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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.
Absolutely incredible! Tasted exactly like the way my favorite Cuban restaurant makes theirs. I used chicken broth instead of soda because I’m Keto/Paleo and it was DELICIOUS! Thank you! Will definitely be my go to!
Great recipe; have made it several times. Since I have two grown sons quarantining with us, plus my husband, the slow cooker is too small. The only pork shoulder I could get yesterday at Costco is 14 pounds. Decided to cook the whole thing using my portable roaster oven, and I’m sure it will be great. Lots of leftovers for the freezer! You really can’t mess this recipe up unless you use too much salt (I did that the first time). Thanks for posting. It’s one of our favorites!
I love this recipe. It is so amazing and I make it every Christmas for the crowd. We have a 3 burner gas grill so crisping it up is the best. Thanks
This was amazing. My whole family raved about it. Only change I made was adding a jalapeno. I have so much liquid left over that I don’t want to waste. Any ideas?
This recipe makes the best carnitas we have ever tasted! Since we are a small family, we cook the carnitas in the slow cooker, as directed. We then divide the meat and juice in to 3 portions. We crisp up one portion to eat right away. The remaining meat is frozen BEFORE crisping. When we pull it from the freezer, it only needs to be crisped up in the broiler or on the stove, and it’s ready. Quick and delicious freezer meal!
I’ve used the leftover liquid as the liquid component to cook Spanish rice and it was some of the best rice I’ve ever had. Add in some beans and veg and you have delicious meal.
The juices are so good, I can’t bring myself to toss it, so I separate it from the fat and freeze it in small pouches for future use. I slow-cooked a huge pork shoulder last weekend and the frozen juices came in handy after shredding it!
Do you think I could marinate this the night before?
A friend gave me this recipe. I am putting it in the crockpot for dinner. I know it will be delicious. Will be following this recipe website. Thanks! I love new delicious recipes.
This recipe was so easy to make and my entire family loved it! Thank you for sharing!
I made this exactly as written and it was phenomenal!!! Warmed up leftovers the next day and it was even better. This is definitely a keeper! Thank you so much. You now have a new follower!
Hi
I only have a 3.5 quart slow cooker that I have never used (as its too small) do you think everything would fit in it?
Do I double the ingredients for a 8lbs bone in Pork Shoulder?
I have made this recipe several times and it is great. I did double the spices one time with a large pork shoulder and it was too spicy. Ruined that batch. Since then, I use the recipe amounts and add spices, if necessary, when I am crisping it up. It’s easy to add spices during crisping. Hard to take them away.
Great recipe! I made this for Cinco De Mayo the other day and it was super easy. I used an 8 lb pork picnic (shoulder with bone) so it fit into my 6 qt slow cooker. I put everything into the cooker the night before and stored it covered in my fridge. Woke up at 5:30 the next morning and set the cooker for 10 hours. The meat was fall off bone tender 8 hours later. I did tweak the recipe somewhat by adding cinnamon to the spice mixture. And added 6 oz of Mexican Coke before turning on the cooker..