Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas
by Chungah
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our privacy policy for details.
The easiest carnitas you will ever make in the crockpot. Cooked low and slow for the most amazing fall-apart tender goodness! Yes, please!
Featured Comment
Why you’ll love slow cooker pork carnitas
- Feeds a crowd. This recipe feeds a big crowd, great for entertaining, weekend company or gifting to new parents or a loved one recovering from surgery.
- Great summertime recipe (as well as the rest of the year). Keep your kitchen cool during the hot summer months! The slow cooker allows for no fuss, hands-free cooking without warming up the kitchen.
- Versatile recipe. Pork carnitas can be served as tacos, burritos, salads, grain bowls, nachos and so much more. The sky is the limit here.
- Make-ahead convenience. This is one of those great slow cooker recipes where you can prep everything the night before and throw it right in the crockpot just before leaving for work. And when you get home, you’ll have the most tender, juicy pulled pork. So effortless, so good.
- Freezer-friendly. Pork carnitas can keep in the freezer for up to 3 months, perfect for meal prep for those busy weeknights, thawing overnight and reheating in a pan for a quick and easy dinner.
What is carnitas? What is the best cut of meat for carnitas?
Pork carnitas
Carnitas is a Mexican pork dish from Michoacán, and translates to “little meats” in Spanish and often times described as Mexican pulled pork. Carnitas is traditionally slow cooked until incredibly tender and falling apart, using heavily marbled (inexpensive) pork butt or pork shoulder, then shredded and roasted until the edges are caramelized and crispy.
Best cut of meat
Pork shoulder is typically best for carnitas due to its high fat content, containing enough fat to stay moist during long cooking times, yielding tender, juicy meat when cooked low and slow (especially in the slow cooker).
How to make slow cooker pork carnitas
- Season the pork shoulder. Combine all the dry spices together first, then rub the mixture all around the pork.
- Place all ingredients in the slow cooker. Add everything to the slow cooker – garlic, onions, orange and lime juices along with the well seasoned pork.
- Cook on low heat. Cover and cook for 8 hours, or until the pork is extremely tender and easily shreds with a fork (there should be no resistance when shredding). If the pork is not shredding easily, it will need more time to cook. Freeze or store as needed here, crisping up just before serving.
- Make it crispy. Heat the broiler to high heat, placing a rack 6 inches from the broiler. Broil the shredded pork on a sheet pan in a single layer with some of the leftover cooking juices until crispy and caramelized.
- Serve. Serve carnitas as tacos, burritos, bowls, quesadillas, enchiladas or nachos.
storage and freezing pork carnitas
Storage
Leftover carnitas can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Freezing
Portion the meat into plastic freezer bags in individual servings with some of the leftover cooking fat and liquid (to prevent it from drying out), squeezing out any excess air before sealing. Label, date and freeze up to 3 months.
Reheating
Thaw overnight in the fridge, reheating in the oven at 350°F or in a skillet (adding a splash of broth or water if the meat looks dry) until warmed through and crispy.
What to serve with slow cooker pork carnitas
Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas: Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe works very well with pork shoulder or pork butt due to its fat marbling (the high fat content helps keep the meat moist and flavorful) as well as its easy shredding capabilities.
Yes! If you do not have a broiler or want to crisp up just a small batch of carnitas, cook the shredded pork in a hot cast iron skillet over medium high heat until crispy.
Absolutely! Cook and shred the pork ahead of time, storing as needed (fridge or freezer) and broil just before serving for crispy, tender goodness.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Yes! We have a recipe for that here.
We have an easy 30 minute stovetop recipe here!
Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas
Video
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons salt, or more, to taste
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 pound pork shoulder, excess fat trimmed
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled
- 2 onions, quartered
- ½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper. Season pork shoulder with spice mixture, rubbing in thoroughly on all sides.
- Place garlic, onions, orange juice, lime juice and seasoned pork shoulder into a 6-qt slow cooker. Cover and cook on low heat for 8 hours or high for 4-5 hours.
- Remove pork shoulder from the slow cooker and shred the meat before returning to the pot with the juices; season with salt and pepper, to taste, if needed. Cover and keep warm for an additional 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to broil. Place carnitas onto a baking sheet with some of the cooking fat and liquid, and broil until crisp and crusted, about 3-4 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
Equipment
Notes
- Use the right size crockpot. A 6-qt slow cooker is ideal for this recipe. If the slow cooker is too small, the pork may not cook evenly. If the slow cooker is too large, the liquid may cook down too quickly, causing the pork to burn.
- Avoid lean meats. Opt for pork shoulder or pork butt, avoiding lean meats such as pork tenderloin or pork chops (lean cuts tend to dry out).
- Make it crispy. Broiling is essential for perfectly browned, crispy edges. Broil the shredded pork, about 6 inches from the broiler, in a single layer on a sheet pan with some of the leftover cooking juices until crispy and caramelized. Watch carefully as the pork can quickly burn under the broiler!
- Make ahead of time, but skip the broil. When making ahead of time, shred the meat and store as needed, broiling just before serving.
- Meal prep for the week. This recipe is ideal for big batch cooking! Repurpose the leftover pork throughout the busy weeknights for tacos, quesadillas, burrito bowls and salads.
- Freeze for up to 3 months. Let the carnitas cool completely. Portion into plastic freezer bags in individual servings with some of the leftover cooking fat and liquid to prevent the meat from drying out. Label, date and freeze up to 3 months. To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge, reheating in the oven or stovetop until crispy.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
Had to leave a comment–I’ve made these carnitas several times now. I love their simplicity and can’t get over how delicious they are!! Thought I’d leave a tip for shredding the meat–try a hand mixer! This has changed my life. My whole family loves this recipe–thank you so much!
I bought a bone in pork butt. Will this work ok.?
Yes, that should work just fine.
Oh my heavens, was this ever good! I usually cook the pork for carnitas lowly and longly in the oven, but it’s been hot out and I didn’t want to heat up the kitchen. I never thought of using the slow cooker! I did squeeze the oranges and then throw the peel part in with the pork since I love that flavor, and I threw in a couple of cinnamon sticks as well. I had my Mexican-food-loving family over and we all pigged out. Awesome, thank you!
Is it okay to use a boneless pork butt
Yes, absolutely! Either pork shoulder or pork butt should work just fine.
Thank you ….love your recipes my go to for new ideas
Pork shoulder and Boston Butt are the same cut of meat. The term changes as you move around the country. You can also use a picnic ham as it is just the cut right below the Butt. But trim the fat if you are going to use a picnic ham. It has twice as much outer fat than a shoulder. The final product is the same, juicy carnitas.
So excited to make this tomorrow. Can I freeze the meat later? There’s only two of us eating it and don’t want to waste it. I have had success freezing pulled pork barbecue so I was thinking it would work with this as well.
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
I have frozen shredded pork before in a ziploc bag before, and it defrosted (and tasted) fine afterwards. Always best when fresh, but as long as time in the freezer isn’t too long, it’s an option for leftovers.
Can totally freeze for later use, just double bag to prevent freezer burn. used to make enchiladas at a later date and they were delicious
Dude these carnitas are legit the BEST thanks for the recipie.
Just made this for dinner tonight! Absolutely fantastic. Plus it was very easy to cater to a group of 10 people (even one with celiac’s and two who are lactose intolerant). Thank you!!!
I tried this recipe and it was amazing! Going to make it again soon. The only thing I did different is at the end, I took all the juice (skim off the fat if you prefer), garlic cloves and onions and blended it in the VitaMix to make a flavorful gravey. Put the blended juice and shredded pork back in the crock to reheat. It was very good!
Made your recipe for my hubby’s birthday last week…..he LOVED it along with the entire family!!! It was sooooo yummy that everyone has requested that I make it again this week (5 hrs left on the crock pot timer….hehehe) The flavors of the pork brought us back to our honeymoon in Los Cabos. Thank you so much for this amazing recipe!
PS – We’re Corgi lovers too : )
Hi,
I read through most but not all comments, so I apologize if this has been answered and I didn’t see it. What type of oranges did you use? Did you get the largest possible to try to get the most juice? Did you ever measure out about how much juice you get with the oranges and limes just to get an idea the amount of liquid you are adding to the recipe?
I’m very excited about trying it, so thank you for sharing.
Julie, the amount of juice used does not have to be that exact here. There’s a lot of room to play with!
You can heat your lived fruits in tthe microwave 20 seconds, or until warm to maximize the juice.
I love making things in a slow cooker, aka my sous chef! Growing up, carnitas were a staple in my house. This recipe looks great! Pinned and shared! 😀
Hi there,
Is that 4 lbs with fat and then trim it or 4 lbs after fat has been trimmed off?
Thanks!
Linh
Linh, it really doesn’t matter as long the pork is about 4 pounds.
Have you heard of anyone using Cutie oranges in place of regular oranges? They are a bit sweeter and I have an entire bowl full sitting on my counter. 🙂
I haven’t tried it myself but it sounds like a great substitute!
Very nice recipe. I’m making for the second time this week. I actually fried the carnitas in a cast iron pan instead of broiling and they turned out very good, as well.
Do you put the lime and oranges in the pot or just the juice of each???
Sandra, the recipe calls for 2 oranges, juiced and 2 limes, juiced, so it would only be the juices of each.
Have you ever tried this with a frozen pork shoulder? I wanted to make this tomorrow but just realized that my pork is frozen and I doubt that it will fully thaw in time.
I actually have not tried this with frozen pork shoulder. It may be best to thaw completely prior to using.
It is a huge piece of meat but you can thaw in a plastic bag in a pot or other large vessel with very slowly dripping COLD water. The convection will help thaw the meat much faster and safer than just leaving out inside or outside the fridge. Since this piece is so big you may need to flip once or twice.
I took a rock hard frozen 2.66lb boneless pork roast and dropped it into a 6qt. pot of very hot, (not boiling ) tap water for 20 minutes and t was totally thawed
Finish it off with a pico de gallo and its amazing
This recipe looks delicious! After cooking, what did you do with the quartered onion pieces? Also, did you mince the garlic or did you throw the entire clove into the crock pot?
Sharon, I used whole cloves for this recipe. As for the onion pieces, we ate them of course!
HI! This looks wonderful. Pre-Super-Bowl, I was only able to buy a much larger piece of meat, 7.3 lb pork butt bone-in roast. It does fit into my crock pot. Do you think this will cook through on a slow cook time of 10 hrs? Thanks!!
Unfortunately without further recipe testing, I cannot say for certain if this will cook through in 10 hrs. Please use your best judgment to ensure that the pork is completely cooked through.
yummy yums