Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas
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The easiest carnitas you will ever make right in the crockpot, cooked low and slow for the most amazing fall-apart tender pork goodness!
Have you joined The Walking Dead fan club yet? The season premier is on Sunday night and they’ve been playing every single episode from start to finish on AMC for this premier. And even though I’ve already watched all the episodes, I’m still hooked.
There’s just something about creepy zombies that leaves you in front of the tv. That and Norman Reedus, his poncho, and his bow and arrow. But I digress. Zombies or not, it’s officially fall and the slow cooker is being put to very good use in these epic carnitas. After all, you can’t go wrong when you let this baby cook in all its glory for 8 hours.
You can even prep everything the night before and put it in the slow cooker right before leaving for work. And when you get home, you’ll have the most tender, most juicy pulled pork ever. Although I highly recommend finishing this under the broiler, letting these babies get nicely caramelized.
I should also mention that this recipe creates enough to feed an army so be prepared to have tacos, quesadillas and burritos all week long!
Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas
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
Equipment
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 and broil until crisp and crusted, about 3-4 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
Video
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Can you make this with chicken breast. Same ingredients. Just have an in-law who has Heart Disease. Just wondering if it would work.
Jason, I don’t know about chicken, but I make this with lean pork all the time. It slow cooks with liquid so it’s great for lean pork, it does not dry out. I buy loin cuts (boneless loin chops or tenderloin if it’s on sale) and trim the meat, loin cuts are about the same as chicken for fat and cholesterol. With the meat trimmed, I’m adding almost no fat to the crockpot and it still comes out great. It would probably be a wonderful treat for someone that has been limiting pork consumption, it’s delicious with lean pork and wouldn’t even be cheating on their diet! Good luck!
Made this as directed except subbed a smaller pork loin as my store didn’t have shoulder at the time. Cooked about 7 hours on low. The meat was falling-apart tender and very tasty. Used street taco sized corn tortillas and topped with lots of chopped onion and cilantro. Great dinner with chips and homemade salsa on the side!
What about an 8.5 lb shoulder??
I used 9 lb butt and doubled everything in the recipe. Came out wonderfully!
Absolutely phenomenal! Made them exactly as instructed and my entire family devoured them, thank you for another wonderful recipe!
I make my own carnitas, follow this to the letter and you will not be disappointed. It is the most fantastic dish I’ve ever made in a slow cooker.
I fried it in a pan to get the crispiness out of it, sometimes the broiler catches me off guard and burns what I place under it.
Learn to make your own corn tortillas with some Maseca corn flour, cut up some limes and chop some cilantro and onions and eat directly.
I also make my own salsa and I didn’t use it once while eating this. It was so delicious!
I’ve made this for 5 Super Bowls in a row. It’s consistently awesome!!
Made this recipe last week and it was AMAZING! The pork fell apart as I was pulling it out of the crock pot. Highly recommend. Followed the recipe exactly and turned out perfect.
The name of the website describes exactly how the carnitas taste. DAMN DELICIOUS! It doesn’t specify what kind of Chili Powder to use, so I used Ancho Chili Powder. This will be my forever go to carnitas recipe.
Easy to prepare and the family loves it! We make pork tacos, enchiladas and quesadillas.
Made carnitas for the first time last night for company and everyone agreed it was fanrecipe! It was so simple, and thr only thing I did differently was add a handful of banana pepper rings and some of the juice for a little extra kick. Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe!
I’ve made this recipe several times thru the years. It reminds me of a roadside carnitas place 17 K south of La Paz, on the way to San Jose del Cabo. They made it in a huge black pot. The best in Baja ! I always throw in a couple of jalapeños and do the 8 hours on low. Best carnitas recipe ever! Thanks
I just made this tonight to use tomorrow. I was unable to get a pork shoulder in the correct weight so the butcher recommended a pork sirloin roast (4.5 pounds). I cooked the pork on high for 5 hours and it was very dry. I don’t blame the recipe since most people who reviewed it had good results. I just don’t know what went wrong. I’ve never had pork come out so dry in a crock pot before. Not sure if I should have cooked it on low instead, or if I should have ignored the butcher and waited until I could find a pork shoulder in the correct amount. Does anyone know what I did wrong?
it sounds like the pork sirloin roast didn’t have enough fat in it like the shoulder or butt does.
UPDATE: I tried the recipe again tonight… since the first try (with a pork sirloin roast) turned out so dry–like leather. This time I used a 4 pound pork shoulder which is specified in the recipe and cooked it on low for 8 hours. What a difference!! The carnitas were AMAZING! I served them with an assortment of toppings including: limes, shredded Mexican cheese, homemade guacamole, chopped cilantro, thinly sliced jalapeno, diced red onion, salsa, and sour cream. My husband and son loved them, and asked that I make them again. So the cut of meat DOES make a difference. I agree with Elle’s comment. Thank you Chungah for another wonderful recipe!
I believe it’s the difference between low and high, rather than the cut of the pork. I’ve made this recipe with all different cuts (this is my go to recipe to clear pork out of my deep freeze, I often make it with extremely lean cuts to make the recipe healthier). Even with no fat (trimmed pork loin), it’s always fall apart tender because it’s cooked low and slow with liquid. The low temperature makes a huge difference. If you cook on low, you should be able to substitute cuts as you please. Enjoy!
I added about 16oz of Coke and that was the best Caritas I’ve ever ate
Then you didn’t make this recipe.
Question…excuse my ignorance but I thought in a slow cooker there has to be lots of liquid. I’m cooking this recipe now actually. My husband looked at it and put a cup of water in it telling me I gonna break the slow cooker or something. The water won’t make it less flavorful will it?
I added about 16oz of Coke and that was the best Caritas I’ve ever ate
The juice from the oranges and limes, plus the natural juices in the meat are plenty for this recipe to work. When I get to the broiling step, I cook it for a few minutes, then pour leftover juices on the meat and broil it for another few minutes. This recipe is so good!
I am so excited to eat tonight. I seared the roast before it went in the crock pot and I added 2 tsps of brown sugar to the spice mix because I love a bit of sweetness. I massaged half the spice mix onto the before the sear and half the spice mix was sprinkle over the onions and the seared roast. It already smells amazing in here. I’ve never had carnitas before, but my boys love tacos and I need to switch it up. Reading the recipe made my mouth water so I knew I had to try it. I’m giving it 5 stars ’cause I have no doubt when we eat later that’s what the kids will be saying. Thanks.
What would it be in cups for the orange juice and lime juice?
I do not have that on hand just the juices. Thanks
I googled it and it said 4 TBSP per orange, so I used prepared orange juice too. I also only had one lime, and it all worked out very well. If you are using bottled lime juice, I would cut it in half and use water for the other half.
This recipe is SO EASY and SO DELICIOUS! Topped it off with cilantro, pickled red onions, jalepenos, sour cream and cojita cheese. One of my favorite recipes to make for company 🙂
damn delicious is right. easy and delicious, you can’t go wrong with this recipe!
This was a easy and tasted amazing!!
This was a easy and tasted amazing!!
I’ve made this several times and it’s always a huge hit!!