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These pork carnitas are a flavorful escape to Mexico, featuring the most tender and juicy pulled meat. The perfect set-and-forget dish that tastes even more delicious the more it sits!
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Why you’ll love this carnitas recipe
Slow-cooked in a tasty mixture of broth and salsa, even a cut as tough as pork shoulder can be transformed into unapologetically delicate meat.
This recipe teaches you how to turn an inexpensive cut of pork into a restaurant-worthy dish. While it’s a popular option at Mexican restaurants and fast food places, making them yourself is easy. We love making it because it’s:
- Easy. Like barbacoa, carnitas requires some slow cooking, but the process is easy and mostly unattended.
- Always juicy. The cooking method for carnitas is a tried and true way to make juicy and tender meat (reminds me of carne asada or Al Pastor).
- Versatile. Use the shredded meat in a burrito, taco, or as a quesadilla filling. You can also use them for wraps and sandwiches (we do this with carne picada, too!).
Whether you are planning to have a large gathering or a Mexican-style evening, this dish will have everyone reaching for seconds and thirds. If you have any leftovers, the flavor intensifies even more!
What are carnitas?
Traditional carnitas is a Mexican dish involving braising pork for several hours until it’s super tender and can be shredded into small pieces. Various seasonings and aromatics are used to make juicy and flavorful pulled pork.
Ingredients needed
Besides the pork and some seasonings, there isn’t much else that goes into making this dish. Here is what you’ll need:
- Pork shoulder. A high-fat cut that yields juicy and tender carnitas.
- Taco seasoning. Made of salt, paprika, garlic powder, cumin, onion powder, and a range of other spices, taco seasoning adds a bunch of flavor to the dish.
- Onion and garlic. Chopped onion and minced garlic help develop a deeper flavor for carnitas.
- Salsa. Any salsa with tomatoes and chiles will work (or homemade salsa).
- Beef stock. Slow-cooking the pork in stock is one of the secrets to flavorful carnitas. Chicken broth will work too.
- Olive oil. To brown the pork shoulder before slow-cooking it. You can use any other cooking oil of your choice.
- Bay leaves. Several tossed throughout to intensify the flavor.
- Cilantro. To serve.
How to make carnitas
Cooking pork carnitas requires a lot of time and patience and very little skill and technique. Here’s how you make it in a few simple steps.
- Season and brown the pork. Rub the taco seasoning over the shoulder, ensuring it’s fully coated. Add oil to a large pot or skillet and heat it over medium heat. Once hot, add the pork and brown it on all sides.
- Slow-cook the pork. Transfer the pork to a large oven-safe dish. Add the chopped onion, minced garlic, salsa, bay leaves, and stock. Cover the dish with foil and put it in the oven preheated to 140C/275F degrees. Cook for 6 hours.
- Shred and serve. Once cooked, remove the pork from the oven and let it rest for a few minutes. Then shred and enjoy.
Instant pot and pressure cooker instructions
To make instant pot carnitas, follow the steps below:
- Rub the pork shoulder with taco seasoning.
- Sear pork in Instant Pot with olive oil.
- Saute onion and garlic.
- Add salsa, beef broth, and bay leaves.
- High pressure cook on high for 60 minutes.
- Natural release for 10-15 minutes.
- Shred pork and serve.
- For crispy pork carnitas, broil them in the oven for 3-5 minutes.
Storage instructions
To store. Store leftover carnitas in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
To freeze. If you have made a big batch of carnitas, divide some into portions and freeze them in heavy-duty plastic bags or in airtight containers. Carnitas can be stored in the freezer for at least two months.
To reheat. Reheat carnitas in a covered dish in the oven or on the stove over medium heat. Add a splash of water or broth to the meat to reheat it.
Leftovers idea
Shredded pork make the best leftovers and is great in many dishes, including chopped cheese, mulitas, tacos torados, torta, and pupusas.
You can also make carnitas tacos or nachos by adding them to some taco shells or tortillas (don’t forget the pico de gallo and limes).
Recipe tips and tricks
- Brine the pork. Brining the pork shoulder before cooking can infuse it with more flavor and make it extra juicy. You can dry brine the pork for 12 hours or leave it in a saltwater solution for at least 1-2 hours.
- Bring the meat to room temperature. Before cooking the pork, allow it to sit at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes.
- Make it spicy. Rub the pork shoulder with more cayenne pepper if you prefer spicy carnitas.
- Cook in orange juice. Add some orange juice to the meat and the broth, and allow it to cook off. The citrus juice helps break down the meat and brightens its flavor (like in orange chicken).
More Mexican recipes to try
- Sofritas
- Arrachera
- Pollo Asado
- Carne guisida
- Chilaquiles
- Quesabirria Tacos (and on Pizza, in Ramen, or in a quesadilla!).
Frequently asked questions
The best cuts to use for carnitas are pork shoulder, pork butt, and pork picnic. The pork butt is actually the upper half of the pig’s shoulder, while the picnic cut is the lower portion.
Both methods involve slow-cooking the pork for several hours and then shredding it. But there are a few key differences between pulled pork and carnitas. The latter is a Mexican dish and is seasoned with Mexican spices. Also, the pork can be cooked in the oven, slow cooker, or stove.
Pulled pork, a popular dish in the US, is often made from barbequed pork shoulder. The pork may be slow-smoked or cooked in a slow cooker. Pulled pork is often mixed with a sauce once it’s shredded.
Pork butt is not the same as pork shoulder. They both come from the pig’s shoulder, but pork butt sits higher on the foreleg.
Slow-cooked carnitas is a good source of protein. They are a source of vitamins A and C and essential minerals such as iron, calcium, and potassium. Consumed in moderation and in combination with healthy foods, carnitas can make part of a balanced diet.
Carnitas (Mexican Pulled Pork)
Ingredients
- 4 lb pork shoulder boneless
- 1 packet taco seasoning
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion sliced
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 cup salsa
- 1/2 cup beef broth
- 6 large bay leaves
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 140C/275F. Rub the taco seasoning all over the pork, ensuring all the exterior is coated.
- Add the oil to a large skillet or deep pot and place over medium heat. Once hot, add the pork and cook on all sides until brown.
- Transfer the seared pork to a large baking dish. Top with the onion, garlic, salsa, and bay leaves, and drizzle the stock.
- Cover the baking dish with tin foil and cook for 6 hours.
- Remove from the oven and let it sit for 5 minutes before shredding.
This is hands down the best carnitas recipe I’ve ever tasted!
Great recipe!! So easy and my picky son loved it!! He said it’s better than Chipotle’s carnitas!
LOVE that!!!!
Hi! What is the amount for the packet taco seasoning if I use your recipe for the taco seasoning mix?
Hi! It is one ounce 🙂
Absolutely delish! I modified the recipe to be cooked in an instant pot, so I doubled the broth and used 3/4 cup salsa. It is SO good!
Can I make this with pork tenderloin?
I’d be wary of doing that as tenderloin is quite lean.
It was so good everyone in the family loved them.
Can I do this in the slow cooker?
I don’t see why not 🙂
Thank you for all your recipes and the time you take to post them.