The Crockpot does it again!
You all know how much I love my Crockpot. I use it for everything from baked potatoes to short ribs. But my very favorite thing to do with the Crockpot is take a really big, complicated recipe, like lasagna. and find a way to let the slow cooker do the work for me.
And now, I’ve done it again…with carnitas.
The secret to good carnitas is a long, slow cooking over low heat. Traditionally, you do this in a big, heavy pot, and you stir the seasonings into the oil and then let the pork cook over a really low flame until it’s falling apart. Then you turn up the heat briefly to sear it, and you end up with meat that’s crisp on the outside, but tender enough to pull apart with a fork.
Well, this sort of long, slow cooking is exactly what the Crockpot is made for. So you don’t have to watch a pot for hours; you just let the meat cook on low, and once it’s falling apart, you zap it in the broiler to get those delicious browned edges.
You can enjoy this in a taco or burrito, or just serve it up by itself with all the fixings: tortillas, refried beans, guacamole, and some of my fresh Pico de Gallo salsa.
(printable recipe at bottom of post)
Crockpot Pork CarnitasÂ
INGREDIENTSÂ
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 Tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 pound pork shoulder
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup orange juice
2 limes, juiced
12 oz chicken broth
1 bay leaf
DIRECTIONS:Â
1. Place the pork shoulder in the slow cooker. Mix together chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt cinnamon and black pepper. Sprinkle seasoning on each side of the roast, and rub in. Next, add in mined garlic, orange juice, lime juice, chicken broth and bay leaf.
2. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours. It should fall apart easily.
3. Preheat broiler. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the shredded meat on the cooking sheet and pour a few spoonfuls of sauce over the top of the meat. Broil for 5-10 minutes or until you get browned edges on the pork.
Never miss out on FUN new meals or easy lunchbox ideas for the family and SIGN UP to have my posts sent right to your inbox! It’s EASY PEASY! Just CLICK HERE and enter your email!
XO
Corey, Darryl, Big D & Little D
Looking for more free recipes? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
Crockpot Pork Carnitas
Ingredients
- 1/2 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 Tablespoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 pound pork shoulder
- 4-5 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 2 limes juiced
- 12 oz chicken broth
- 1 bay leaf
Instructions
- Place the pork shoulder in the slow cooker. Mix together chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt cinnamon and black pepper. Sprinkle seasoning on each side of the roast, and rub in. Next, add in mined garlic, orange juice, lime juice, chicken broth and bay leaf.
- Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours. It should fall apart easily.
- Preheat broiler. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the shredded meat on the cooking sheet and pour a few spoonfuls of sauce over the top of the meat. Broil for 5-10 minutes or until you get browned edges on the pork.
Nutrition Information:
Susan says
April 14, 2016 at 5:37 pmMade the crockpot pork carnitas tonight. One word – AWESOME!!! So easy and my whole family LOVED them.
Grandmaonwheels says
April 22, 2016 at 8:28 pmI hate to admit this, but how do you serve pork carnitas? It looks wonderful, and I plan to try this. Is it served in tortillas, or what?
Corey says
April 23, 2016 at 5:33 pmYes! In tacos, burritos, on top of rice, on top of salads, or in a sandwich wrap.
Heidi Monteith says
May 15, 2016 at 12:31 pmWhen you say “pour a few spoonfuls of sauce”, do you mean the sauce in the crockpot?
Corey says
May 16, 2016 at 1:40 pmYep 🙂 This will help to prevent the meat from drying out 🙂
Sandra says
October 25, 2016 at 9:38 pmDoes it matter if it’s not boneless? I bought a pork shoulder with bone in. Thank you. ?
Cherie Morrissey says
January 20, 2017 at 9:49 pmWould it cook okay on high for 4-6 hours?
Corey says
January 22, 2017 at 9:25 amI have only made this recipe are stated Cherie, so I can’t say for sure. Has anyone else out there tried cooking it for 4-6 hours? Leave a reply to this comment to let us know!
April says
November 6, 2017 at 4:04 pmI cooked mine on high because it was partly frozen lol. It was done in 5 hours. I then turned it on warm, and then put under broiler. ??
Matt says
February 28, 2017 at 12:14 amI cooked this on low for 10 hours last time I made it and it came out beyond perfect! So soft and delicious, take the time to allow it to cook.
April says
April 19, 2017 at 9:42 pmI used beef broth.do you think it will make much difference
Phillip says
April 21, 2017 at 6:33 pmI thought this was quite mediocre. I guess i should have expected it with so little prep. The cinnamon was a bit strange and it just was lacking something. I cant put my finger on it. Meat was plenty tender but just not all there.
Not bad i suppose for such little prep.
Ruth says
June 2, 2017 at 11:47 amHi, I’m planning on making this for meal prep next week. I have a 4oz crock pot. Will that work?
Robyn says
September 28, 2017 at 10:44 amThis was absolutely delicious! When I was frantically putting this together before work, I realized I didn’t have chicken broth. I did a quick search and discovered you can add a tablespoon of soy sauce per cup of water, so that’s what I did. I served this on corn tortillas topped with cheese, sour cream, avacado, and a bit of salsa. Absolutely delicious, and even my five year old approved! My husband forgot to put away the leftovers quickly enough because our German Shepherd got to them, but how can we be mad at him for being tempted by delicious meat? Thank you for the recipe and this will go in our rotation.
Carol says
November 13, 2017 at 9:28 pmThis is a fantastic dish…I have a family that does not like much heat at all..so I decrease the chili powder just a bit..so easy..great dish for a work day. The pork is so tender and flavorful ! Family favorite..thanks so much
Elizabeth Wissler says
August 6, 2018 at 4:05 pmIt looks like a nice, easy version. However, if one is a beginner, how does one know about the shredding of the meat with two forks? Food for thought, maybe?
Claudia S. Chastain says
August 20, 2018 at 10:38 pmCould you use a pork loin instead of the shoulder?
Corey says
August 23, 2018 at 12:44 pmYes you can!
Deanna says
January 6, 2019 at 9:13 pmDelicious!!!!
Susan says
May 5, 2019 at 2:53 pmYour nutrition facts do not include a serving size that I could see. Can you please clarify?
Corey says
May 7, 2019 at 12:33 pmYou would just need to divide the recipe into how many servings are listed on the recipe.
Susan says
May 7, 2019 at 9:44 pmBut the nutrition facts are clearly for a single serving. Nutrition facts need to contain a serving size. These carnitas ended up with no flavor, though I was able to save the leftovers by adding some fajita seasoning. Will not make again.
Corey says
May 8, 2019 at 10:39 amHi Susan. This recipe make 10 servings. So you would need to divide it up into 10 servings. I am so sorry you didn’t like the recipe.
Susan says
June 17, 2019 at 11:21 amWhen you shred/pull the meat apart after it is finished cooking in the crockpot, do you shred up the fat in with it or do you pull the fat off of it?
Corey says
June 19, 2019 at 2:46 pmI think that is a personal preference. You could do it either way. I usually remove the fat before shredding.