Authentic Mexican Carnitas (Slow Cooked Pulled Pork)
An authentic and easy way to make tender, juicy, and crispy Mexican carnitas using your slow cooker or oven!
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 1/2 Skinless, boneless Pork shoulder (pork butt)
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 cup juice from orange (2 oranges)
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
Instructions
- Rinse and dry the boneless pork shoulder. Cut into pork chunks and place into slow cooker.
- Combine the Rub ingredients (salt, ground cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, dried oregano, onion powder, and black pepper) to the raw pork. Mix seasoning well into the meat and add in the lime juice and orange juice.
- Cover and slow cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-6 hours.
- Shred with two forks (Pork should be tender enough to shred)
Optional: Skim off the excess fat from the juices remaining in the slow cooker and discard.
To brown/crisp for crispy pork carnitas:
- Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large pan over high heat on the stove top.
- Add some shredded pork and drizzle in some juices.
- Let the juices evaporate and the bottom side get golden brown and crispy.
- Flip and briefly sear the other side for those crisp edges
Oven:
Follow the recipe above and place pork in a large roasting pan.
Add 2 cups of water or chicken broth around the pork. Cover with foil, cook at 350F oven for 2 hours, then cook for another 1 to 2 hours uncovered.
Add more water if the liquid dries out too much. You should have 1 1/2 to 2 cups of liquid when it finishes cooking.
Shred the carnitas meat and serve with some of the cooking liquid with warm tortillas and your favorite toppings.