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!
Vi says
I made this for the first time. I didn’t have enough time for the slow cooker so I put it all in a dutch oven, brought it to a boil on the stove, then into the oven with the lid on at 300 degrees F for 2 hours. Thank you!
LT says
We made this for Cinco de Mayo last night and it was incredible!! We used two 1.5-ish lb. pork tenderloins because that’s what we had on-hand, and added a couple tablespoons of bacon fat to make up the fat content since tenderloin is so lean. The only other change we made was to use cara cara oranges (delish) and a couple tablespoons of chopped chipotle chilis in adobo. Definitely don’t skip the crisping step! This will be in regular rotation at our house.
Jannette says
I used this recipe to make carnitas for my daughter’s wedding. I made this recipe 20 times. I froze the portions and had the kitchen help for the day broil them till crisp. People went on and on about how awesome the food was for the wedding. A great Success! And now 6 months later, my married daughter wants them for her birthday meal. I used the lime juice and orange juice to make things more quickly. I used regular coke, but put in a little extra. I may have thrown in just a little sugar.
Michelle O says
I made this recipe so many times, it is super delicious and easy! I use the leftovers to make quesadillas when I want to switch it up!
Kat says
Hi,
I love your recipes. Just thought you should know that your videos get cut off early by commercials (before all of the recipe steps are shown) and then after the commercial, it switches to a new recipe. then the process of the next recipe getting cut short happens, and the cycle continues, so that I can’t watch any of your videos in full.
Michelle says
Made this for Xmas lunch and they were so good!!!
Jessica says
Seriously so good! I make these all the time, and they’re always such a hit! They’re also amazing for leftovers since you just reheat and crisp them in a skillet before serving anyhow. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Shelley says
This recipe is amazing!! We tried a different one prior to this and now all the others must go. I have found a keeper – one that will go in our permanent meal rotation. My 15 year old even ate them, and he is picky. We did put some zest from both the limes and the oranges into the crock-pot. Other than the zest we did follow the recipe, which is saying a lot since I am usually a “dumper”- usually I use 2-3 recipes and smash them together- BUT not for this one. I did use less salt.
Jessica says
This was great! Thanks for the recipe, easy to follow and delicious!
Kelli says
Just made this tonight and it was delicious…the fam loved it! I will be making again Thank you ~ Kelli