Pork Carnitas Tacos
Pork Carnitas has juicy, flavorful meat that gets seasoned with an easy homemade rub before slow cooking to delicious tender perfection! Tuck the finished meat inside tortillas and pile on the toppings to create incredible Pork Tacos that everyone will love!
Pork Carnitas is made by slow-cooking a pork butt in the crockpot and then shredding the tender meat before frying it up in a skillet! Once finished, the meat comes out perfectly juicy with crisp edges from being caramelized in the skillet!
If you’re looking for a recipe that’s packed with flavor and has minimal prep yet still delivers a delicious meal then this is the dish for you! After only 10 minutes of hands-on time, the crockpot takes over and does all the work before it’s time to sear the meat in the skillet right before serving!
What Is Pork Carnitas?
Pork Carnitas is the Mexican version of our pulled pork! For an authentic Pork Carnitas taste, the pork is slow-cooked in lard and seasonings before being seared to crispy, golden perfection that can then be used in a variety of ways!
We love using the savory shredded meat in Pork Tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, and even on top of salads! There’s really no wrong way to enjoy Pork Carnitas, in fact, you can catch me just eating the meat by the forkful as well!
If you’re feeling more like chicken, I highly recommend this Pollo Asada recipe for tacos, too!
Ingredients For Pork Carnitas
This Pork Carnitas Recipe has just 10 minutes of hands-on prep time that starts with whisking up the seasoning rub. To make this you’ll need light brown sugar, ground cumin, dried oregano, salt, garlic powder, ground black pepper, paprika, and olive oil.
The seasoning then gets rubbed all over a pork shoulder and placed into the slow cooker. Jalapeno peppers and white onions are then diced up and placed on and around the pork in the crockpot.
To finish preparing the Slow Cooker Carnitas you’ll squeeze an orange and lime over the pork butt. As well as tossing what’s left of the citrus in the slow cooker for even more flavor.
The lime and orange juices really give this recipe its signature flavor – and yes, this is all the liquid that’s needed for this recipe!
Toppings For Pork Carnitas Tacos
Once the pork has finished cooking, is shredded, and seared you can gather up what you’d like for Carnitas Tacos. Aside from the soft tortillas some delicious topping ideas you could include are:
- Chopped raw white onion, red onion, and/or tomatoes
- Chopped Fresh Cilantro
- Sour Cream or Mexican Crema
- Cheeses
- Shredded Cabbage
How To Make Slow Cooker Carnitas
- Pat the roast dry using paper towels to remove any excess moisture.
- Whisk together brown sugar, ground cumin, oregano, salt, garlic powder, pepper, and paprika in a medium-sized bowl. Then stir in olive oil.
- Rub this seasoned mixture all over the pork butt before placing it in the slow cooker, fat on top.
- Deseed and slice the jalapeno peppers. Place them on and around the roast in the slow cooker.
- Dice up the onion and place it on and around the roast.
- Squeeze the juice from the orange and lime over the roast and add the citrus halves to the slow cooker as well.
- Cook the roast on high.
- Remove the pork butt and place it on a cutting board to allow it to cool. Then shred the meat.
- Place olive oil into a skillet and heat on high.
- Caramelize the shredded pork by frying it up in batches with juices from the crockpot. Press the meat down onto the bottom of the skillet to allow it to sear.
- Place the seared meat into your serving container and drizzle with some of the remaining juices.
Rebecca’s Tips
- I personally wouldn’t skip searing the meat in a pan! It makes a huge difference in the flavoring of the meat. Since it’s traditional practice when making carnitas, not doing it makes it just pulled pork.
- Pulled pork requires a cut of meat with higher fat content. Therefore, I don’t recommend using a pork loin as it’s too lean; however, you could try a pork shoulder instead of a pork butt roast.
- You can use a bone-in OR boneless roast in this recipe.
- You can brown the meat before putting it into the slow cooker if you’d like. However, I find that if you sear the meat in a skillet after shredding it, you get a really nice crisp to the meat. Making it so you really don’t need to brown the meat ahead of time.
How To Store Leftover Pork Carnitas
Carnitas can be stored for 3 to 4 days when kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can also store the meat in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Here Are More Pork Recipes That You May Enjoy As Much As This One:
- Slow Cooker Whiskey Honey Pulled Pork – Filled with flavors of sweet honey, tart cider, and whiskey!
- BBQ Baby Back Ribs – Rubbed with delicious spices and basted in your favorite BBQ sauce!
- Cuban Mojo Pork Tenderloin – Made with fresh citrus juices, crushed garlic, cilantro, and cumin!
- Skillet Baked Pork Chops – Made with wine, apples, and shallots, ready in just 45 minutes!
- Pulled Pork Tacos – Pork shoulder slow-cooked in root beer and then topped with apple slaw!
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Pork Carnitas
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
- Cutting board
- Skillet
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar packed
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 3 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 4 lbs pork butt roast
- 1 jalapeno pepper
- 1 white onion
- 1 navel orange
- 1 lime
Instructions
- In a medium-sized bowl, mix together brown sugar, ground cumin, oregano, salt, garlic powder, pepper, and paprika. Stir in 2 Tablespoons of olive oil.
- Pat the roast with a paper towel to absorb any excess moisture. Rub the seasoning mix all over the pork butt, then place it in the slow cooker, fat on top.
- Deseed and slice up the jalapeno pepper. Dice the onion. Add them to the slow cooker on and around the roast.
- Halve the orange and lime and squeeze the juices over the roast, add the juiced halves to the slow cooker.
- Slow cook the roast on high for 8 hours.
- Remove the roast from the pot and place it onto a cutting board. Allow it to rest for 10 minutes. Then shred using meat shredders or 2 forks.
- Add the remaining 1 Tablespoon of olive oil to a large skillet over high heat.
- Caramelize the pork by frying it (in batches- so as not to crowd the meat). Place about ¼ of the shredded pork and about ¼ cup of the juices from the crockpot in the skillet. Press the meat onto the bottom and allow it to sear. Continue this until all of the meat has been seared until slightly crisp.
- Place the seared meat into your serving container. Serve the meat drizzled with some of the remaining juices from the crockpot if desired.
Notes
- How To Store: Carnitas can be stored for 3 to 4 days when kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can also store the meat in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Do I Have To Sear The Meat After It’s Cooked In The Crockpot? I personally wouldn’t skip this step as searing the meat in a pan makes a huge difference in the flavoring of the meat. Since it’s traditional practice when making carnitas, not doing it makes it just pulled pork.
- Can I Use A Pork Loin Instead Of A Pork Butt Roast? No, pulled pork requires a cut of meat with higher fat content. Pork loin is too lean but you could try using a pork shoulder.
- Does It Matter If I Use A Bone-In Or Boneless Roast? Not at all, either one will work just fine in this recipe!
- Should I Brown The Meat Before Putting It Into The Slow Cooker? If you’d like to you certainly can, however, I find that if you sear the meat in a skillet after shredding it you get a really nice crisp to the meat. Making it so you really don’t need to brown the meat ahead of time.
Nutrition
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can i make this if i dont have a slow cooker