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These tender, juicy carnitas are slow-cooked, which yields pork easily fall apart with full of flavors, and a bit of citrus zest. Cooked in high heat to get that crispy, caramelized bits of pork.

Pork Crock Pot Carnitas Recipe

4.14 from 46 votes
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The possibilities for this slow cooker carnitas recipe are endless - you can use this for a quesadilla, burrito, nachos, and a lot more.
Servings: 10
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 8 hours
Total Time 8 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 5 lbs pork shoulder (or pork butt, skinless (meaning, skin removed but leaving some of the fat cap on. The fat adds juiciness to the carnitas)
  • 1 onion (chopped)
  • 1 jalapeno (deseeded, chopped)
  • 2 ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 4 cloves garlic (minced
  • 2 oranges [juice only (or sub with ¾ cup fresh orange juice)]

For the Rub:

  • ½ tablespoon dried oregano
  • ½ tablespoon Italian seasoning
  • 2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

Watch the Video:

Instructions:

Prep the Rub:

  • Clean and wipe dry the pork shoulder before rubbing with salt and pepper.
  • Gather the rub ingredients, mix all together and rub them over the pork.

Slow Cook the Pork:

  • Now, using a slow cooker, put the pork with fat cap up and top with minced garlic, onions, jalapeno, and squeeze the orange juice.
  • Set the slow cooker on low for 8 to 10 hours or set it to high for around 6 hours.
  • Once it's done, remove it from the slow cooker and let it cool before shredding the meat (the meat should be falling off the bone and be tender).
  • If you have 2 cups of leftover juice, you can reduce the juice in a saucepan (set aside as we'll be using it for reheating.)

To Serve:

  • Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large non-stick pan over high heat. Place shredded pork into the pan, drizzle over some juices.
  • Wait until the juices evaporate and the bottom side is golden brown and crusty. Turn and just briefly sear the other side - you don't want to make it brown all over because then it's too crispy, need tender juicy bits.
  • Repeat in batches don't crowd the pan.
  • Remove pork from skillet. Drizzle over more juices and serve immediately.

Notes:

  • If you are using defrosted carnitas, this is not applicable as the juices are already on the meat.
  • If you are reheating the carnitas, then flip and cook the other side briefly just to warm through. Only make one side crusty and leaving the other side juicy and moist.

Notes:

  • If you are using defrosted carnitas, this is not applicable as the juices are already on the meat.
  • If you are reheating the carnitas, then flip and cook the other side briefly just to warm through. Only make one side crusty and leaving the other side juicy and moist.
Adapted from: Recipetineats

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 566kcal | Carbohydrates: 4.23g | Protein: 39.47g | Fat: 42.34g | Saturated Fat: 14.37g | Sodium: 608.71mg | Fiber: 0.68g | Sugar: 2.08g

Please note that all nutrition information are just estimates. Values will vary among brands, so we encourage you to calculate these on your own for most accurate results.

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Course: entree
Cuisine: Mexican
Keywords: carnitas recipe orange juice slow cooker, carnitas recipes crock pot, crock pot carnitas recipe, pork carnitas crock pot recipe, pork shoulder crock pot carnitas