Slow Cooker Carnitas (Effortless, Caramelized, Succulent)

Slow Cooker Carnitas effortlessly come together in the crock pot, where pork is braised in an aromatic broth, cubed, and then finished off under the broiler. The result is succulent, caramelized, pork carnitas that are delicious in tacos or as a filling for burritos, enchiladas, quesadillas, and more!

 

If you enjoy slow cooker taco fillings, you'll also love Crockpot Barbacoa, Crockpot Shredded Chicken Tacos, Crockpot Honey Lime Pork Tacos, and Crockpot Shredded Beef Tacos!

I believe we established my love of Mexican food (or around here, Tex-Mex) long ago. And y'all already know I love a good crock pot dinner. So today's recipe combines the best of both worlds...succulent, caramelized, absolutely delicious Slow Cooker Carnitas!

What Are Carnitas?

Traditional carnitas is a Mexican dish that involves chunks of tender, braised pork that are then crisped up in a frying pan or under the broiler. The resulting shredded meat can be used to stuff tacos, top tostadas, fill burritos, etc., etc.

However, adapting this recipe into Slow Cooker Carnitas is a no-brainer, because cooking pork carnitas in the crockpot is essentially effortless.

That being said, I still recommend taking a few additional minutes to complete the final step of caramelizing after slow cooking, which sets carnitas apart from regular ol' pulled pork. While you could certainly just shred up your carnitas recipe and call it a day, spreading it out on a sheet pan and broiling it for a few minutes (along with some of the reduced cooking liquid) makes for an even more delicious final result!

More on that in a bit... 😉

Ingredients

The main ingredient in this Slow Cooker Carnitas recipe is obviously pork. But there are some special ingredients to infuse that pork with fabulous flavor!

• Boneless pork butt roast. Despite its name, it's not from the "butt" of the pig...it's actually a shoulder roast. Just ask the butcher if the labeling is confusing and you're not sure. A bone-in pork butt will work as well, but you might consider buying a slightly heavier roast to compensate for later discarding the bone. Alternatively, you can use a pork loin instead of a pork butt...just keep in mind that since pork loin is leaner, your final carnitas recipe won't turn out quite as juicy. On the plus side, pork loin is faster to shred because there's very little fat to pick out and discard!
• Chicken broth OR stock. Use low-sodium for more control over the final saltiness of your dish.
• A whole onion, fresh minced garlic, + a whole orange. Aromatics for adding flavor to your pork carnitas! Use a regular-sized orange or, if you only have mandarins/cuties, use two or three instead for an equivalent amount of juice.
• Lime juice. For a pop of tang. Use freshly-squeezed juice if you can, or bottled lime juice with "lime juice" as the only ingredient.
• Cumin, dried oregano, bay leaves, salt, + pepper. For additional seasoning.

How to Make Carnitas

(The below photos are intended to be helpful, but please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for FULL DIRECTIONS.)

1. Place pork butt in a large slow cooker and cover with chicken stock.

2. Add quartered onion, minced garlic, lime juice, cumin, oregano, and bay leaves to crock pot.

3. Slice an orange in half and squeeze the juice, discarding any seeds. Add the orange juice and the spent orange halves to your crock pot.
4. Season with salt and liberally sprinkle the whole shebang with freshly ground black pepper.

5. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours, or until your pork carnitas recipe is fall-apart tender.

6. Remove the pork roast from the slow cooker to a cutting board. Discard the onion quarters, orange halves, and bay leaves, and then strain any other solids from the cooking liquid.
7. Transfer the strained liquid to a medium pot.

8. Bring the pot of cooking liquids to a simmer and cook for 10 to 15 minutes or until the total amount is reduced to between 1 and 1 ½ cups. Season generously with salt and pepper.
9. In the meantime, trim away and discard any fat from the pork, and then cut it into 1-inch chunks. Combine the pork chunks with the reduced cooking liquid.

10. Spread the soaked shredded pork in an even layer onto a rimmed (and lined to make clean-up easier!) baking sheet.

11. Broil in a preheated oven for 5 to 10 minutes. The carnitas should start to brown and the edges should turn dark and crispy.
12. Remove the pan from the oven and use a wide spatula to flip your pork carnitas. Return the pan to the oven for 5 to 10 more minutes to crisp up the other side as well.

Carnitas Tacos

You can gussy up your Slow Cooker Carnitas any way you like, but the most obvious way to enjoy pork carnitas is to turn them into carnitas tacos!

A few ideas for toppings:

• For most of the photos in this post, I kept my carnitas tacos simple (and on the more authentic side), with just a squeeze of lime juice, a dollop of sour cream, and a sprinkle of fresh minced cilantro.
• That being said, carnitas tacos are also divine topped with generous amounts of cheese, avocado, tomatoes, and salsa!
• Or you could take a different approach with thinly sliced radishes and minced onion.
• As for tortillas, corn tortillas are traditionally used for carnitas tacos. But flour tortillas are tasty as well, if that's your preference!

At the end of the day, tacos are personal...adorn them as you see fit. 🙂

Whether you decide to try out this easy, scrumptious carnitas recipe for an upcoming Taco Tuesday, Cinco de Mayo in a few weeks, or for a regular ol' weeknight dinner, I hope you'll keep it in mind the next time you're craving Tex-Mex.

Just promise me you'll give Slow Cooker Carnitas a try at some point. You'll be happy you did!

To Accompany Your Carnitas Tacos

• Easy Spanish Rice
• Slow Cooker Charro Beans
• The BEST Easy Salsa
• Mexican Martini (Chuy's Copycat Recipe)

Adapted from Cook's Illustrated Cookbook. Post originally published on May 1, 2014, and updated on May 1, 2021, April 17, 2023, and April 4, 2024.