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.
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 tenderises 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.
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!
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 ¾ cup natural orange juice
- ¾ 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 ½ 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!
Martin says
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
Brooke says
This was awesome !! Did like someone mentioned and use some of the juice to make Spanish rice . Make this !!!
Mike da Chef says
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!
Jessica says
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.
Julia says
Just.. WOW! The pork is tender, juicy and super tasty. A recipe to keep. As we say in Mauritius: Mari bon!
Wanda says
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!
Keylee says
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.
mj says
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!
Perpholius says
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!
Georgia Knowles says
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!
Lisa Temple says
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!