Easy Crockpot Carnitas
Total Time
8 hours 10 minutes
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
8 hours
Rating
4.8 out of 5 stars
(157)
Ingredients
10-12 servings
- 4–5 lbs. pork shoulder
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon chipotle hot sauce (optional)
- juice of 2 limes
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 12 ounces beer (a standard lager works great for this!)
- 1/2 cup salsa (I like to use a less chunky one)
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Preparation
Step 1
Place the pork shoulder in the slow cooker. Roughly chop the garlic and place in the slow cooker (I actually kind of rubbed it onto the meat to get as much garlic flavor as possible, but you could just toss it in, too).
Step 2
Sprinkle the meat with salt, cumin, chili powder, black pepper, oregano, cinnamon, and cayenne. Rub seasonings onto the pork.
Step 3
Add lime juice, orange juice, beer, and salsa. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
Step 4
Shred meat with two forks directly in the slow cooker (or take out, shred, and replace in sauce). It should fall apart easily.
Step 5
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. Broil for 5-10 minutes or until you get browned edges on the pork.
Step 6
Serve on tortillas with fresh cilantro, avocado, and lime juice.
Step 7
Save recipe for the next time?
Chef's notes
Dutch Oven Method:
Add the pork shoulder to a large Dutch oven. Roughly chop the garlic and rub it onto the meat. Toss the garlic around the meat after rubbing it on. Sprinkle the meat with salt, cumin, chili powder, black pepper, oregano, cinnamon, and cayenne. Rub seasonings onto the pork. Add lime juice, orange juice, beer, and salsa. Cover and cook in the oven for 4 hours at 300 degrees F. Proceed with steps 4-6 above.
Instant Pot Method:
Cut the pork into 3-5 large chunks. Add to the Instant Pot with the other ingredients as stated in the original instructions. Cook on manual high pressure for 30 minutes, and allow for a natural release. Shred, broil in the oven, and serve!
