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 recipe is an absolute staple in our household. We always have some in the freezer for quick tacos or burrito bowls during the week.
hi Nagi, just made this recipe. i did 2kg, and i did it in the pressure cooker on high for 1.5 hour. its pulling beautifully on the outside of the meat, but inside its really dry and hard to pull. Have i overcooked it?
first time i did the recipe, i did it in the slow cooker and it worked beautifully. but my slow cooker was in use for something else so decided to try pressure cooker.
This is an excellent recipe! I followed the recipe and instructions exactly as written.
Hi Nagi, would boneless pork spare ribs work for this recipe?
So good!!!! So easy!! Followed the recipe exactly and it turned out amazing. Thank you!
Amazing recipe and going to make again tomorrow! The only change I make to this amazingly simple recipe is a couple of bay leaves thrown in the crock pot.
I made this recipe but added 2 tsp of coriander and 1 can of el pato hot tomato sauce. This really gave it the Mexican flavor that was missing from the first time I made it. Yum yum.
This recipe is SO easy, and SO delicious! I put put the pork on before work (takes MAYBE 5 minutes to prep), and let her go (house smells fabulous), and by dinner time, we have the most delicious carnitas! I also freeze the leftover meat & juices and add it to chili within 2 weeks or so (if there IS leftover – this is one of those dishes that you can pick at for hours after dinner and its still amazing!). PERFECT RECIPE!
This is an excellent carnitas recipe, and I say that from a place in the US with a large Mexican population and fabulous Mexican restaurants on nearly every corner.
I follow the recipe except for adding chili powder to the rub and slightly increasing the seasonings overall. My cook method is a little different though. I hear up my heavy 6 qt Dutch oven on the stove and do the sear in it. I then add the juice and veg as well as about 1 cup water before putting the lid on and throwing it in a 250°F oven for a few hours. When the pork is done, I move it to a cutting board and put the juices into my fat separator. Then, I do the browning in the same Dutch oven. It turns out great and cuts down on dishes!😁
Hope this 5 star honest review overshadows the one below, which leaves a bad review and awful feedback after not at all following the recipe. It is clearly stated here that we want that pork fat for the cook and the delicious juices it imparts.. chicken obviously will not do the same.
First time making carnitas and decided to use this recipe. It was amazing! Used it for sheet pan nachos, quesadilla and burritos. This recipe is for sure a keeper.
Can I use sliced pork butt instead of an unslice roast?
Can you delete my last name from the previous review??? I don’t want my last name on the site! Thank you!
Hi Shelli Thelan
This was easy and a hit! I used OJ vs. fresh oranges since I had it on hand. I used the crock pot and then crisped up the meat in batches. It was flavorful and just perfect! Thank you!
I usually love Nagi’s recipes, it I thought the proportions and sweetness were way off. It might have been my own fault for scaling down to 1/8 of the original recipe and skipping the slow-cooking since I already had shredded chicken on hand. I cooked all the aromatics and spices together, and reduced it, then had to add a fair amount of water, because it was too dry (shredded chicken is drier than pork shoulder after all). But setting that aside, I found the sauce too sweet and not flavorful enough. I had to reference another carnitas recipe to find out what extra spices I should add, and fairly doubled or tripled what this recipe called for. I will try making this again, but with those added seasoning/spices (chili powder, lime juice).
Well I had to leave a review on this recipe just to counteract stupid Peggy’s review. I feel bad for anyone who eats your food.. Or talks to you… What an absolute twit!
Are you sure you’re reviewing the proper recipe? This is a FAIL SAFE recipe. There is no chicken, there is no cooking “all of the aromatics”, and there is nothing sweet about it.
Ermm… admit it’s your fault, completely changed the recipe, and still leaves a bad review?
It is your fault Peggy, and therefore, in fairness, you should remove your review as you are judging Nagi when you know you made your own recipe… yet you cast blame here. I just can’t understand this way of thinking.
This has got to be the funniest review I’ve ever read on a recipe! So you’re saying you followed NONE of the actual instructions from the recipe and felt compelled to give it a negative review?! Hahaha! I think you just gave your own personal recipe one star.
As far as the ACTUAL recipe is concerned, it came out great and was ridiculously tasty for the amount of effort required. I’ll definitely be making this again.
Really not cool. You’ve clearly not followed the recipe and then left a bad review based on your own idiotic efforts. You’ve tried to use the recipe ingredients in completely the wrong way over *ready cooked shredded chicken* and complained when it (obviously) hasn’t worked.
Have a word with yourself and delete this review.
By the way the, the recipe as is written is excellent and I have done it many times. I would say foolproof, but apparently it isn’t.
Honestly, you didn’t follow the recipe in the slightest. You didn’t even use the correct protein. Complain about a slow cooker recipe without actually slow cooking anything? And you leave an awful review? You should delete it. How silly!
Peggy, try the actual recipe as it stands and I guarantee (as with all Nagi’s recipes!) you WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!! I made this regularly to feed a crowd and always get rave reviews!
Since so many people have insisted (and upon reflection, it is only fair), I will be making the recipe as it is written and re-rating it.
“Since so many people have insisted, I will be making the recipe as it is written…”
Oh, YA THINK?!!!
Don’t rate a recipe when YOU DIDN’T MAKE THE ACTUAL RECIPE!
This is an excellent recipe which I have done many times. I was surprised to read your review. Generally, it’s best to actually follow a recipe before you leave a review. You didn’t follow the recipe at all. In all fairness, you should remove it.
Since so many people have insisted (and upon reflection, it is only fair), I will be making the recipe as it is written and re-rating it.
Definitely try cooking the full recipe and actually slow cook a pork shoulder!
I feel like not slow cooking and not using the same type/cut of meat is probably the biggest culprit in why you found the recipe to be off. If you just cooked all the aromatics together, without slow cooking with the pork, then the flavor will of course be way off. For example, if I understand correctly the orange juice (or some recipes use lime juice or coca-cola) is meant to help tenderize the meat as it cooks. You wouldn’t taste the orange juice in it after slow cooking with the pork shoulder. Without cooking everything together as Nagi instructed, I feel like it’s unfair to give a low rating.
Just had to come here and defend this recipe after I spotted this since it’s been my go-to carnitas recipe for years now 😉
Since so many people have insisted (and upon reflection, it is only fair), I will be making the recipe as it is written and re-rating it.
Peggy, so have you made it according to Nagi’s recipe and re-rated it? Please do the right – and fair – thing now 🙂 From past experience, this recipe – as written – is perfect!
So you completely skipped the slow cooking part, which would have mellowed out a lot of the sweet orange juice flavor, and you’re giving two stars because you turned a slow cooker recipe into a non slow cooker recipe and didn’t like it? Yeah I would say it’s your fault.
Sounds like you made a completely different recipe…
So you didn’t cook this. You changed her recipe completely so why come on here and complain? Follow her instructions and it’s a 5 star recipe. We made it exactly and love this recipe.
It’s not fair to judge this recipe based on how you decided to prepare it. This is a recipe for carnitas using a raw piece of meat and cooking it for many hours, allowing time for the flavors of the meat and spices to marry.
Can I put everything in the crock pot ready to go and cook a day later?
Best carnitas yet!! Recipe called for very few ingredients which I was hesitant at first. Followed it to a tea and it turned out DELISH! Highly recommend! I never leave comments so that will tell ya something!
I’m wondering you can use orange juice for this rather than squeezing juice from an orange. Hoping to save. Anyone tried this?
Hey. She mentioned in her cook book any fresh 100% orange juice is fine, she rarely squeezes fresh oranges herself 👍
I have made this recipe as written twice and my family goes crazy for it. Seriously amazing flavor. Don’t change a thing.
Delicious! Made quesadillas first time and will be making bowls tonight. Adding cilantro lime rice, black beans, homemade guacamole and salsa, sour cream and cheddar jack. Can’t wait. Simple and delicious.
So so good! I got rave reviews on this. For days after. Super easy. Common ingredients. Thanks so much.