This delicious recipe for pork Carnitas is an easy one made in the slow cooker. 

Carnitas are generally the Mexican version of pulled pork. The pork is seasoned with Mexican spices. Because of its high fat content, a pork shoulder or pork butt is used so the meat stays and moist and tender as can be during the cooking process. Carnitas can be eaten on their own as a protein served for dinner, but a lot of people like to make Carnitas tacos or Carnitas tostadas out of this delicious meat (so good!)

Ingredients needed:

• bone-in pork roast (butt or shoulder)
• water
• onion
• garlic cloves
• oregano
• ground cumin
• garlic powder
• salt

How to make slow cooker Pork Carnitas:

This is one of those dinners that you can just put into the slow cooker and let it do all of the work for you. Place the pork in the slow cooker and add enough water to cover the pork. Add one sliced onion and spices to the water around the pork. I recommend cooking it on low for 8 hours. Low and slow is always the best choice when slow cooking.

At this point, remove the meat from the pan and transfer it to an oven-safe pan. Give it a sprinkle of garlic powder, and broil the meat for about 5 minutes until some crispy edges are created. Remove from the broiler and shred. Add it to a serving dish along with some of the onions from the slow cooker.

Then the pork carnitas are ready for serving! If you’re low carb-ing it, you can eat the pork on its own. Or you can try these awesome jicama wraps that I found at Trader Joe’s recently! It’s a great way to eat carnitas as tacos if you don’t like to eat (or are avoiding) traditional tortillas.

Otherwise, grab some flour tortillas or corn tortillas, warm them up and serve carnitas tacos with your favorite fixings.

The best fixings to add to carnitas tacos:

• cheese
• tomato
• salsa
• guacamole
• sour cream
• cilantro
• lime wedges to squeeze on top

Display the fixings and let everyone help themselves to what they like to put on their tacos. Or make a fun Taco Board to display your tacos! Enjoy!

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Carnitas

Great slow cooker recipe for easy carnitas!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword carnitas, pork

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 6 hours

Total Time 6 hours 20 minutes

Servings 10 servings

Calories 280kcal

Author RecipeGirl.com

Ingredients

CARNITAS:

• 3 pounds bone-in pork roast (butt or shoulder)
• water
• 1 large yellow onion, sliced
• 2 medium garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• garlic powder, to taste
• salt, to taste

FOR SERVING (optional):

• flour or corn tortillas
• cilantro, onion, lime wedges, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, cheese, tomato

Instructions

• In the morning, place the pork in the slow cooker and cover mostly with water. Add the onions, garlic, oregano, and cumin to the water and around the pork. Turn the slow cooker on HIGH for several hours (5 or 6), or cook on LOW for at least 8 hours. The meat should be tender and pull apart easily when done.
• Just before serving, remove the meat from the slow cooker with a slotted spoon and place in a foil-lined pan. The meat should literally fall off the bone. Reserve some of the onions and discard the water. Sprinkle the meat with garlic powder. Broil the meat, fatty side up, for 5 more minutes so the meat is crispy on the outside. Watch so that it does not burn.
• Remove from the broiler. Shred the meat with two forks, discarding any fat that remains. Place in a casserole dish and add the reserved onions. Keep warm until ready to serve.
• When ready to serve, place the meat, tortillas and all desired condiments in bowls that can be self-served, either buffet style or on the table. Have the pork on its own, or tucked into tortillas with condiments.

Notes

• Nutritional information does not include tortillas or condiments.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 280kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 86mg | Sodium: 70mg | Potassium: 526mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 26IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 43mg | Iron: 2mg

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