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. |
What each one does to the dish
Sliced onion (fresh or frozen)
Melts into the sauce and sweetens it. Worth adding even if you do not like onions, because they vanish.
Jalapeño slices
Heat and a green, vegetal note. Chiles add depth as much as burn.
Orange slices
Sweet citrus that cuts pork fat. Pull the slices out before shredding.
All optional. The recipe works with none of them.
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
Put the onion and garlic in the bottom, then the pork on top.
Do not sear this one. You are going to crisp it at the end instead, which works far better — the crust survives to the plate instead of dissolving over nine hours.
- 2
Rub the packet over the pork and tuck in a few orange slices.
Orange is traditional and it cuts the fat. Pull the slices out before shredding.
- 3
Add one cup of liquid and put the lid on.
Nine hours on LOW to 195–205°F.
- 4
Shred it, spread it on a sheet pan, and broil until the edges crisp.
This is the step that makes it carnitas rather than pulled pork. Three to five minutes, watch it closely, and spoon a little of the cooking liquid over before it goes under.
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
- Put the onion and garlic in the bottom, then the pork on top.
- Rub the packet over the pork and tuck in a few orange slices.
- Add one cup of liquid and put the lid on.
- Shred it, spread it on a sheet pan, and broil until the edges crisp.
No major allergens declared.
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