Pork
Pork Carnitas
Citrusy Mexican shredded pork with crispy edges. Made without MSG.
Real carnitas is pork simmered slowly in its own fat until tender, then crisped. The crisping is not optional — it's the entire difference between carnitas and generic shredded pork.
The slow cooker handles the first half beautifully. The second half takes five minutes under your broiler, and it's the most important five minutes in this book.
The other thing that makes carnitas taste like carnitas is orange. Not lime, orange. It's in the packet as real orange peel, and it's what separates this from taco seasoning.
Why you'll love it
Made without MSG.
One of three in the pork line.
Crispy edges, from a slow cooker.
Five minutes under the broiler and it's the real thing.
Orange peel, not just cumin.
The ingredient most recipes leave out and the one that matters most.
Feeds eight and disappears fast.
Tacos, bowls, nachos, eggs. It goes everywhere.
What's already in the packet
Orange peel and lime alongside cumin and Mexican oregano — a real carnitas profile, not a generic taco blend.
Choose your setting
LOW · 8–9 hours
Low and slow gives collagen time to melt and flavors time to build. It is the setting this recipe was written for.
HIGH · 4–5 hours
For when you started late. It gets dinner done, but the texture is better on LOW.
Done at 195–205°F
It needs to fall apart before you broil it. 195°F is the shredding point.
You'll Need
- 3–4 lbs Pork (pick one below)
- 1 cup Water or chicken broth
- 1 packet Cook SLO Pork Carnitas
Pick your pork
3–4 lbs
Pork shoulder (Boston butt)
3–4 lbs
Pork picnic roast
3 lbs
Boneless country ribs
Roasts and chops 145°F, ground pork and ham 160°F
Add vegetables
Sliced onion (fresh or frozen) and whole garlic cloves at the start, on the bottom; jalapeño slices and orange slices at the start.
When to add what
| When | Add | Why |
|---|---|---|
| At the start, on the bottom | Sliced onion (fresh or frozen)Whole garlic cloves | Root vegetables cook slower than meat. They belong closest to the heat, and they hold the meat up out of the liquid. Cut everything an inch and a half or larger — smaller pieces disintegrate. |
| At the start, to soften into the sauce | Jalapeño slicesOrange slices | These break down and give their flavour to the pot. Right for a gravy or a fajita, wrong if you want them to hold their shape. |
Two ways to do this
If you're home
Follow the timing table above and add things when they're due.
If you're out all day
Put in at the start as normal: sliced onion (fresh or frozen), whole garlic cloves, jalapeño slices and orange slices. These need the full cook anyway.
Nothing needs adding later. Set it in the morning and leave.
Frozen is the better choice for a long day. Already cut, holds its shape better than fresh over eight or nine hours, and goes in straight from the bag with no thawing. Frozen diced onion and pepper strips remove the only real prep this recipe has.
Before anything goes in the pot
- 1
Coat the meat in a bag, not in the pot
Put the meat and the whole packet into a gallon zip bag, seal it, and shake until every surface is covered. It coats far more evenly than sprinkling from above, it takes ten seconds, and there is nothing to wash afterwards.
These happen outside the crock pot, before it's switched on.
Tonight's Plan
- 1
Cut the pork into 4 or 5 big chunks and put them in the crock pot.
Chunks, not whole. More surface area means more crispy edges later.
- 2
Pour in 1 cup of water or broth.
One cup. The pork provides the rest.
- 3
Sprinkle the whole packet over the pork and turn the chunks to coat.
Get every side.
- 4
Put the lid on.
Eight to nine hours on LOW.
Vegetables
Shred the pork with two forks and save the juices.
Don't throw the liquid away — you need it in the next step.
Spread on a sheet pan, spoon juices over, and broil 4–5 minutes until the tips brown.
This is the step that makes it carnitas. Watch it closely; it goes from brown to burnt fast.
Stirring
Stir once at the halfway point and turn the pieces over
There is very little liquid here and a lot of sugar, so the bottom catches. Turning the meat also brings glaze back up onto the top, where it belongs.
Swaps and add-ins
Add a whole orange.
Quartered, tucked in at the start, removed before shredding. More citrus depth.
Make it spicy.
Two jalapeños or a chipotle in adobo at the start.
Skip the broiler if you must.
It's still good. It just isn't carnitas.
Use it for breakfast.
With fried eggs, potatoes and salsa verde.
Tips for success
- The broiler step is the recipe. Five minutes. It's the difference between carnitas and plain shredded pork, and almost everyone skips it.
- Spoon juices over before broiling. Dry pork under a broiler just gets tough. The liquid is what crisps and caramelizes.
- Watch it the whole five minutes. Broilers go from perfect to ruined in under 60 seconds.
- Drop in a liner before anything else. Smooth it against the sides and fold the edges over the rim. When you're done, lift it out and throw it away — the crock never needs scrubbing.
Finish it right
Fresh lime, squeezed hard.
Carnitas without lime is incomplete. The packet has lime powder for depth; fresh juice does something different.
Raw white onion and cilantro.
Street-taco style. Sharp and cold against hot crispy pork.
Salsa verde.
Tomatillo salsa and carnitas is a classic pairing for good reason.
Serve it over
Tomorrow night
Carnitas breakfast tacos.
With scrambled egg and salsa verde.
Cuban-style sandwiches.
With ham, Swiss, pickles and mustard, pressed.
Carnitas fried rice.
Chopped, fried with rice, egg and green onion.
Pork and hominy soup.
Simmered with hominy and broth for a quick posole.
Keeping it
Fridge
Airtight in its juices, up to 4 days
Freezer
3 months. Freeze it in the juices, unbroiled.
Reheating
Under the broiler again, or in a hot skillet. Never the microwave — you lose the crisp.
Questions people ask
Recipe card
Pork Carnitas
You'll Need
- 3–4 lbs Pork (pick one below)
- 1 cup Water or chicken broth
- 1 packet Cook SLO Pork Carnitas
Tonight's Plan
- Cut the pork into 4 or 5 big chunks and put them in the crock pot.
- Pour in 1 cup of water or broth.
- Sprinkle the whole packet over the pork and turn the chunks to coat.
- Put the lid on.
No major allergens declared.
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