Dinner BY:Mireille PUBLISHED: 08/12/2020 UPDATED: 01/27/2024

Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas

This is a super-fast recipe to prepare! It turns into soft, tender, shredded slow cooker pork carnitas that you can serve with gorditas, tacos, enchiladas, and more!

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Prepare it in your slow cooker, shred the meat, and crisp it up in a hot skillet to make your carnitas taste even better. So, are you ready to learn how to make slow cooker pork carnitas? Let’s get started!

What You Need For This Recipe

This is a great recipe to prepare when you are on a low-carb or keto diet. To make this great Mexican recipe take a look at the ingredients you need and have them ready when you start:

Pork – I use boneless pork shoulder
Olive oil – to cook the pork
Orange juice – helps tenderize the pork
Garlic – mince fresh garlic
Onion – finely dice
Jalapeno – you can use green pickled jalapeño
Oregano – choose dried oregano to make a rub
Cumin – use ground cumin

Note that the full ingredients list, including measurements, can be found in the recipe card below.

How To Make Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas

To make this recipe start with seasoning the pork with salt and pepper before you combine the olive oil, oregano, and cumin. Rub this mixture all over the pork and put it in your slow cooker.
Finely chop the onion and mince the garlic and jalapeño. Add it to the slow cooker and pour the orange juice over the pork as well.
Close your slow cooker and set it either to:
- High – for 4-5 hours depending on how thick the meat is
- Low – for 6-7 hours again depending on the thickness of the pork
Check the meat to see if is tender enough to shred. Take the pork out of the slow cooker and put it on the cutting board. Shred the pork with two forks just like you would shred a chicken and set it aside.
Now it is time to crisp up the carnitas. Preheat a skillet and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Divide the pork in half and spread it in the pan. Pour about 1 cup of cooking juices on the pork.
Let the juices evaporate and the pork turns golden brown. Turn and briefly let the other side sear and brown. Take the pork out of the skillet and repeat for the remaining pork.
Drizzle the pork carnitas with more juice. Serve with warm gorditas, tacos, or tortillas.

Instant Pot Carnitas Recipe

All you need is a pork shoulder or a big piece of pork filet with enough fat on it. Fat on pork gives it that great flavor otherwise it turns out dry which is not what you want for this great carnitas recipe.

You can make this recipe in a regular slow cooker, Crockpot, Instant Pot, Crockpot Express, or a Dutch oven. All you need is to give the meat time to get nice and tender so it will fall apart and you can shred it.

What makes this pork carnitas the best is to crisp up the pork in a hot skillet.

If you think cooking with an Instant Pot or Crock-Pot Express is way too complicated because it has too many options. There is an easy way to learn.

Pork carnitas can be used in various recipes like Mexican pork carnitas tacos or a carnitas burrito bowl.

How To Make Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas In A Dutch Oven?

Follow the instructions in the recipe but put it in your cast-iron Dutch oven. Heat the Dutch oven on the stove first slowly to get the ingredients warmed up.

Then preheat your oven to 450℉/225℃ and put your Dutch oven with the lid closed for about 2 hours. Check every half hour if enough water is still inside the Dutch oven. Add water if required.

After 2 hours check to see if the meat is soft enough to shred else extend for half an hour and check again.

Can You Make Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas Ahead Of Time?

This recipe is perfect to make in advance. When the cooking time is done, you can decide to leave the meat whole or you can shred it.

How To Store Pork Carnitas

If make the carnitas in advance or have leftovers let it cool completely first before you do anything with it. You can store it in several ways. In all cases store the meat and juice together:

Refrigerator – you can store your carnitas in the first for 1 to 2 days. Put them in an airtight container or a plastic ziplock bag.
Freezer – if you want to keep it longer you can store it in the freezer for up to 3 months. Again, store it in an airtight container or freezer-friendly plastic bag.

Let it thaw before use.

How To Warm Pork Carnitas

Just like mentioned in the recipe you can warm your carnitas as you would crisp the meat. Preheat a cast-iron skillet to medium-warm.

If you haven’t crisped the meat yet follow the instructions in the recipe.

Crisped-up pork only needs to get warm so let the meat warm up gradually and do not put the skillet to full heat.

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