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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.
I Particularly Love the Comments.
“I tried this, but I’m Vegetarian, and so I used Aubergines, tomato,mozzarella and Parmesan,
I sliced the aubergines and layered them in a white sauce and tomato – and covered the top with parmesan,
The Carnitas tasted vaguely Italian”
Ha ha –
Great recipe
Keep up the good work
This was awesome !! Did like someone mentioned and use some of the juice to make Spanish rice . Make this !!!
Thanks for the recipe, turned out great. I used the instant pot. high pressure 50 mins and 10 min natural release. turned out great. Thanks!
This has been my go to recipe for a while now – I’ve made it dozens of times and it’s consistently delicious. The imported Mexican coke and fresh squeezed orange juice are key. I also recommend using a bone in pork butt or shoulder as the bone itself adds incredible flavor. We always top these tacos with a squeeze of fresh lime, diced onion, freshly chopped cilantro, and a drizzle of Trader Joe’s jalapeño sauce.
This freezes spectacularly. I store any excess meat (not yet crisped) submerged in the leftover juices in the freezer. Some people say storing like that can change the texture, but I’ve never noticed or had an issue with that since it gets crisped up after being reheated anyways.
HOT TIP for some over the top, magazine worthy tacos (stole this method from a taco shop here in San Diego): grease a 400* griddle with avocado oil. Place a few handfuls of shredded cheese into separate mounds on the griddle. Wait until the top of the cheese mound just starts to melt (this shouldn’t take longer than 20 seconds) and place your corn tortillas (yes, you better be using corn torts with this incredible meat!!!) onto those mounds of cheese. Press the torts down with a spatula and wait a few more seconds to ensure the cheese sticks, then flip them over. The cheese should be nice and browned when it’s flipped (but trust me, it’s still melty under that golden crust as long as you used enough cheese!). Then just the continue to warm the back sides of the torts for about 10-15 seconds longer and VOILA. A gorgeous, delicious carnitas blanket. Just be sure to add more oil to the griddle before starting another batch, and don’t leave them on too long. You want them warm and soft, not crispy and tough.
Just.. WOW! The pork is tender, juicy and super tasty. A recipe to keep. As we say in Mauritius: Mari bon!
I have made this recipe several times and every time it turns out amazing. Thank you for sharing this recipe, it is spot on with flavor and crisping the meat at the end is the topper to a great pork carnitas meal!
I have never gone back and left a recipe review but this was too good not to. Seriously just perfect, and I used just regular coke and I cooked it on high instead of low for a longer time. Finally found the right real sugar coke and will be cooking low for 10 hours this time.
I was invited to a “game night” (playing Family Feud and other silly games) and brought a board of tacos already filled with meat and cotija cheese, and then warmed up and set out with fillings. I made this recipe and increased the sauce and marinated the pork for 24 hours, then slow cooked. I stayed pretty true to the recipe but added a bit a “hoff’s wake up call” hot sauce (which is not really that hot) as the pork seemed a bit tame. Whoa, I was not prepared for how much these people loved this pork! I made 35 tacos for 7 people and they were gone. The next morning I got a text from someone who was there that they wanted to down 5 more tacos. You nailed it with this recipe!
Hi, this recipe looks great, I really want to try it. I have one question: are the spices and salt and pepper rubbed on the pork or mixed with the liquid ingredients in the slow cooker. Thanks!
The spices can get poured into the slow cooker on top of the other ingredients, it won’t matter too much because it will all slow cook together and flavour the meat deliciously!
This is the best pork carnitas recipe I’ve ever made. I think the winning combo is the orange juice, lime juice, and coca cola! And, couldn’t be easier cooking all day in the crock. I so talked up this recipe, I have other friends who are making too, and agree it’s the best!