This slow cooker pork carnitas recipes is perfect for making some delicious tacos that your guests will keep coming back for!
If you are a long time follower of this website, then you probably have realized that I talk a lot of about my grandma. It is very easy to explain why – she was one of the most influential people in my life when I was growing up and she taught me most of what I know today about cooking – including how to make this delicious pork carnitas recipe.
When I was growing up, we didn’t have access to electric slow cookers, but that doesn’t mean that we didn’t cook things slow! The difference is that we had to cook our pork carnitas in a large pot all day long instead of just plugging in a slow cooker and letting it go. That said, now that we have the convenience of a slow cooker, I love using it!
Don’t have a slow cooker – check this one out!
My grandma taught me so many tips and tricks to make food taste better and nearly every recipe I know, I learned from her. Even though my grandma taught me a lot about food, she also taught me something more important – to be kind, compassionate and to care about others. My grandma was always willing to help anyone in need.
There were times where other people in my town didn’t have food, and she would sacrifice her time and effort to make more so that they could eat too. Everyone knew that there would always be a fresh, hot, and delicious meal at my grandma’s house.
This slow cooker pork carnitas recipe takes about 15-20 minutes to prepare, and then the pork will need to cook in your slow cooker for at least 4 hours before taking it out and serving it with tortillas, cilantro, and fresh salsa.
To make them, I recommend using Pork Shoulder, but really any other tender cut of pork will do.
If you have never had pork carnitas, then you are going to be surprised how amazing it tastes. Because of how the pork is cooked, it is extremely juicy and tender, and has an unmistakable flavor. Some of the ingredients that you will need are oranges, cola, fresh herbs and spices, and of course Pork.
You will start by cutting the pork into smaller pieces and frying in a hot pan before adding to the slow cooker to finish cooking with the rest of the ingredients.
After it is done cooking, you will give it a rough shred before serving it with tortillas for tacos. Don’t be surprised if there are no leftovers – trust me, everyone is going to be asking for more!
We recently made this for some friends that were in town visiting, and they couldn’t get enough of it. That is one of the reasons that I decided to post the recipe on my website – so that everyone can try the tasty and delicious Mexican pork carnitas.
I truly hope that you enjoy this recipe. Please come back and let me know in the comments below how it turns out!
Check out these other great Mexican favorites!
Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 Pork Shoulder
- 1 Cup of Cola Soft Drink
- 2 Oranges - you will need the juice and the peels
- 1 cup of pork lard or 1 cup of coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon of pepper
- 1 tablespoon of oregano
- 1 tablespoon of thyme
- 1-2 bay leaves
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 onion
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Cut the Pork Shoulder into smaller chunks
- Season the pork with Salt, Pepper and Oregano, and fry in the lard or coconut oil.
- Add the pork and the rest of the ingredients to the slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours
- After four hours, remove from the slow cooker and roughly shred the pork - you will want somewhat larger pieces and return to the slow cooker.
- Serve over corn tortillas with cilantro, fresh salsa, and lemon juice.
Brooke
Thursday 23rd of March 2023
Wondering if I wanted to cook on stovetop how would I go about that?
Marc
Saturday 8th of April 2023
@Brooke, my guess, fry as the recipes states, but everything in a Dutch oven, then cook low and slow for a couple hours and see what happens? I was thinking the exact same thing by the way, I don’t have a slow cooker, but I’ve braised enough things, should be simple enough. Hope that helps somewhat!
Sumon-Ur-Rahman
Saturday 22nd of October 2022
We made these in our instant pot, and it was so good & easy!! Love your recipes, Thank You very much.
Elliot
Thursday 1st of April 2021
What size is the shoulder for this recipe?
Janyne
Wednesday 10th of February 2021
Charbel, What size pork shoulder roast did you use?
ryan cordell
Friday 16th of October 2020
Could you use a pressure cooker to prepare this and speed up the process instead of slow cooking?
Charbel Barker
Friday 16th of October 2020
Hi Ryan, yes, you can definitely do this in a pressure cooker. Just follow the directions on your pressure cooker for pork and it should turn out just fine.