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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. If you love this pork flavor you must try my authentic Colombian Tamales too.
- 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.
I served these tacos at my bourbon tasting party and they were a big hit. I cooked it in my pressure cooker and the pork was falling apart tender and an explosion of flavor. SO GOOD!!!
I’ve made this on the crockpot before it’s amazing! I do t have enough Time to make it that way today! Can this be just as good in a Dutch oven ?
Followed recipe exactly today. Served as tacos with cilantro and guacamole.
Absolutely delicious! Can’t recommend it more highly.
This sounds amazing! Any ideas on how to adapt this recipe for an Instapot?
Thank you 🙂
You want to cook a 4lb cut of pork in your IP for 1 hour 30 minutes on high pressure with natural release. YUM!
Super easy in the instapot. How i do it then bake in the oven as the recipe. this is seriously one of the best carnitas recipies. It’s the only one I use anymore. YUM
Just made it in an Instant Pot with a few variations:
1) I always sear all braised meats first: Just set to SAUTE mode, heat 2 teaspoons vegetable oil… then dry the meat pieces and season with salt and pepper. Brown on 1-2 sides in small batches. Set the meat aside.
2) Then soften the onions for 3-4 minutes; scraping up the browned bits ass you stir. ADDED INGREDIENT: I browned a tiny bit of tomato paste with the onions for another 90 seconds. I then tossed in the dry spices to coat the onions, cooking for another minute or so. ADDEDD INGREDIENTS: I added a dash of cayenne and some red pepper flakes for a little heat. Finally, I added the garlic and stirred for another 60-90 seconds (don’t burn the garlic!)
3) I then deglazed the pan by adding 1/3 of the juice/coke mixture, scraping up the carmelized goodness from the bottom of the pan. Stir until it comes to a boil.
4) Finally, add the meat and rest of the coke/juice mixture and lime juice. Set Instant Pot to HIGH for 35 minutes. Manual release.
5) I used the smallest amount of duck fat in a non-stick skillet to crisp the pork and spooned on some of the cooked liquid as per the original recipe (just not as much).
IT CAME OUT PERFECT!
My Taco fillings (we also grilled marinated skirt steak and sword fish for a taco buffet!):
1) Pico de galo
2) cilantro
3) mango salsa
4) chunky guac
5) pickled onions
6) french fried onions (packaged)
7) crumbled cotija cheese
8) shredded cabbage
9) pickled jalapeños (store bought)
10) creme fraiche (too lazy to make crema)
11) lime wedges
SANGRIA! and LOTS of it!
I want to come to your next taco party! You’ve covered all the bases with this menu!
Wow thank you for this!!! Copying this for my next get together with family!
An instant pot only requires some form of liquid so between the orange juice and coke you have plenty of liquid. Consult the instructions that came with your insta pot for how long you should cook the size of pork you bought and you are set. Just dump everything in set the time and walk away.
Yes this recipe was delightly AMAZING!!!..I am so impressed with the simplest things to get a great meal. THANK YOU for taking the time to do a great job, not only with the easy directions but the BEAUTIFUL pictures for ones like me that are not cookers or bakers. But guess what- my bad cooking has turned a corner and I an TICKLED TO DEATH!!!!
I set this in the slow cooker to cook with firm instructions to my husband to save the juices while I was at work when it finished since I work 12 hour shifts. He didn’t so now I’m sad! I was going to fry it the next day with the juiced but don’t have them now. Can I substitute chicken broth to add some liquid to the pan when I crisp it up? Thanks!
Absolutely Amazing! Tastes just like authentic Mexican carnitas. I added pork skin along with the butt roast in the slow cooker; I actually used an instapot on the slow cooker setting. I shredded and browned the meat in a cast iron skillet among with the pieces of cooked pork skin. So wish I could post a picture of it.
Sooo Good!!! I Made it yesterday!! My husband was shocked it came it so yummy especially since I don’t know how to cook.(He does all the cooking). He had 3rds and told me I did such a great job. I was so proud of myself. Yay!! And I used the Coca Cola in the glass bottle.
This came out amazing! The flavor is so authentically Mexican. I followed the instructions exactly for ingredients, except my pork was on the bone. So took longer in my slow cooker, about 10 hrs. My house smelled incredible through the night. At the end of 10 hrs the meat just fell off the bone and pulled apart easily. I broiled pieces in the oven in the juice to crisp before putting into quesadillas for the kids. My 9 yr old son repeated over and over how delicious it was! This recipe will be in my arsenal forever! Now Karina, please work out a kahlua pig recipe cooked in the ground in the backyard and then it will be ON!
Never a bad recipe!!!! Thank you, this was awesome and so easy!
I’ve made this recipe before, but, didn’t have all the ingredients. It came out okay. I made this again today (Feb. 3rd, 2019) With all of the ingredients and it came out AMAZING!. WOW! My wife told me to make sure I keep this recipe handy. We loved it. Thank you so much.
Made for the family even my grumpy old dad who hates hand food loved it in wraps definitely a winner
A friend of our made carnitas for New Year’s Eve before we went bowling. Gotta admit it was the first time I had had carnitas, and, I was in LOVE with his!! Fast forward to today, when I made THIS recipe, and, OMG!!!! These blow his carnitas out of the water!!! Made the recipe as written, then served them with a broccoli slaw and cheese as toppings!! If you haven’t had carnitas with slaw, I highly recommend trying it. The sweet/zesty combo is mouth-watering!! These will be a frequent meal in our house!!