Seasoned pork shoulder slow-cooked until it shreds, then broiled until the edges crisp — about thirty minutes of prep and the crock pot does the rest, ready for tacos, burritos, or nachos.
Three things that make carnitas worth it
The crock pot does the heavy lifting, but these are what separate good carnitas from the ones people remember.
- Sear it first: Two to three minutes a side in a hot skillet is the game-changer that makes it taste like the taco shop.
- Cook it low and long: Eight hours on low, and do not let the liquid dry out, so the pork goes juicy and shreds easily.
- Broil at the end: Spread the shredded pork on a sheet and broil in five-minute rounds for those crispy golden edges.
You guys know that I am about the laziest cook that there is, right? I love my Crock Pot more than any other small appliance in my kitchen.
This Pork Carnitas Meat is a Crowd Pleaser!
Pork Carnitas are one of my top favorite dinners and my kids even request this pulled pork recipe (that’s a win in my book!). In fact, I make Carnitas almost every week since this subtle-tasting broiled pork is perfect for so many special occasions and gatherings with my family and friends.
Pork Carnitas are easy to prepare since it takes just 30 minutes to prep and the Crock Pot does the rest of the work. When they’re done, Carnitas can stay fresh and crispy for several hours and whatever isn’t used within a couple days can be stored in the freezer for up to two months.
I have my favorite pork Carnitas tacos at the local taco joint, but it just closed down (insert sad face!) so I had to come up with my own original savory recipe, which tastes like those being sold in the busy streets and at our local shop. This is now our go-to Pork Carnitas recipe – exactly the way we love it:
- All-natural ingredients including spices and herbs
- Quick preparation time (less than 10 minutes)
- Flavorful enough without too much spice (kid friendly)
- Freezes well for leftovers
- Safe for reheating without losing the flavor
- Applicable to several Mexican dishes including soups, bread, and even rice
- Enticing to kids and non-spicy food lovers
What are Carnitas?
If tortillas and burritos could speak, they’d all want to be stuffed with Carnitas. Perfect for “lazy-type” cooks, pork Carnitas is a popular Mexican cuisine where seasoned pork is gradually cooked with liquids and spices until it becomes juicy and tender. Cooking time will always take more than five hours depending on the size of your pork cut and Crock Pot.
However, it’s now possible to achieve that heavenly crispiness at home. You can have it done effortlessly with just your slow cooker and broiler.
If you wish to save time, you can prepare the marinated pork cut the night before and have it cooked in your crock-pot until the next morning. Though you need to wait patiently, I suggest cooking the seasoned pork shoulder even longer and let it “caramelized” to bring all the flavors out.
YUM!
And, for all of the Instant Pot users, you can also get the same outcome even if you use an instant pot or a regular pressure cooker as long as you have browned the meat cut in the skillet first.
How to Make Carnitas?
Ingredients for these Pork Carnitas:
Pork Carnitas Meat
The pork carnitas meat for these pork nachos is fabulous and the options are endless! You could make Pork Carnitas tacos, enchiladas and much more!
5-7 pound Pork Shoulder Roast (Pork Butt or Boston Butt), cubed in 3 inch cubes
1 Tablespoon of Vegetable Oil
12 oz Dr Pepper
1 White Onion, diced
5 Cloves Garlic, Minced
1 Chipotle in Adobo from the can + 1 Teaspoon of the paste
2 1/2 Teaspoons Cumin
1 1/2 Teaspoons Salt (I love using Himalayan Salt)
1 Teaspoon Black Pepper
2 Teaspoons Liquid Smoke
Fixins for Pork Carnitas Nachos
Directions for making the pork carnitas in the Crock Pot:
- Combine black pepper, salt, chili powder, cumin and oregano in a small mixing bowl. Rub the mixed spices on all sides of the pork shoulder thoroughly to make it flavorful. Remember to remove the pork skin, so the mixture will be absorbed easily.
- In a large skillet, heat the oil over high heat for two minutes. When the skillet becomes hot, add in the pork and sear the pieces for about 2-3 minutes per side. Believe me, this is going to be the ultimate game-changer to make your Carnitas taste like the original.
- Put the pork shoulder in the slow cooker and then add in the onion, soda, chipotle, garlic, seasonings and the rest of the spices. Cover the crock-pot and cook the seasoned pork for the next eight hours on low heat or at least five hours if you prefer medium to high heat. In addition, don’t let the sauce or liquid dry up during cooking time to avoid getting it burned.
- After eight hours, remove the cooked pork shoulder from the crock-pot and carefully shred off the meat fibers with a fork before putting it back. Add salt, juice, and pepper to taste if desired. Cover the shredded meat and keep warm for an additional 30 minutes. This will absorb most of the sauce, thus making it even more flavorful.
- Using a slotted spoon, take the shredded pork from the crock-pot and place it in a baking sheet, evenly laid out. Arrange each baking sheet of pork in a broiler or oven and heat for five minutes or longer. You can put some sauce from the slow cooker and gently stir the pork carefully for every five minutes until golden crisp. You see what I mean, don’t you? Be cautious not to get it burned, but at least try to make the texture a little bit dry and crispy.
One thing more, you can’t throw a taco party without your choice of fixins like guacamole, cheese, salsa, sour cream and all sorts of tortilla chips. That’s what I call a delicious dinner!
This flavorful Mexican favorite is indeed versatile in many ways whether you want to have it as a wonderful snack, taco filler or just something delicious on the side. I often use pork Carnitas meat in tacos, Mexican pizzas, burritos, Enchiladas, and Quesadillas, among others.
What Each Ingredient Is Doing
Pork shoulder
A five to seven pound pork shoulder, also sold as Boston butt, is the only cut I use for carnitas. It has enough fat to stay juicy through eight hours and still crisp under the broiler.
Cut it into three inch cubes before it goes in. Cubes sear faster than a whole roast, and more surface area means more of those crispy edges at the end.
Dr Pepper
Twelve ounces of Dr Pepper is the braising liquid. The sugar helps the pork brown under the broiler, and the spice notes in the soda play well with cumin and chipotle.
You do not taste soda in the finished meat. It cooks down into the juices and just reads as a little sweetness behind the smoke.
Chipotle in adobo
One pepper plus a teaspoon of the sauce from the can is the heat and the smoke. One is enough to flavor seven pounds of pork without making it spicy for kids.
Freeze the rest of the can in a bag, flattened, and break off a piece whenever a recipe calls for it. A can lasts me most of a year that way.
Onion and garlic
One diced white onion and five minced cloves of garlic go into the crock pot with the seared pork. They melt into the liquid over eight hours and season everything.
Cumin, salt, pepper and liquid smoke
Two and a half teaspoons of cumin is the taco shop flavor. Salt and pepper season the meat, and two teaspoons of liquid smoke stand in for the wood fire.
Liquid smoke is strong. Measure it rather than pouring, because a little too much makes the whole batch taste like a campfire.
Step by Step, With the Details
Sear in batches
Heat the tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over high heat until it shimmers. Add the cubes in a single layer with space between them and sear two to three minutes per side.
Crowding the pan is the mistake here. If the cubes touch, they steam instead of browning. Two or three batches is normal for a seven pound shoulder.
Load the six quart crock pot
Move the seared pork into the crock pot and add the onion, Dr Pepper, chipotle and its sauce, garlic, and seasonings. One stir so the spices are not in a clump.
Eight hours on low
Cover and cook on low for eight hours. Check the liquid once around the halfway mark. It should still cover the bottom of the pot by an inch or so.
At eight hours a cube should fall apart when you press it with a fork. If it resists, give it another thirty to sixty minutes.
Shred and spread
Lift the pork out with a slotted spoon onto two foil lined baking sheets and pull it apart with two forks. Spread it in an even layer with no big piles.
Broil in five minute rounds
Set the rack about six inches from the broiler. Broil one sheet at a time for five minutes, pull it, ladle on a little juice from the crock pot, stir, and go again.
Two or three rounds gets you crispy edges with juicy meat underneath. Stay by the oven. Broilers go from golden to burnt in about a minute.
How Much Crisp Is the Right Amount
Taco shop carnitas have a mix of textures in every bite, some shreds crisp and dark, some soft and juicy. That is what the five minute rounds with a ladle of juice are for.
If you broil it dry until every piece is crunchy, it eats like bacon bits. If you skip the broiler, it is good pulled pork but it is not carnitas.
Ways to Use the Meat
Tacos
Warm corn tortillas, carnitas, diced white onion, chopped cilantro, and a squeeze of lime. That is the street taco, and it does not need cheese.
Nachos
Chips on a sheet pan, a layer of carnitas, shredded cheese, and five minutes under the same broiler. Finish with jalapenos, sour cream, and queso blanco if you have it.
Burrito bowls
Rice, black beans, carnitas, corn, salsa, and avocado. This is how I use the second day of leftovers, and the kids build their own.
Quesadillas and enchiladas
Leftover carnitas inside a cheese quesadilla is a ten minute lunch. For a bigger dinner, roll it into tortillas with cheese and bake under enchilada sauce.
Make Ahead, Storage and Freezing
Cooking it a day ahead
Slow cook the pork the day before, shred it, and store it in the refrigerator with a cup or two of the juice. Broil it right before serving so the crisp is fresh.
Leftovers
Keep leftover carnitas in a covered container with some juice for up to four days. The juice is what keeps the meat from drying out as it sits.
Reheating
Reheat it in a skillet over medium heat with a spoonful of juice until it sizzles. The skillet brings back the crispy edges in a way the microwave cannot.
Freezing
Freeze cooled carnitas with juice in freezer bags, pressed flat, for up to two months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat in a skillet.
Questions I Get About This Recipe
Can I use pork loin instead of shoulder?
I would not. Loin is lean and turns dry and stringy after eight hours. Shoulder has the fat that makes carnitas work.
Can I skip the Dr Pepper?
Coke or root beer work the same way. If you want no soda at all, use a cup of chicken broth with two tablespoons of brown sugar stirred in.
Is it spicy?
One chipotle in seven pounds of pork is mild. If your family likes heat, add a second pepper or more of the adobo sauce.
Can I cook it on high?
Four to five hours on high works in a pinch, but the meat is more tender on low. Check the liquid more often on high because it cooks off faster.
Do I really have to sear it?
The recipe is written with the sear, and that is how I make it. If you are out of time, you can skip it and the pork will still shred, but the flavor is flatter.
More Taco Night Recipes
- Crock Pot Shredded Beef Tacos
- Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos
- Restaurant Style Fajitas
- Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup
- Real Cheese Queso Blanco Dip
Pork Carnitas Meat
Equipment
- Crock Pot
Ingredients
- 5-7 pound Pork Shoulder Roast Butt or Boston Butt, cubed in 3 inch cubes
- 1 Tablespoon of Vegetable Oil
- 12 oz Dr Pepper
- 1 White Onion diced
- 5 Cloves Garlic Minced
- 1 Chipotle in Adobo from the can + 1 Teaspoon of the paste
- 2 1/2 Teaspoons Cumin
- 1 1/2 Teaspoons Salt I love using Himalayan Salt
- 1 Teaspoon Black Pepper
- 2 Teaspoons Liquid Smoke
- Fixins for Pork Carnitas Nachos
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat the oil over high heat
- When the skillet is hot, add in the pork and sear the pieces for about 2-3 minutes per side.
- Put the pork back in the 6 Quart Crock Pot
- Add in the onion, soda, chipotle, garlic and seasonings
- Cover and cook on low for 8 hours
- After 8 hours check to make sure the pork shreds easily (that's when it's done slow cooking)
- Line two large baking sheets with foil
- Using a slotted spoon, take pork from the slow cooker and place it in an even layer on the lined baking sheets
- Place each sheet of pork under the broiler in periods of five minutes, ladling more sauce from the Crock Pot and stirring the pork carefully between five minute sessions.