Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas

By amandavthokie

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons salt, or more, to taste
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 pound pork shoulder, excess fat trimmed
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 onions, quartered
• 2 oranges, juiced
• 2 limes, juiced

Details

Servings 8
Preparation time 10mins
Cooking time 520mins
Adapted from damndelicious.net

Preparation

Step 1

The easiest carnitas you will ever make right in the crockpot, cooked low and slow for the most amazing fall-apart tender pork goodness!

The easiest carnitas you will ever make right in the crockpot, cooked low and slow for the most amazing fall-apart tender pork goodness!

In a small bowl, combine chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper. Season pork loin with spice mixture, rubbing in thoroughly on all sides.

Place garlic, onions, orange juice, lime juice and seasoned pork shoulder into a slow cooker. Cover and cook on low heat for 8 hours or high for 4-5 hours.

Remove pork shoulder from the slow cooker and shred the meat before returning to the pot with the juices; season with salt and pepper, to taste, if needed. Cover and keep warm for an additional 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to broil. Place carnitas onto a baking sheet and broil until crisp and crusted, about 3-4 minutes.

Millie l Add A Little

I love the spice mix as well

Reviewing the recipe for slow cooker pork carnitas. Is the only liquid to this recipe the juice of orange and lime? The photo looks like there is quite a bit of liquid. Please clarify if additional liquid is added.

i added about a cup of water will that ruin the recipe??

With your opening remarks I thought you were going to say this is what all the best zombie eat. Lol I love pulled pork abd this is simply beautiful. I have tried many of your recipes and loved each one. I will make this next week, thank you for being so great at cooking. From trying your recipes I cook and eat far better.

I followed your recipe to a T. The only thing I added was a quick avocado/tomato salad. I can’t wait to come up with yummy dishes for the leftovers. Thanks for the recipe!

You can certainly try halving the cooking time but without further recipe testing, I am not certain if this time frame is sufficient for a 2 pound pork shoulder. Please use your best judgment to make the appropriate adjustments.

I’m about to make this in about an hour. My question is, since I don’t have oranges, could I just use regular Orange juice (I get mine from Trader Joe’s). I don’t have time to run out and get oranges. Just wondering if orange juice would taste just as good as if I were to use two oranges. And if I use OJ, how many cups?

1.In a large bowl, stir together ground pasilla pepper, coriander, garlic, oregano, orange peel, black pepper, and salt. Add pork to bowl; toss to coat with spices.

2. In a 3 1/2- to 4-quart slow cooker, place pork mixture; top with onion wedges. In a medium bowl, whisk together broth, orange juice, and honey until honey dissolves. Pour liquid over all.

3.Cover; cook on low-heat setting for 10 to 12 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 1/2 to 5 hours.

5. Wrap tortillas in foil. Heat in a 350 degrees F oven for 10 minutes or until warm. To serve, top each tortilla with 1/4 cup of the meat, cilantro, and finely chopped green onions. Serve with salsa and, if desired, lime wedges.

in Italy we do not have the Slow Cooker … how can I make this delicious recipe without a slow cooker ? Thanks so much <3

Heather

This was exceptionally good! The seasoning was really flavorful. After broiling, the meat wasn’t as warm as I thought it would be. After popping into the microwave for a minute, it was fine. We had this with lime nacho chips and cheese. Tomorrow I will add bbq sauce for sandwiches. I can’t wait to try more of your recipes!!!

I make making these today

Hi! I am going to make these carnitas-my first time. They look yummy. What do you serve them with? I was thinking some tortillas and refried beans maybe? Not sure…

I’m looking to make this for my husband’s 40th birthday party. How many people will this recipe feed? We’ll have about 30 guests, but I’m making pulled chicken as well. Thanks!

Have you ever tried this with a frozen pork shoulder? I wanted to make this tomorrow but just realized that my pork is frozen and I doubt that it will fully thaw in time.

sandra heath

Have you heard of anyone using Cutie oranges in place of regular oranges? They are a bit sweeter and I have an entire bowl full sitting on my counter.

I read through most but not all comments, so I apologize if this has been answered and I didn’t see it. What type of oranges did you use? Did you get the largest possible to try to get the most juice? Did you ever measure out about how much juice you get with the oranges and limes just to get an idea the amount of liquid you are adding to the recipe?

Made your recipe for my hubby’s birthday last week…..he LOVED it along with the entire family!!! It was sooooo yummy that everyone has requested that I make it again this week (5 hrs left on the crock pot timer….hehehe) The flavors of the pork brought us back to our honeymoon in Los Cabos. Thank you so much for this amazing recipe!

I tried this recipe and it was amazing! Going to make it again soon. The only thing I did different is at the end, I took all the juice (skim off the fat if you prefer), garlic cloves and onions and blended it in the VitaMix to make a flavorful gravey. Put the blended juice and shredded pork back in the crock to reheat. It was very good!

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