Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas
by Chungah
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The easiest carnitas you will ever make in the crockpot. Cooked low and slow for the most amazing fall-apart tender goodness! Yes, please!
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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?
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Do you think I could use a casteiron casserole instead of a crockpot? What temp and time?
Please understand that it is very difficult to give exact conversion information to translate a slow cooker recipe to be used on the stovetop without further recipe testing. I recommend using your best judgement to convert this recipe to be used in a cast iron.
Can you put the rub on the pork the night before, or would you recommend doing it the morning of?
Prepping everything the night before should be just fine!
H! I love that you can prep this the night before. I’m wondering, when you say you can prep everything the night before, does this mean doing all the steps with the exception of cooking it? Would I just put everything in the crockpot and put in fridge and then take out the morning of too cook? Thanks!!
Yes, that’s exactly right!
Hi Chungah,
I’m about to make this in about an hour. My question is, since I don’t have oranges, could I just use regular Orange juice (I get mine from Trader Joe’s). I don’t have time to run out and get oranges. Just wondering if orange juice would taste just as good as if I were to use two oranges. And if I use OJ, how many cups?
Thanks so much and cannot wait to try this!
Telma, you can certainly substitute Trader Joe’s orange juice but without further recipe testing, I cannot speak for how much this will change the overall taste/texture of the dish. It is always best to use the ingredients listed in the recipe to obtain the best results possible.
For a 2 pound shoulder would you just half everything? Including the time? Because theres only two of us and we could never eat all that meat.
You can certainly try halving the cooking time but without further recipe testing, I am not certain if this time frame is sufficient for a 2 pound pork shoulder. Please use your best judgment to make the appropriate adjustments.
Did you try halving it?? I would like to do same
Just made these tonight. They were AMAZING! I believe the exact words my 10 year old used was “When are we having this again?”
I followed your recipe to a T. The only thing I added was a quick avocado/tomato salad. I can’t wait to come up with yummy dishes for the leftovers. Thanks for the recipe! 🙂
I have loved every recipe that I have made of yours. Thank you for existing and posting such great meals, you have made it possible for me to cook! Can’t wait to try this one! Thanks again! 🙂
how big is your slow cooker? Because mine looks way smaller than yours.
I used a 3-qt slow cooker.
With your opening remarks I thought you were going to say this is what all the best zombie eat. Lol I love pulled pork abd this is simply beautiful. I have tried many of your recipes and loved each one. I will make this next week, thank you for being so great at cooking. From trying your recipes I cook and eat far better.
Mike
It looks like there is something green with the pork in the last photo, what is it? These look delicious!
Laura, I used chopped fresh cilantro leaves simply as a garnish.
Boy oh boy does that look fantastic! Definitely want to give this a try, thanks for sharing 🙂
Happy Blogging!
Happy Valley Chow
What? YES. On the pinterest this goes 🙂
Sarah
Midwest Darling
Thank you for the nice recipe.
I know I should never question your fabulous recipes, but is it necessary to put under broiler? Won’t it dry out the meat?
No, it is not. As I mentioned in the post, this is a completely optional step.
Although if you broil your pork just right, you get juicy but crispy pork which by definition is carnitas. 🙂 I recommend the broil!
My wife loved the caramelization of the onions the broiling added.
Reviewing the recipe for slow cooker pork carnitas. Is the only liquid to this recipe the juice of orange and lime? The photo looks like there is quite a bit of liquid. Please clarify if additional liquid is added.
Thank you,
Trish, the recipe is correct in that the only liquid to this recipe is the oranges and limes. The rest of the liquid is actually from the juices of the pork after being slow cooked for 8 hours.
i added about a cup of water will that ruin the recipe??
Nope, it should be fine. But there is a lot of liquid produced on its own so please be wary of possible overflow if a small crockpot is being used.
I agree, you don’t need the water. The fruit juices are enough! 🙂
I have a 7lb pork shoulder that I am going to cook lke this, hat do you think would change in this recipe?
Amber, the recipe calls for a 4 pound pork shoulder so you may need to double the recipe as needed.
If it I a 7 lb place to shoulder do I cook still for 8 hours?
HQP, you may need to adjust cooking time as needed to account for the larger pork shoulder. But as always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
what is the green that is showing inthe did you add cilantro or something after cooking?
Cilantro.
Do you skim the fat or put the juices through a fat separator before you return the shredded pork to the crockpot for 30 minutes? I know you start by trimming the visible fat off, but won’t there still be a good amount of fat that cooks out?
I look forward to your posts – the recipes are great!
You can certainly skim the fat to your desired preferences but with the broiling step at the very end, most of the liquid/fat will not be used.
Mmm carnitas shredded pork is deeelicious! And you need so little else to serve with it before you have something out of this world 😀 Just a bit of leaves, guacamole and tortillas and you’re ready to roll 😀 I love the spice mix as well 🙂 x
I love slow cooking meats – they always result so tender and delicious! This is clearly no exception!
Can I just squeeze the lime and the orange throw them peeling and all in the cooker
Sure!
I put the orange and lime peel in the slow cooker and it was really bitter. I don’t recommend it.
The zest of an orange or a lime are always good no matter what but the pith the white stuff next to the meat is always bitter always better never put that in anything just saying
Recipe is freaking awesome! I started meal too late for slow cooking, so I pressure cooked it. OMG it melted in your mouth! The lime/orange was very subtle. I did add Sason Goya to the dry rub. Now that I’ve tasted it, I don’t know if it will make it under the broiler. Thanks for the great recipe. Every good cook tweaks every recipe, but this gave a darn fine foundation. No real need to deviate at all.
How long did you set pressure cooker?