Check out how to make a Mexican pork carnitas slow cooker recipe. They are similar to pulled pork, so easy to make.
You can enjoy this carnitas recipe to make pulled pork for tacos, tortas, or as a main dish.
This post is available in Spanish: Receta de carnitas en la olla de cocción lenta.
Carnitas are easy to make but can be time-consuming, that’s why I like to make them in the slow cooker. You can also make them on the stove, instant pot or pressure pot.
I like to cook, but I don’t like to waste a lot of time doing it, I’ve become a lover of the oven and slow cooker pots. In them, I cook from beans, beef tongue, and more, I just place the ingredients and forget about them!
Most of the time, I leave my slow cooker working at night, so in the morning I have the meat ready. Next, I will share some secrets to make the best carnitas ever.
Tips to make Carnitas
- You can use either pork shoulder or pork butt for this recipe
- Orange juice adds great flavor to the meat.
- You don’t need to seal the pork shoulder before cooking it.
- Some people use milk to make carnitas tender.
- Pork doesn’t need to be covered with liquid in the slow cooker.
- Carnitas will be ready when they can shred, not before.
CARNITAS SLOW COOKER RECIPE
(MEXICAN PULLED PORK)
Ingredients
- 1 5-pound Pork Leg or Pork shoulder (2.5 kgs)
- 1/2 onion
- 4 garlic cloves
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 cup orange juice
- 2 tablespoons chicken broth (or salt)
How to make pork carnitas
Add pork, onion, garlic, bay leaves, water and orange juice to the slow cooker. Mix all together.
Season with salt or powdered chicken broth.
Cover, insert the included thermometer (if available), and program at the 160F temperature which is indicated for pork.
For this recipe, the slow cooker took about 7 hrs.
If your pot does not have a thermometer, set the temperature to High and cook for 6-7 hours.
After this time the pork carnitas must be tender, juicy, and easy to pull apart with a fork.
When pork carnitas are ready, you can drain them and shred them.
You can enjoy them like that or you can fry them to make them a little golden brown.
I hope you like the recipe, which is not the traditional recipe of pork carnitas, but an easier one for practical women like me!
I shared this recipe first in Spanish in 2014.
How to eat Mexican pork carnitas
- You can eat carnitas in tacos with corn or flour tortillas. Add any toppings you love like guacamole, salsa, and lime juice.
- Tortas (sandwiches) are another way to eat carnitas.
- Carnitas can be eaten in red sauce, mole or salsa verde
- Add carnitas to your quesadillas.
- Carnitas appetizers or carnitas bites are great to impress your guests.
CARNITAS SLOW COOKER RECIPE (MEXICAN PULLED PORK)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pound pork leg or pork shoulder
- 1/2 onion
- 4 garlic cloves
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 cup orange juice
- 2 tablespoons powder chicken broth or salt
Instructions
- Add pork, onion, garlic, bay leaves, water, orange juice and powder chicken broth to the slow cooker.
- Cover, insert the included thermometer and program at the 160F temperature which is indicated for pork.
- In the case of this recipe and using this option, the slow cooker took about 7 hrs, the pork was very soft, juicy and easy to defrost.
- If your pot does not have a thermometer, set the temperature to High and leave it around 6-7 hours for the amount of meat I use.
- When pork carnitas are ready, you can drain, and eat like that or you can fry them to make it a little golden brown.
- With these carnitas recipe you can make tacos, cakes, carnitas in salsa verde, carnitas en mole, etc.
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