This recipe for my Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas is perfect for your next Taco Tuesday! A pork shoulder is seasoned with flavorful spices and slow cooked until fall-apart tender. The meat is then shredded and crisped up under the broiler to use on tacos, burritos, burrito bowls, quesadillas, or eaten just by itself!
This post is sponsored by my friends at Iowa Pork, but the thoughts and opinions expressed here are all my own – just as always. Thanks for supporting the brands and businesses that support me.
Chances are you’ve had carnitas at your favorite Mexican restaurant, but did you know you can make super flavorful, crispy carnitas right at home using your slow cooker? You can! Seriously!! Simply try my slow cooker carnitas recipe. You won’t regret it!
With my easy slow cooker pork carnitas recipe, you’ll have tender, savory shredded pork that practically melts in your mouth. Just toss a few simple ingredients into the slow cooker, let it work its magic, and voila – a homemade carnitas fiesta awaits! Throw the perfectly crispy pork on your favorite tortilla, garnish with your choice of toppings, and maybe a little cilantro. And, that’s it folks!
What are pork carnitas?
Traditional pork carnitas are a Mexican pork dish made by slow cooking pork in spices and fat (normally lard). Then when it’s super tender, it gets fried in a pan with the rendered fat and lard to crispy perfection.
Now, my recipe does not call for the frying portion of this traditional dish so my version isn’t necessarily authentic. However, I find that my broiling option still makes the pork super crispy and delicious! Try it served in soft tacos, corn tortillas, burritos, quesadillas, burrito bowls, or even over a bed of rice. Then top it with your choice of chopped toppings, salsa, pico de gallo, or guacamole. These also make for great leftovers! Simply store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in an airtight container.
Tips for Perfect Pork Carnitas
About the rub… My recipe starts by making a super flavorful spice rub with salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, and oregano. If you’ve got Mexican oregano on hand, you can use that in the spice mixture, but it’s not important enough to go buy it just for this recipe. The flavor is a little different, but I do hate having to buy something like that which I end up only using once or twice.
Types of pork that work well… I use a pork shoulder for this but other cuts of pork, like a pork butt or Boston butt, will work. A pork loin roast should work, too. They’ll just have slightly different cook times.
Coat, set, and forget… Coat the pork shoulder with the rub, and then place it in the crockpot with some onion, a ton of garlic, some fresh orange and lime juices. Let the slow cooker do its thing.
Don’t throw out those slow cooker drippings… Once the pork is super tender, we shred the pork and return it to the drippings in the bottom of the slow cooker. There’s tons of flavor in that liquid, and it’s super important to get it on the meat. So, whatever you do, do not throw out those drippings!
How to get that crispy exterior that carnitas are known for… I suggest spreading your pulled pork out onto a large rimmed baking sheet. Then, pop it under the broiler until it gets crispy. You could go the traditional method and fry it in some lard, but I really love the simplicity of this method.
For more delicious pork recipes, visit my friends over at Iowa Pork. And remember, whether you buy meat from a local butcher shop or the grocery store, you are still supporting farm families! About one third of the pork raised here in the United States comes from Iowa, so when you shop at any grocery store you are supporting family farms in Iowa and the United States.
Recipe Card
Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 (4-pound) pork shoulder
- 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 orange, juiced
- 3 limes, juiced
Instructions
- Make the rub by combining the salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, chili powder, and oregano. Coat the pork shoulder (also sometimes called a pork butt or Boston butt) with the rub.
- Spray the crock of a large slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Add the onion, garlic, orange juice, and lime juice to the bottom. Add the pork shoulder. Cover and cook on low for about 8 hours (or high for 4 to 5).
- Remove the pork from the slow cooker and shred the meat with two forks. Return the meat to the slow cooker with the juices and mix to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste, if desired.
- When ready to serve, preheat the oven to broil. Put about half of the shredded pork on a large rimmed baking sheet and place under the broiler, watching it closely, for 3 to 4 minutes or until the meats starts to get crispy. Repeat with the other half of the meat. Serve in tacos, burritos, quesadillas, burrito bowls, etc.
Nutrition
* If nutritional values are provided, they are an estimate and will vary depending on the brands used. The values do not include optional ingredients or when ingredients are added to taste. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, I recommend grabbing your favorite brands and plugging those ingredients into an online nutritional calculator.
Amanda
I am made this and it’s so good!! And it was very easy great for a workday family meal!!
I’m so glad to hear that! Thanks for sharing!
Tom Trawitzke
Here it is prior to roasting – you can see I added a little jalapeño as well.
Looks great, Tom! Hope it turned out great for you!
Tom Trawitzke
A few suggestions:
1) I would brown off roast prior to placing in crock pot. It definitely adds to depth of flavor
2) I add a few dried Mexican peppers, the orange rind (3 small oranges vs one) to crock pot to enhance flavor – chilie ancho is nice and adds more depth
3) as you stated – frying pork till it gets crispy prior to serving is authentic. This is a “Americanized version” that with the two minor changes turns authentic
Your recipe is wonderfully basic – a few minor changes and it’s gourmet
Thanks so much for the suggestions! I love the idea of browning the roast and adding those dried Mexican peppers for extra flavor. The orange rind sounds delicious too! I appreciate your input on making it more authentic.
Lindsay White
Very delicious recipe. I highly recommend it. SOOOOOOO TASTY
Thanks so much, Lindsay!
Serenela Suarez
Best recipe ever
Thank you!!
Susan
This is a winner! We put it on our Texas HEB (if you know, you know) butter tortillas and garnished with lime wedges, onions, jalapeno, and mexican blend cheese. Big hit with the family.
I keep hearing about these tortillas!! Glad y’all enjoyed this!
claire
How many pounds of pork is called for in your recipe please?
The recipe calls for a 4-pound pork shoulder.
Steve
Could you use country style ribs instead of a shoulder? If so, what adjustments would you need to make? Cooking time? Thanks!
I don’t see why not, but since I’ve not tested it, I can’t say for sure.
Becca Khan
This is easily my favorite recipe on the site. I’ve made it countless times and never served it to someone who didn’t love it. I’ve added an extra lime’s worth of juice and the same for an orange, seperately and together. Turns out well even with adjustments!
Additionally, I’ve cooked it from frozen for 11-13 hours and it is still just as good.
Thanks, Becca! I’m so happy to hear you’ve loved this one!
Lindsay White
What kind of cheese do you think would taste best on this?
Hmm… probably something like a cotija would work well.
Mary Reeves
I have a large pork tenderloin in my freezer. Would it be ok to follow the recipe using it instead of the pork shoulder? I know it has less fat and flavor but just wondering.
Yes! It should work as well, though the cook time might be a bit less.
Katie S.
Any suggestions for this recipe in the Instant Pot?
I haven’t tried it in the Instant Pot yet. Let me know how it goes!
Henry Chambers
Might be overkill since the carnitas already have lime in them but as for the onions, celantro and jalapeño a little slice of lime squeezed over them just before you take a bite is really good. This works well over tacos made with carne asada as well.
No, I agree! That’s how we eat it – with onions and cilantro and a squeeze of lime, too!
Henry Chambers
A little finely chopped fresh jalapeño minus the seeds works very well with the onions and celantro. If you’ve never tried this it is amazing when eating fresh jalapeño by itself as a side what dipping them in Kosher salt will do for them!
Sean Turner
Was wondering what to top these tacos with
We like cilantro and diced onion, but pico de gallo would be great, too!
Tracy
Wow. I made this tonight and my kids were already asking me to make it again. The spices were perfect. What a great recipe. Thank you.
Thanks, Tracy! I’m so glad to hear y’all enjoyed it!
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I love slow cooker recipes! Thank you for sharing!
Absolutely! Enjoy!
Claudine
Oh, YUM! These are so good served with pickled red onions. I used to get carnitas when we visited our favorite Mexican restaurant, but sadly they closed, so now I will try making them at home. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Claudine in Fort Worth, TX
Hope you love these, Claudine!
Silvia McHenry
I make carnitas all the time, but I’ve been slow cooking in the over, so this is different, I’m excited to try. One word about the comment “If you’ve got Mexican oregano on hand, you can use that, but it’s not super important to go buy it just for this recipe. ” What? What about almost all Italian cooking? I couldn’t live without my huge bottle of Oregano (plus its really inexpensive) when making a lot of both Mexican and Italian food. It adds such a distinctly wonderful taste, can’t imagine not having it around. Please try it people. Also, one last thing. I have always used a whole onion and a can of beer in my recipe. Overall, this is a good base and great idea to use in pressure cooker.
I think perhaps you missed my point. The oregano is a must, but not everyone has Mexican oregano on hand. There’s a difference. I was saying if you don’t have Mexican oregano on hand, you can use regular oregano.