Pork Carnitas Recipe

5 from 2 votes

This melt-in-your mouth pork carnitas recipe is only a few steps and a slow cooker away! It's hands-off and oh-so-flavorful.

Prep Time10

Cook Time8 10

Total Time8 20

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: carnitas, carnitas meat, pork carnitas, slow cooker carnitas

Servings: servings

Calories: 510kcal

See our Beef Temperature Chart for helpful tips on cooking any cut of beef!

Dice the onion and cut the pork shoulder into cubes. Add the diced onion to the bottom of the slow cooker, then the whole jalapenos.
1 Yellow onion, 2 Jalapenos
Combine the cumin, chili powder, oregano, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a small bowl, then use it to coat the pork well, making sure all pieces are well coated.
3 lbs Pork shoulder, 2 teaspoons Cumin, 2 teaspoons Chili powder, 3 teaspoons Oregano, 2 teaspoons Garlic powder, 1 teaspoon Pepper, 2 teaspoons Salt
Place the pork in the slow cooker on top of the onions and peppers. Then squeeze the juice of a large orange over the pork, and add in the olive oil.
½ cup Orange juice, 2 Tablespoons Olive oil
Turn the crockpot on low, and cook for 8 hours. Don't turn it on high- the pork will get tough! Once the 8 hours are up, remove the pork from the crock pot and shred with with two forks.
Preheat the oven to 425°F, and spread the shredded pork over a baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the tops start to get brown and crispy.
Pour the juices from the slow cooker through a strainer, and discard any solids. Pour the juices over the carnitas while serving, and enjoy!

- If you're in a rush, you can skip the step of baking the pork, but this will result in softer and less crispy meat.

- If you'd like, you can chop up the cooked jalapenos and add them and the onions into the juices instead of discarding them.

- Pork shoulder is a perfect cut for this recipe, as it's huge and budget friendly. However, you can also use beef chuck roast for delicious beef carnitas.

- For an extra boost of flavor, sear the pork chunks briefly in a cast-iron pan before adding them to the crock pot.
- Make this recipe in the Instant Pot by cooking it on high pressure for 30 minutes, then naturally releasing the pressure for 15-20 minutes. For best results, sear the pork on saute mode beforehand, then broil or bake the pork after cooking to crisp it.