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Craving the real deal when it comes to pork carnitas? This crispy, juicy pulled pork is slow-cooked to absolute perfection—fall-apart tender on the inside, with golden, caramelized edges that are impossible to resist.
No lard needed, no shortcuts taken—just bold, authentic flavor made simple. These Crispy Pork Carnitas bring the magic of Mexican street food straight to your kitchen. Perfect for taco nights, game days, or when you just need a dish that never disappoints.
The Secret to That Perfect Golden Crisp
Juicy, slow-cooked pork with crispy, caramelized edges? Yes, please. The beauty of this carnitas recipe is how simple it is to pull off—no deep fryer, no lard, just real ingredients and all the flavor.
By cooking low and slow, the pork becomes so tender that it falls apart. Then a quick roast crisps up the edges until golden and irresistible. It’s the kind of recipe you’ll come back to every time tacos are on the menu.
Similarly, our Pork Roast With Perfect Crackling achieves that tender, juicy meat underneath a perfectly crispy and golden rind.
What You’ll Need To Get Started
Before the slow cooking magic begins, let’s talk ingredients. These are the simple pantry staples and fresh essentials that come together to create the most juicy, tender, and flavorful pork carnitas — all without the need for lard!
- Boneless Pork Butt (Pork Shoulder): My favorite cut for carnitas! It’s perfectly marbled, slow cooks like a dream, and pulls apart effortlessly.
- Mexican Coke: Trust me on this one — it adds a deep, subtle sweetness and helps caramelize those crispy edges.
- Fresh Orange Juice: For that hint of citrus that brightens every bite.
- Lime Juice: Just a splash brings all the flavors to life.
- Onion & Garlic: Classic aromatics that melt right into the pork, layering in rich, savory goodness.
- Dried Oregano & Ground Cumin: A must for that warm, earthy depth we all love in Mexican cooking.
- Bay Leaves: Tossed in whole to gently infuse their magic while everything simmers low and slow.
Note: Please see Recipe Card at the bottom for full list of ingredients and measurements.
Let’s Cook Some Carnitas!
Here’s exactly how to make these mouthwatering pork carnitas — crispy on the outside, melt-in-your-mouth tender on the inside. Just follow the steps below and let your slow cooker (or oven!) do most of the work.
- Pat It Dry. Rinse the pork and pat it dry with paper towels. Dry meat means better flavor and crispier edges.
- Flavor Load. Place pork in the slow cooker with salt, pepper, oregano, cumin, onion, garlic, lime juice, orange juice, Coke, and bay leaves.
- Let It Cook. Cover and cook on low for 8–10 hours or high for 5–6 hours. It’s ready when it falls apart with a fork.
- Shred It. Shred the pork with two forks. Keep the liquid! You’ll need it for crisping.
- Crisp in the Oven. Spread pork on a lined tray. Pour 1 cup of liquid over it. Broil 5–10 mins until golden and crisp.
- Serve It Up. Season to taste. Drizzle with more juice and serve in tacos, burritos, or a bowl!
Tips!
- We used 4 teaspoons of salt. Use less if desired.
- Coke with cane sugar instead of corn syrup (check the ingredients list) is ideal, however, you can use any Coke. Alternatively, substitute with chicken broth (chicken stock).
- If you don’t like the sound of this particular carnitas recipe, try my Tomato Based Crispy Pulled Pork or my Crispy Slow Cooked Carnitas recipe.
Make It a Full Fiesta
Carnitas are endlessly versatile—whether you’re stuffing burritos, tacos, or quesadillas, or piling them high on nachos, they bring the party every time. Add them to a fresh salad like this Chipotle Carnitas Salad, or serve them the classic way with chopped onions and cilantro, just like your favorite Mexican food truck. Want the perfect side? Go with Guacamole or Pico De Gallo or a generous scoop of Avocado and Salsa.
Do you crave some tacos? To make them into tacos, simply stuff the crisped meat into a corn or a fresh Flour Tortilla and add in chopped onion, cilantro, salsa, avocado, and top with sour cream or crema fresca!
FAQs
Yes! You can use a Dutch oven or heavy pot in the oven at 325°F (160°C) for 3–4 hours. Just make sure to keep the pork covered and check occasionally to ensure it stays nice and juicy.
Pork shoulder (also called pork butt) is the best cut for juicy, fall-apart carnitas. It has the right balance of fat and meat to stay tender while crisping up perfectly.
Absolutely! These carnitas reheat beautifully. Store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. Just reheat in the oven or on a skillet to bring back the crispy edges!
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Pork Carnitas (Mexican Slow Cooker Pulled Pork)
Ingredients
Carnitas
- 4 pounds boneless pork butt skinless, or shoulder
- 3-4 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano or Mexican oregano
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 large brown or white onion, cut into wedges
- 8 cloves garlic smashed
- 2 limes juiced
- 2 large oranges juiced, or 3/4 cup natural orange juice
- 3/4 cup coke original or Mexican coke is ideal
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
- Rinse and pat dry pork with a paper towel.
- In the bowl of a 6-quart slow cooker, add pork, salt, pepper, oregano, cumin, onion, garlic, lime juice, orange juice, coke, and bay leaves.
- Cover and cook on low heat setting for 8-10 hours, or high heat for 5-6 hours (until the meat falls apart).
- Remove pork and shred with two forks (DO NOT DISCARD THE LIQUID!)
TO CRISP IN THE OVEN:
- Transfer the pork to a baking sheet lightly sprayed with cooking oil spray (or lined with aluminium foil or parchment paper).
- Pour 1 ladle full (about 1 cup) of the liquid from the slow cooker over the pork to season. Broil for 5-10 minutes on high heat until the meat becomes golden browned and crispy on the edges.
TO CRISP ON STOVE:
- Heat about 1 tablespoon of oil in a non stick pan or cast iron skillet over high heat. When pan is hot, add pork in batches of two or three, and sear until just beginning to crisp. Ladle over about 1/2 cup of left over liquid, and continue cooking until the juices begin to reduce down and the meat is nice and crispy!
TO SERVE:
- Season with a little extra salt and pepper if desired. Pour over more of the slow cooker juices once the meat has crisped for added flavour, just before serving! Serve in Tacos, Burritos, or in a salad!
Notes
*If you don’t like the sound of this particular carnitas recipe, try my tomato based crispy pulled pork!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi, I’m very keen to try this recipe. I’m curious though about quantity… how many adults do you think this recipe would feed?
Hi Geoff, This recipe should yield 12 tacos, perhaps 4 adults, 3 tacos each. Please feel free to increase or decrease the quantities in the serving section, which will increase the quantity of the ingredients. Hope this helps, and happy cooking!
I have made this recipe multiple times, comes out fantastic…I typically swap out the coke for a lager beer…I’ve also used grapefruit juice with a bit of simple syrup if I don’t have orange juice…and I have also used country style ribs when we don’t want as make as much as a pork shoulder yields. Terrific in tacos with corn tortillas, julienne jicama, guacamole, queso fresco, mandarin orange segments, sliced Serrano chilies and Mexican crema – wonderful!!
Hi! After shredding can I refrigerate and then crisp when ready to serve? Or do I need to crisp as soon as I shred it?
Hi Veronica, I would recommend crisping as soon as you shred.
Honestly so good – have made it multiple times and never changed a thing. The whole family (from the “foodies” to the little kids) love it.
I’m so happy to hear that both you and the whole family loved this recipe Laziza!
We don’t eat pork, so I used chicken breast instead. It was so good that the family was eating them while preparing their burritos. I made them a day before but crisp them before dinner.
I’m so thrilled to hear you enjoyed this recipe, Asena! It makes me so happy to know it turned out perfectly for you!
Can you do these in the oven or a weber instead of a slow cooker? If so, how long would they need?
You absolutely can, Dave! I gave it a go a few years back, and it does take around 9 hours at 140°C. The only downside is that it needs a bit of babysitting—you’ve got to keep an eye on it to make sure the liquids don’t evaporate and risk burning the meat. But with a little patience, the results are so worth it!
I made this recipe a few times now, it is my favorite. I just eyeball the ingredients, adding a little more of each to my preference.
I use the blackstone to brown the meat before serving, works great.
Thank you for sharing!! 💜💜💜
Hi Tiffany! I’m so happy to hear you’re loving this recipe, it’s all yours now. Happy cooking!
I have a couple of questions concerning the recipe. Do you keep the pork shoulder whole or do you cut it into chunks? Should the pork be submerged while cooking?
Hi Michele, I would highly recommend to use the whole pork shoulder for this recipe.
Can I use diet coke or coke zero? (Only because I don’t have regular coke
…
Hi Rkay, I never used either Diet or Coke Zero for this recipe. I would certainly not recommend Coke Zero as it lacks of sugar, the ‘secret’ ingredient making the pork crispy.