Carnitas – A Beautiful Mess

I love this carnitas recipe! It truly might be one of my favorites on our site. These tender pork carnitas are easy to make (in a slow cooker), full of flavor, you only need a handful of ingredients and it’s a very inexpensive meal. I also love that you can serve carnitas many different ways, like in tacos, rice bowls, burritos, quesadillas, nachos and more!

The word “carnitas” literally means “little meats.” And while I certainly think of this pork carnitas recipe as a Mexican or Tex-Mex recipe, it also has French roots as the dish Rillons de Tours. If you’ve never had it before, I would describe it as a Spanish-style pulled pork.

Related: Next up, try our Pozole recipe, which is also made with pork shoulder.

Ingredients

• Pork shoulder
• Salt and black pepper
• Onion
• Jalapeño
• Garlic
• Lime
• Dried oregano
• Cumin
• Brown sugar
• Canola oil – or you can use lard

And depending how you want to serve your carnitas, you may also want some salsa, pico de gallo, fresh cilantro, and tortillas, chips or rice.

How to Make Slow-Cooker Carnitas

Pat the cut of pork dry on both sides and generously season with salt and pepper. Make a rub from one tablespoon of oil, the oregano, cumin and any other spices you like with pork. Rub all over the meat. Place this in your slow cooker, which I tend to call a crockpot.

Roughly chop the onion and jalapeño, removing the inside veins and seeds. Add this over the top of the meat. Mince the garlic cloves and toss this in as well. Now juice all three limes and add this to the slow cooker as well.

Cook on low for 10 hours. Remove the meat from the slow cooker liquid, brushing off any large onion or jalapeño pieces as you do. Shred the meat with forks into small pieces, removing the bone if you used a bone-in cut.

In a large cast iron skillet or nonstick pan, heat a couple teaspoons of oil or lard over medium-high heat. Add the meat to the pan and sprinkle the brown sugar over the top. Cook for a few minutes so you get those crispy edges and then flip. Cook another few minutes to get more crispy pieces and remove to a plate.

Serve with chopped onion, fresh cilantro and lime in a corn tortilla with refried beans for a traditional take, or however your family prefers.

Tips for Success

• Pork shoulder also called pork butt or Boston butt as well as picnic roast or picnic shoulder. I used a bone-in pork shoulder here, but it doesn’t have to contain a bone.
• If you want to swap some of the lime juice for oranges/orange juice, feel free. Orange goes well with pork or beef when cooking.
• Browning the carnitas in a skillet after they have already been slow cooked is optional, but I think worth it! This is also a great way to rewarm leftovers.
• Save any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for at least 3 days. Rewarm on the stovetop or in the microwave.

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Slow cooked pork shoulder then pan fried with brown sugar for some crispy texture

Yield 4

Prep 10 minutes mins

Cook 10 hours hrs

Total 10 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Instructions

• Pat the cut of pork dry on both sides and generously season with salt and pepper.

• Make a rub from one tablespoon of oil, the oregano, cumin and any other spices you like with pork. Rub all over the meat. Place this in your slow cooker, which I tend to call a crockpot.

• Roughly chop the onion and jalapeño, removing the inside veins and seeds. Add this over the top of the meat. Mince the garlic cloves and toss this in as well. Now juice all three limes and add this to the slow cooker as well.

• Cook on low for 10 hours.

• Remove the meat from the slow cooker liquid, brushing off any large onion or jalapeño pieces as you do. Shred the meat with forks into small pieces, removing the bone if you used a bone-in cut.

• In a large cast iron skillet or nonstick pan, heat a couple teaspoons of oil or lard over medium-high heat. Add the meat to the pan and sprinkle the brown sugar over the top.

• Cook for a few minutes, so you get those crispy edges and then flip. Cook another few minutes to get more crispy pieces and remove to a plate.

Notes

• • Pork shoulder also called pork butt or Boston butt as well as picnic roast or picnic shoulder. I used a bone-in pork shoulder here, but it doesn’t have to contain a bone.

• • If you want to swap some of the lime juice for oranges/orange juice, feel free. Orange goes well with pork or beef when cooking.

• • Browning the carnitas in a skillet after they have already been slow cooked is optional, but I think worth it! This is also a great way to rewarm leftovers.

• • Save any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for at least 3 days. Rewarm on the stovetop or in the microwave.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Carnitas

Amount per Serving

% Daily Value*

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.