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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’ve made these for my wife and kids numerous times! They ALWAYS love it! TONIGHT it’s on for the Super Bowl party! Time to wow some friends this time! (Also on tonights menu, Cajun Butter Steak Bites and Guacamole) Thanks for sharing these awesome recipes!
Great recipe, thanks! With the citrus it reminded me a little of Cuban Mojo!
I did this in my Le Cruset dutch oven instead of the crock pot and it turned out perfect.
The only change I made to the recipe was I cut the meat into 2-3 inch cubes before browning them in a little bacon grease, combined all the rest of the ingredients and tossed the pot in a 325 degree oven for 2.5 hours.
Made this last weekend for the playoffs and everyone loved it! Super easy and amazing flavor. Absolutely will make it again
I mentioned making this to my husband and he very helpfully came home with an 8lb. roast! Do I double the ingredients?
Hi was just wondering if I’m doubling up on the meat do I double up on the ingredients and also if I marinate it the day before do I wait to put the coke in until cooking oh and will the cooking time be longer. Planning on making this for a party Saturday night. Really appreciate your time and recipes ☺️
You are a genius!! This is now our go-to recipe on Sundays. We make tacos for the football game, and then the leftovers are perfect for tortas, salads, and to add to pot beans all week. I am known as a good cook, recipes like this are why! ? Thank you so much!!
First time trying this recipe and I am going to use a Dutch oven in the oven however my oven has a few slow cook temp options, even down to 150 and I’m not sure what temp on the oven to set it to so that it’s ready in 8hrs. Any suggestions? Thanks!
Hi Kayrene,
Unfortunately, I haven’t tried it in an oven. I’d suggest referring to your oven manual.
I am making this tomorrow for Patriot’s Game in Dutch Oven as well and then removing lid for the crisping of it. I did read a recipe that says to cube the pork, not sure if I will be doing this or not first….
Kayrene,
The temps are typically 200 degrees for low and 300 degrees for high on slow cookers.
I made this as written and it was delicious. I served these on corn tortillas with lime wedges, cilantro and chopped white onion. My husband told me he is never going to be able to order carnitas at a restaurant again. 😉 I might add a sliced jalapeno next time to give it a bit of spice and use some bacon grease to brown up the roast before putting it in the crock pot for a bit of extra flavor, as well.
Oooh yes to the bacon grease!
Are you crisping the meat after it cooks in the crockpot ?
Yes!
I love carnitas but have never made them myself. This was easy to make and it was DELICIOUS!! I did the stove top method of crisping. I will definitely be making this again. I used a pork tenderloin (because thats what I had) and it was great!
I have been a big fan of carnitas for years. This recipe is good. I used less salt and I think I should have used more. I crisped the carnitas in my broiler. It took a lot longer than 10 minutes to get the results I like. My preferred method in to crisp on the stove in a frying pan with a little bit of olive oil. I did that this morning with the already crisped carnitas and they were as I like them. The old guys deep fry theirs in lard. This recipe is just as delicious finishing the carnitas in small batches in a frying pan with a light coat of olive oil. Yum!