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Pork Carnitas – Tender like pulled pork and even easier to make in the crock pot! Slow-cooked with ingredients like salsa, green chiles, and tequila, they’re packed with flavor and perfect for taco night.
Do you love Pork Carnitas but don’t want to break a sweat cooking it? The crock pot saves the day! It does all the work, and you can go about your day. You come home to dinner that is ready and waiting for you.
Pork Carnitas is as easy to make as my crock pot barbecue pulled pork sandwiches, and just as delicious inside a tortilla as my Colorado classic, green chile pork. There’s no easier way to make dinner on a busy day.
Why This Recipe Is A Winner
- It’s super easy – just add your ingredients to the slow cooker and let it cook away.
- Simple, but by no means flavorless. Salsa, tequila, herbs, and chilies make these carnitas extra scrumptious with authentic flavor.
- Guaranteed to be juicy – no dry carnitas here!
- Goes great with classic taco toppings in any kind of shell or wrap.
- Leftover carnitas can be used in most Mexican-style dishes.
What You’ll Need
- Boneless pork shoulder roast – Pork shoulder makes for rich and juicy carnitas. This cut is a traditional choice for the dish and is quite affordable.
- Chicken broth – Broth adds extra moisture to the roast and delicious home-cooked flavor.
- Tequila – A dose of tequila adds a subtle layer of “adult” flavor to the dish. You’re welcome! Don’t worry, it is optional! Substitutions are listed below.
- Chopped green chilies – These chilies are abundantly flavorful, slightly spicy, and not too hot. Look for the pre-chopped canned chilies.
- Garlic – Garlic adds a warm, irresistible aroma and flavor.
- Cilantro – A classic in Mexican dishes, cilantro adds a bright herbal taste.
- Salsa – This classic topping contains many of the ingredients in this recipe plus tomatoes, adding some acidity and deeper flavor to the carnitas.
- Tortillas – Don’t skip on tortillas – you’ll want these to make your tacos. Either corn or wheat tortillas will work, and it’s mostly a matter of personal preference.
How To Make Pork Carnitas
- First, prepare everything by slicing your garlic and chopping the onions and cilantro.
- Then you’ll need to cut your pork roast in half. Place it in your crock pot.
- Drizzle the top of the roast with olive oil. Then sprinkle the garlic, salt, and pepper over the top.
- Add in the green onions, cilantro, salsa, chicken broth, tequila, and chilies.
- Put the lid on the crock pot and set it to low heat. Leave to cook for 6-8 hours.
- Remove the roast from the slow cooker and shred it.
- Return the shredded pork to the crock pot. Cover and warm it back up for another 30-60 minutes.
- Serve in warm tortillas with your favorite taco toppings!
Tips For Pork Carnitas
- Store your leftover carnitas in an airtight container in the fridge. Use it up within 3-4 days.
- If cilantro’s not your thing, you can use Italian parsley in its place. It’s slightly more bitter than cilantro, so you might want to cut the amount down to one cup.
- If you don’t want tequila in your carnitas, no problem! You can use more chicken broth instead. Or Use the juice of 1 lime and 1 orange for a citrusy twist!
Why Do I Need To Use Pork Shoulder
Pork shoulder is a traditional choice for this recipe. Because it has a good amount of fat throughout it, it makes the pork extra juicy and rich in flavor after slow cooking.
How Can I Make Carnitas Crispier?
To make these carnitas crispier, once it’s shredded, bake them in a 400-degree F oven on a baking sheet for 20-30 minutes. You’ll want to reserve your cooking liquid from the crock pot and drizzle some over the meat. Add some in the beginning, then again every ten minutes while cooking.
Can I Use The Instant Pot?
Absolutely! I like to cut the shoulder into about 2-3 inch cubes and then add everything to the pot. Cook on high pressure for about 45 minutes, then let it naturally release for 15 minutes before shredding.
How To Serve
Aside from being perfect for taco night, this pork carnitas goes perfectly with a side of Spanish rice and your favorite beans–may I suggest refried beans?
Top it with your favorite traditional taco toppings like cheese, homemade salsa, guacamole, lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, pickled jalapeño slices, cilantro, and fresh lime juice.
They also go well with just about every Mexican-style dish you can think of. They can be used instead of chicken on top of crispier dishes like nachos and tostadas. Pork carnitas is also delicious inside of quesadillas and tamales.
More Easy Mexican Recipes
- Baked Chicken Taquitos
- Easy Breakfast Tacos
- Air Fryer Chimichanga
- Beef Enchilada Casserole
- Mini Tostadas
- Mexican Pizza
Pork Carnitas
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 boneless pork shoulder roast, (3-4 pounds)
- 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 2 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 3 green onions, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups cilantro, chopped
- 1 cup salsa
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 cup tequila, (or additional chicken broth)
- 1 7oz can chopped green chilies
- Tortillas
- Toppings as desired
Instructions
- Cut the pork roast in half, and place in a slow cooker. Sprinkle with sliced garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Add green onions, cilantro, salsa, chicken broth, tequila, and chilies. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
- Remove the meat, and shred. Place the pork back in the slow cooker. Cover and heat for an additional 30-60 minutes.
- Serve in warm tortillas and top as desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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It does take much to make me start craving Mexican but now I am ravenous for it. This looks good and I love that big dollop of guacamole. This dish is what I always order at Mexican restaurants because I never make it at home. Now I just need to make it at home.
The Carnitas look amazing! You should be so very proud of yourself for setting up the charity! Such a worthy cause!
I’m totally going to have to add this to my summer menu 😉
Yikes, busy. I definitely hear you on the busy summer front. My calender is nuts! I hope your move goes well…we’re still in transition with stuff strewn everywhere it seems. I need simple recipes like this one!
School year is busy as is but summer seems to be even busier because kids are home all day (when they don’t have camps). Your life seems more organized than mine as I can’t post as frequent as yours and you are doing great job entertaining us. 🙂 Love carnitas! I made it at home a few times but always my favorite to order at a restaurant too. Making me hungry already and dinner is not for another 2 hours!
I was eyeing this up earlier today on pinterest while fighting off the grumbly in my tumbly. They look perfect.
Cant wait for the bake sale! 😀
What a simply perfect recipe. I could eat these every week. Nicely done. Happy Saturday!!
These look so good! Love pork carnitas!
I can’t wait to see all the goodies people are making for that bake sale!
It does look perfect for summer! I’m in love with Mexican food, this would be great for lunch tomorrow!
Cooking the pork in the slow cooker with salsa must really infuse good flavors.