpot and now I’d like to turn it into Carnitas for tonight! How should I go about this?! Thanks!
Nagi says
Hi Jessi! What I would do is use all the other ingredients in this recipe and place them in a saucepan with the pork juices in your crockpot. Simmer to reduce down to 1 cup of liquid then follow this recipe to brown the pulled pork in a skillet and pour over juices 🙂
Jessi says
Thank you!! I’ll try that!!
Margaret Coombes says
Hi Nagi, I don’t have a slow cooker so made this in the oven at 120C, covered. It worked a treat and was texturally and taste wise, superb. Thank you. My husband wants to know why does’nt everyone cook pork like this. Margaret
Nagi says
I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed it Margaret! Thank you for letting me know! N xx
Kimberly Davis says
I made these with pork tenderloin and they were UNREAL! They did not dry out, were leaner, and a huge hit with my family! Also, there used to be a PICKLED RED ONION recipe attached to this which is not anymore, but which I am glad I saved, as topping the carnitas with them blew everyone’s minds! This receipe is absolutely scrumptious!
Denise B says
Hi. I want to make this for Super Bowl and I am really interested in the pickled red onion recipe. Would you mind sharing?
Kimberly Davis says
I made these with pork tenderloin and they were UNREAL! They did not dry out, were leaner, and a huge hit with my family!
Nagi says
I’m so thrilled to hear that Kimberly! I’m thinking perhaps your tenderloin has more fat than the ones we get here 🙂 N x
marie says
I have an 11 lb. pork shoulder w/ bone in. have to cook in the oven. so I will double the ingrediants but how long in the oven covered and uncovered?
DirkM says
Marie, if you plan to use low temp cooking in your oven, set it to 130..150C, use a temp probe (close to the bone) and make sure you keep the meat at least 1 EXTRA hour in the oven after the temperature probe reads 68C. Expect this to take 6 hours for a 10cm thick shoulder. If your oven uses hot air, I would recommend not to cover the meat so it can brown. Pour the juices over it again and again and turn it around every 2 hours to brown it evenly. When finished, I usually heat the fat and juice in a skillet to fry the shredded pieces. The sugar in the juice caramelizes in the fat and gives the meat the typical fat/sugar taste that characterizes many Mexican dishes.
Nagi says
Hi Marie! I haven’t made one that size in the oven but I’m guessing based on other slow roasts I’ve done that it will be 4 hours covered plus 1 – 1.5 uncovered (see note 2).N x