Pork Carnitas

This carnitas recipe is the perfect way to learn how to make carnitas! You’ll love how simple these are, but oh my gosh, the flavor is just out of this world!

Can we talk for a minute?

I mean, yes. I’ve said before that Mexican food is my life, but I want to, like, pound that into your head with a hammer or something.

When I say that I love Mexican food, I mean it. I love the authentic stuff and I love the stuff that comes from Taco Bell. I love these carnitas tacos and I love ground beef + a packet of seasoning + flour tortillas. I especially love our fried tacos and I could eat those every day. I am an equal opportunity Mexican and Tex-Mex food lover!

So, what I’m saying is that there is a lot of competition when it comes to there being a favorite Mexican food in my life, but these pork carnitas? They take the number one spot, every time.

The meat is crispy around the edges, but it also literally just melts in your mouth. The flavors are rich, thanks to the fat in the pork, but the acidity of the orange and lime just brightens these up perfectly.

These Carnitas inspired me to add a new category to the blog. “Buns In My Oven Favorites.” I should technically have nothing but these carnitas in that category, but I went ahead and added anything from this blog that I truly love and make again and again in my home.

What Are Carnitas?

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In Spanish, Carnitas means “little meats”. An authentic carnitas recipe is made by slowly braising/simmering pork in its own fat or lard. Once it has been cooking for hours and is tender and juicy, the heat gets turned up and the bits of meat fry until they are nice and crispy!

I’m cooking these carnitas in orange juice and lime juice too. The citrus really adds a lot of flavor, especially the orange juice. Not all authentic carnitas recipes use fresh citrus. Some use Mexican Coca Cola, which has real cane sugar instead of the corn syrup stuff we get in America.

Crispy Pork Carnitas Ingredients:

Pork – You’ll start with a pork shoulder or pork butt that you cube up. Leave the fat on – it’s an integral part of making these carnitas!

Citrus – Freshly squeezed orange juice and lime juice, they add loads of flavor!

Seasoning – Just some ground cumin and kosher salt. Plus crushed garlic cloves. You don’t need to add a lot of seasoning to this pork. The majority of the flavor comes from the citrus and the richness of the pork fat.

Tortillas & Toppings – I like to serve these carnitas with corn tortillas! Flour tortillas are okay too. See below for more topping suggestions!

How To Make Carnitas:

Chop: Chop the pork shoulder into 2 inch cubes. Be sure to leave the fat on the meat – you’ll be tempted to trim it off, but it’s going to melt down and fry the bits of meat after it’s tender so you’ll want it left intact.

Simmer: We’re making these carnitas without a slow cooker so just toss the cubed pork into a Dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot, pour in the orange juice and lime juice, and add the garlic, cumin, and salt! Finally, pour in some water until there is enough to just cover the pork. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook, uncovered and without stirring, for 2 hours.

Stir & Shred: Turn the heat up to medium high and let any liquid left in the pot evaporate as you stir every couple of minutes. We use tongs to move the meat around and squeeze it together to shred it. It’ll start to fall apart easily the more you cook it and stir it.

Fry: The next part is where the magic happens. All the glorious fat from the pork shoulder will have melted and the meat will just magically start frying and crisping up in it’s own fat. I’m not sure why I find this so fascinating, but I do. Let this go for as long as you like, depending on how crispy and browned you want your carnitas. We like the edges to get a nice crisp to them.

Carnitas Taco Toppings:

One more thing, because I know I’m getting exceedingly wordy (but you guys, these carnitas! I could write a novel about them!) please resist the urge to top your tacos with every single taco topping in the land.

I usually keep it perfectly simple with this southwestern slaw from Perry’s Plate (even my slaw haters eat this up…it’s simple and fresh and the perfect compliment to any sort of Mexican food), a small amount of Monterey Jack cheese, and a spoonful of my roasted salsa verde.

I served these on warmed corn tortillas. You can do flour, but the corn really works well with the carnitas! Some other possible toppings include:

• Sliced Jalapenos
• Pickled Red Onions
• Pico de Gallo
• Homemade Guacamole
• Cojita Cheese
• Queso Fresco
• Sliced Avocado
• Sliced Radishes
• Diced Tomatoes

Storing & Freezing Carnitas:

You’ll probably have leftovers, about which you should be exceedingly happy. They reheat like a dream. Then again, they make a fabulous Carnitas Pizza. Try it live it, love it! To store leftovers:

Fridge – You can keep the leftover carnitas taco meat stored in your fridge for about 3 days in an airtight container. The carnitas will reheat perfectly in the microwave or oven too!

Freezer – Let the pork carnitas cool completely before transferring to a freezer safe bag or container. You can keep it frozen for up to a few months. Thaw completely in the fridge overnight before reheating.

FAQ’s:

• Carnitas Chilaquiles – Perfect for breakfast!
• Carnitas Empanadas
• Pressure Cooker Carnitas – This is an easy, fast way to make carnitas with the Instant Pot! No simmering for two hours in this recipe!

• Turkey Tacos
• Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos
• Air Fried Fish Stick Tacos
• Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos
• Baja Shrimp Tacos
• Low Carb Taco Casserole

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Recipe

Carnitas

This carnitas recipe is the perfect way to learn how to make carnitas! You'll love how simple these are, but oh my gosh, the flavor is just out of this world!

4.53 from 17 votes

Print Pin

Prep15 minutes minutes

Cook2 hours hours 45 minutes minutes

Total3 hours hours

Serves 10 servings

Ingredients

For the carnitas

• ▢ 4-5 pounds boneless pork shoulder or pork butt cut into 2-inch cubes, fat left intact
• ▢ 1 cup orange juice
• ▢ 1/4 cup lime juice from about 2 to 3 limes
• ▢ 4 cloves garlic peeled and crushed
• ▢ 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• ▢ 2 teaspoons Kosher salt plus more to taste

For serving

• ▢ 20 corn tortillas
• ▢ cotija cheese, diced onion, cilantro, salsa verde

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

• Place the pork in a large, heavy bottomed pot or dutch oven. Add the orange juice, lime juice, garlic, cumin, and salt. Add just enough water to the pot to cover the pork.
• Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer uncovered, without stirring, for 2 hours.
• Increase the heat to medium high and stir/turn the meat occasionally. The more you move the meat around the more it will fall apart. We like our meat to be fairly shredded so we stir often.
• Continue cooking for 45 minutes or until all of the water has evaporated, leaving only the pork fat. Let it fry, stirring often to break up the meat, until the pieces are somewhat crispy and browned.
• Add more salt as needed and serve on tortillas with your preferred toppings.

Tips & Notes:

Pork butt and pork shoulder will both work well here. They both come from the shoulder of the pig. Pork butt has more fat than pork shoulder. 

We use orange juice without pulp in this recipe.

Do not fear the bottom of your pan. It will be a black, thick layer of horror, but fill it with water and leave to soak over night. Everything will wipe right out in the morning.

Recipe lightly adapted from The Homesick Texan Cookbook.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 2tacos| Calories: 418kcal (21%)| Carbohydrates: 27g (9%)| Protein: 54g (108%)| Fat: 9g (14%)| Saturated Fat: 3g (19%)| Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g| Monounsaturated Fat: 4g| Trans Fat: 0.03g| Cholesterol: 136mg (45%)| Sodium: 729mg (32%)| Potassium: 1024mg (29%)| Fiber: 3g (13%)| Sugar: 3g (3%)| Vitamin A: 58IU (1%)| Vitamin C: 14mg (17%)| Calcium: 69mg (7%)| Iron: 3mg (17%)

Author: Karly Campbell

Course:Main Course

Cuisine:Mexican

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This recipe was originally published in January 2013. We’ve been making it as often as possible ever since. Updated with new photos in October 2023.