Pork Carnitas Recipe
This pork carnitas recipe slow cooks pork in a bright mix of citrus, garlic, and warm spices with orange, pineapple, and lime until it’s tender and easy to shred. After cooking, the pork is crisped so the edges turn golden and slightly crunchy while the inside stays juicy. Perfect for tacos, bowls, and nachos.
Servings: 6
Calories: 149kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs pork shoulder cut into large chunks
- ½ cup Pineapple fresh, chunks or canned chunks (just drain the juice)
- ¼ cup orange juice
- 2 tbsp lime juice about 1 lime, juiced
- 5 cloves Garlic minced
- 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1 tsp Chili Powder
- 1 tsp Ground Cumin
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp Natural Ancient Sea Salt or more to taste
- ½ tsp Black Pepper
- 1 tbsp Avocado oil or Olive Oil
- ¼ cup Chicken Broth
- ½ Yellow Onion sliced
Optional for serving:
- fresh cilantro
- Lime wedges
- avocado diced
Instructions
- Prep the pork: Place the pork shoulder chunks into the crockpot. Season with smoked paprika, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper.
- Add the rest of the flavor: Add the garlic, sliced onion, pineapple chunks, orange juice, lime juice, chicken broth, and avocado oil over the pork
- Slow Cook: Cover and cook low for 7-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours, until the pork is very tender and easy to shred.
- Shred the pork: Remove the pork from the crockpot and shred with two forks. Discard large pieces of fat.
- (Optional) Reduce the liquid: return the shredded pork to the cooking liquid and reduce the liquid for 10-20 minutes. You do this in a slow cooker, by turning the heat to high and leaving the lid off of the slow cooker. In a multi-cooker, you can switch the function to sear/sauté on "medium".
- Crisp the carnitas: Spread the shredded pork on a baking sheet. Spoon a few tablespoons of the cooking liquid over the top. Broil for 3-5 minutes until the edges become crispy and golden.
- Serve: Serve with fresh cilantro, lime wedges, and avocado, if desired.
Notes
- Choose pork shoulder: Pork shoulder contains enough fat to keep slow cooker pork carnitas tender.
- Cut the pork into chunks: This allows seasoning and citrus flavor to coat more surface area.
- Use fresh citrus: Fresh juice gives brighter flavor.
- Use fajita seasoning if you have it: My Fajita Seasoning uses many of the same spices, so you can substitute about 2 tablespoons for all of the spices in this recipe if you have it already on hand.
- Let the cooking liquid reduce: After shredding, cook the pork uncovered on high for 10–20 minutes so some liquid evaporates and the flavor concentrates.
- Salt to taste at the end: After reducing and crisping, taste and adjust salt if needed.
- Broil the pork: This creates the crispy carnitas texture.
Nutrition
Calories: 149kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 46mg | Sodium: 451mg | Potassium: 334mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 307IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 29mg | Iron: 1mg
