Cuisine: Mexican
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 3h40mins
Servings: 6
Calories: 317 kcal per serving
Carnitas is juicy and soft shredded pork with crispy flavor edges. It’s a main dish in Mexican cuisine and easy to make at home. It’s very simple. All you need to do is to cast all the ingredients in your slow cooker. Then pop the shredded pork under the broiler to get those perfect crispy caramelized edges.
It’s a restaurant style pork Carnitas recipe, made super easy at home. This dish is a winner. There are so many delicious ways to Enjoy your carnitas, either on a salad, in a burrito, or turned into Carnitas tacos. I mean who doesn’t love insane melt in your mouth Carnitas!? Now it’s time to learn how to whip up my delicious crispy pork carnitas!
This recipe is easy and turns out amazing every single time.
Ingredients :
- 3 pounds boneless pork (preferred shoulders)
- 8 cloves garlic
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 orange, juiced
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 bay leaves, torn in half
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon Chinese 5-spice powder
Directions :
- Set your oven to 275 degrees F
- Trim the visible fat from pork meat, then cut it into 2-3 inches chunks and roughly chop fat.
In a large to medium bowl, add pork and mix it with garlic, olive oil, orange peel, orange juice, salt, bay leaves, black pepper, cumin, cinnamon, and 5-spice powder together. Until pork meat is completely coated. - bring a 9×13-inch baking dish. And transfer your mixture. On a baking sheet Place your baking dish, then cover it hardly with aluminum foil.
- Place it in the preheated oven until pork tender, 3 hours or so.
- Transfer meat to a colander. set over a bowl and put it in your oven. Remove garlic, bay leaves, and orange peels from the baking dish and spray accumulated juices from the baking dish over meat in the colander into the bowl.
- Return meat to the baking dish and drizzle accumulated juices over each piece of meat.
- Cook your meat for 3 minutes under the preheat broiler. Drizzle more accumulated juices over meat and continue broiling for 5 minutes or until crispy. Transfer it to a serving dish and pour more accumulated juices over the top.
Tips and tricks:
- The higher fat content in pork shoulder, helps the meat to stay super tender and juicy while cooking.
- Don’t overcook carnitas, because it will become just meat mush, and would probably have a bad texture.
- I suggest shredded jack cheese, shredded green cabbage, Mexican crema or sour cream as toppings.
The higher fat content in pork shoulder, helps the meat to stay super tender and juicy while cooking.
Don't overcook carnitas, because it will become just meat mush, and would probably have a bad texture.
I suggest shredded jack cheese, shredded green cabbage, Mexican crema or sour cream as toppings.
Ingredients
Instructions
In a large to medium bowl, add pork and mix it with garlic, olive oil, orange peel, orange juice, salt, bay leaves, black pepper, cumin, cinnamon, and 5-spice powder together. Until pork meat is completely coated. Notes