Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas
by Chungah
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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
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 and broil until crisp and crusted, about 3-4 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
Equipment
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I have 4 lbs of New York style pork chops that I need to use up can I substitute them instead of the shoulder
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
I’ve made these many times now and my family just eats it up. We love it! Thank you for the amazing recipe!
Hello. Do place the meat on top of the liquids and onions or are we supposed to cover the meat with liquid?
The pork will not be fully covered with liquid when it is first added to the slow cooker.
Hi! I love your recipes. I am just trying to figure out how much to make. I am planning to make this for a party of about 15 people and I will also have tamales and lots of sides. Do you think I should get two shoulders and have both my crock pots going? Or is a 4 pounder enough to feed a big group?
Also my broiler is a bit unpredictable so I was thinking of “crispifying” it in a stainless pan with a little olive oil, probably in batches?
Would super appreciate your thoughts! Thanks
It’s hard to say – it may be best to double the recipe just in case but as always, please use your best judgment. Hope that helps!
I love this recipe but I’m kind of wanting to try doing it in the instant pot pressure cooker, has anyone tried that?? I am new to instant pot so I’m not sure how to go about it!
I just did this recipe with instant pot a couple nights ago. My meat was 5.2 lbs, and I trimmed at least 1 lb off of it in fat. I followed this recipe exactly (2 oranges, 2 limes, 2 onions, 4 garlics) except I used a Mccormick’s packet of seasoning that said “Pork Carnitas” (which looks like it had basically the same spices in this recipe). I put it in on manual high for 75 minutes. It was too long, but we still smashed it because the flavors are amazing! Next time I will try 60 minutes.
This recipe is delicious!!!! I have made pork carnitas several times and always been quite underwhelmed. I was at the point of giving up and just going back to southern pulled pork, but then I found this great recipe. It is so good, and the addition of the orange juice gave it such a nice zing. As I was short of an orange I added the rind and also squeezed some lime on the meat just before serving. The broiling of the meat also enhanced the texture and flavor with the caramelization. Thanks so much for this, a keeper of a recipe.
I’ve made these following this recipe many times now. I love the simplicity of this recipe, very little prep time required but the results are always amazing!
Thank you Chungah!
This is one of our favorites! I love your recipes and the way you explain them. You are teaching me to be a good cook, Thank You!!!!
Hi! This is so so good! I was wondering how the carb count could possibly be that high though? Does that include a tortilla?
As I am not a registered dietician, I cannot answer with certainty. Sorry! And no, it does not include tortilla.
I’ve got a 4lb bone-in pork shoulder that I’d like to use for this recipe. Will I need to change the cooking time and/or method? Or just follow the instructions as they’re written? Not sure if the bone changes things… thanks!
It should be relatively the same. But as always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
ive made this many times already and this recipe has not failed me! my husband prefers this recipe over the local mexican restaurants, i make this at least 2 x a month, thank you for sharing your recipes with us!
Best carnitas I have ever made. The flavors were great and broiling it at the end was money. I made some Spanish spiced rice, roasted sweet potatoes, steamed broccoli and zucch, added the pork in a bowl and topped with avocado, cilantro and fresh salsa. Thanks from me and my family for this great recipe!
YUM! Broiling now but I snuck a piece of meat while shredding…so juicy and flavorful! Thanks for all the great recipes, we love Damn Delicious at our house! <3
This will be brief, as I have a big ol’ pile of pork waiting for me – This pork is AMAZING. I will be cooking this frequently. Now I need to go eat.
Making this for the third time. So delicious. I do one thing different. After juicing oranges and lime I put the whole thing in the crock to cook. Juiced rinds add a great boost
I have made this recipe once a month for a couple of years now – it is amazing! Thanks so much for sharing, Chungah 🙂
Absolutely delicious, and so easy! Came out perfect, thanks so much for the great recipe!
Just made tonight. Delish. Would you recommend freezing the leftovers in the juices and then just following the broiling part of the recipe when I make it again?
Yes!
Can I wait and keep on warm?
Yes.
Thank you for this recipe. I made this for guests this week as I was intrigued at the simple ingredients. For chili powder, I used a Chipotle Morita (which gave it wonderful fragrant flavor) and added a dash of cinnamon to the rub. Also, rather than broil the meat afterwards (I found that step to be unnecessary for this meal) we put it in a heated dish, added some of the onions from the slow cooker and some hot juice and served in warm homemade corn tortillas (made 10 mins ahead) with avocado, pickled red onion, caramelized onion (made ahead) tomatillo salsa (made fresh) and goat cheese with cilantro garnish. It was devoured by our guests.
High quality natural pork is the key, I cooked on low for 8-9 hours on low, used only one large onion sliced 1/4 inch, used juice from only one lime. It came out fork tender.
With the juice left over, I skimmed of the fat (saved aside for leftovers) reduced the juices it down to a cup or less on the stove, then froze the concentrated reduction in ice cube tray to save for future flavor boost.
This recipe is a winner!