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This Crispy Pork Carnitas recipe is a winner! This has to be the closest recipe to authentic Mexican Carnitas you’ll find WITHOUT using lard!
Our Crispy Pork Carnitas (Mexican Slow Cooked Pulled Pork) is SO tender and juicy on the inside, while remaining deliciously crisp and golden on the edges, giving you the best of both worlds. This dish will be PERFECT for your Cinco De Mayo parties!
PORK CARNITAS
Carnitas are so versatile, you can fill any burrito, taco, quesadilla or use it as a topping for nachos! Include them in a salad like this Chipotle Carnitas Salad, or serve them with the typical onion/cilantro topping typically seen served in Mexican food trucks, or a good Guacamole or Pico De Gallo. For a perfect side, try the Avocado and Salsa.
Carnitas isn’t anywhere near as daunting as it may seem. This NO FAIL recipe is easy to follow and extremely forgiving! Set it… forget it… and your mouth-watering, fall-apart meat is ready in a matter of hours! Because who doesn’t love crispy pulled pork?!
HOW TO MAKE PORK CARNITAS
I have to admit, it has taken me many failed attempts and a huge variety of different recipes before finally settling on this one. I read, researched, tested, failed, tested again, failed, researched AGAIN, tested and failed THREE more times. We had pulled pork coming out of our ears!
The not-so-secret ingredient we use in this carnitas recipe is Coca Cola. If you can find a cane sugar based coke (coke in ‘original’ glass bottles, for example), that’s going to get you the most authentic flavour. It’s the closest to Mexican Coke, which is what many Mexicans cook their Carnitas in when not cooking in lard (the authentic recipe), and really gives these carnitas a bolder and better taste!
The orange juice and lime juice combo tenderizes them to incredible fall-apart tenderness, while the natural sugars in the juices and the coke combined turn what would be just another pulled pork recipe, into crispy heaven with every mouthful. Similarly, our Pork Roast With Perfect Crackling achieves that tender, juicy meat underneath a perfectly crispy and golden rind.
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.
PORK CARNITAS 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!
WATCH HOW WE MAKE CARNITAS RIGHT HERE! TURN UP YOUR VOLUME TO HEAR THAT CRISPY CRACKLE IN THE PAN!
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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! 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.