I’ve done a fair amount of hunting for the perfect carnitas recipes throughout the years and found the base for this recipe in my trusty Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook. The ingredients they used really weren’t all that different than the other recipes I’d tried, but as I picked a piece of flavorful, crispy meat off the pan, I knew I had found what I was looking for.
As I’ve made it again and again, I’ve tweaked a few things here and there (I added a little red wine vinegar to brighten it up a little and a few cloves of garlic) and it’s become one of our family’s favorite meals.
Ingredient Needed
- Pork – You’ll need 3 1/2 – 4 pounds of boneless pork butt roast (sometimes called boneless pork shoulder or boneless picnic roast).
- Onion
- Fresh garlic
- Fresh lime juice
- Red wine vinegar
- Oregano
- Cumin
- Bay leaves
- Salt and pepper
- Orange
- For serving – Small corn or flour tortillas, grated cheese (I like cotija), pico de gallo, mango pico de gallo, mint-pineapple pico de gallo, guacamole, sliced avocado, sliced white onion, sprigs of cilantro, fresh lime wedges, etc.
Instructions
- To start, place the oven rack in the lower middle position and preheat the oven to 300°F. Now, pork shoulder can be pretty fatty, and that fat’s going to come into play later. But I still like to trim the pork of excess fat (mostly the big globs on the outside) before I cut it into 2″ chunks.
- Place the pork in a heavy lidded pot like a Dutch oven. Add enough water to cover the pork and then add onion, garlic, lime juice, red wine vinegar, oregano, cumin, bay leaves, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, and the juice from the orange.
- After squeezing the juice from the orange, toss the rinds into the pork mixture and stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cover the pot and transfer to the oven. Cook for about 2 hours or until the pork falls apart when poked with a fork.
- Use your fingers to pull apart the pork pieces, discarding any particularly fatty pieces (or removing the fat from them). Drizzle with the cooking liquid.
- Turn your oven broiler on high and place the pork in the oven for 5-8 minutes or until the pork starts to brown and the edges become crispy. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and use a spatula to flip the pork. Return to the oven for another 5-8 minutes, broiling until the pork is browned and crispy (but not charred, unless that’s your thing). Mine got a little blacker than I planned on, but it was still delicious.
- Serve in warmed tortillas with desired toppings. Makes about 12 servings.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store leftover meat in an airtight container and consume within 3-5 days for best results.
- This pork is fabulous served in tortillas, over rice, or on a salad. It pairs really well with Lime Cilantro Ranch Dressing Copycat Cafe Rio Dressing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this ahead of time?
Yes! Cook the pork one day, and make your sauce. Store separately and then combine and broil when ready to eat.
Can I make this a freezer meal?
While I have not personally frozen this pork, slow cooked meats tend to freeze pretty well. I would recommend cooking the carnitas all the way through as instructed and then freezing in food saver bags with as much air removed as possible.
Carnitas: Mexican Style Pulled Pork
A classic featuring tender pork shoulder, braised and broiled. Perfect for tacos, huevos rancheros or burritos.
Servings servings
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 ½ – 4 pounds boneless pork butt roast sometimes called boneless pork shoulder or boneless picnic roast
- 2 cups water enough to cover the pork in the pot
- 1 onion (white or yellow) peeled and halved
- 4-6 cloves garlic smashed and peeled
- 2 tablespoons lime juice about 1 lime
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon oregano dry
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 orange
- For serving: Small corn or flour tortillas grated cheese (I like cotija cheese), pico de gallo, mango pico de gallo, mint-pineapple pico de gallo, guacamole, sliced avocado, sliced white onion, sprigs of cilantro, fresh lime wedges, etc.
Instructions
- Place the oven rack in the lower middle position and preheat the oven to 300℉.
- Trim the pork of excess fat and cut into 2" chunks. Place the pork in a heavy lidded pot like a Dutch oven. Add enough water to cover the pork and then add onion, garlic, lime juice, red wine vinegar, oregano, cumin, bay leaves, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, and the juice from the orange. After squeezing the juice from the orange, toss the rinds into the pork mixture and stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
- Cover the pot and transfer to the oven. Cook for about 2 hours or until the pork falls apart when poked with a fork. When the pork is fork-tender, remove the pot from the oven.
- Remove the orange rinds, onion, and bay leaves. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pork from the liquid to the foil-lined baking sheet. Set aside.
- Return the pot to the stovetop and bring the liquid to a boil over high heat. Boil for 8-15 minutes (longer or shorter if necessary) until the liquid is thickened and glaze-y and, when stirred, the spoon leaves a trail in the liquid (you should have about 1 cup of liquid).
- Use your fingers to pull apart the pork pieces, discarding any particularly fatty pieces (or removing the fat from them). Drizzle with the cooking liquid. Turn your oven broiler on high and place the pork on a baking sheet in the oven for 5-8 minutes, or until the pork starts to brown and the edges become crispy.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and use a spatula to flip the pork. Return to the oven for another 5-8 minutes, broiling until the pork is browned and crispy (but not charred, unless that’s your thing). Serve in warmed tortillas with desired toppings.
Notes
- Tortillas and toppings not included in nutritional value.
- Store leftover meat in an airtight container and consume within 3-5 days for best results.
- This pork is fabulous served in tortillas, over rice, or on a salad. It pairs really well with Lime Cilantro Ranch Dressing Copycat Cafe Rio Dressing.
Nutrition
Calories: 187kcal, Carbohydrates: 3g, Protein: 25g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 0.05g, Cholesterol: 79mg, Sodium: 89mg, Potassium: 495mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 32IU, Vitamin C: 8mg, Calcium: 33mg, Iron: 2mg
Calories: 187kcal
Cost: $8
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Questions & Reviews
Great way to Pork Up your weekly menu…Try using beer for the liquid….makes them ohhh so tender!!!
Oh, I’ve tried Carnitas in México and obviously this is not the traditional way to do it, right? I understood that they were fried into the lard.. My mom used to do it by first boiling the pork with some lemon and sal, then she fried this pork and theen she add the sauce that is made with Serrano (A type of chilli), the kind of carnitas that sell into the little tends are moreless the same, but I found this recipe delicious but they’re not carnitas.
Just the opinnion from a Mexican girl
I made this yesterday and the reviews were “delicious!” – so much better than the way I made it previously. My pork shoulder was a bit bigger so I had to use more water to cover, and then it took longer to cook it down into the glazing sauce, so I got tripped up by not waiting long enough and started to use it too watery. But figured out to just wait and let it cook off longer and it was so worth it – so my advice on cooking down the glaze part is to be patient and it will pay off!
Thanks so much for your detailed directions!
Kate, you’re a hero in my family thanks to this recipe. I am a Mexican food snob and carnitas is my favorite meal of all. This recipe produces such an authentic and outrageously good result – you would be hard pressed to find its equal in a fancy Mexican restaurant in New York or San Francisco, even Tucson. Thank you!
I do a lot of pulled pork/bbq and carnitas is my favorite Mexican meal. Followed this recipe with 6 lbs of bone-in country ribs instead of boneless butt chunks except threw more sliced onion and jalapeno in the liquid I boiled down. I had tried a couple recipes where pork was “boiled” in lard and swore off trying again till I ran across this. Best recipe I have tried in a LONG time. Thank you very much.
Oh, I’m so glad you enjoyed them! Thanks so much for getting back to us! 🙂
well i must say,i cooked my pull pork on my new Big Boss infrared fryer,..my pork came out soooo good,.. i cooked it and fryed it at the same time,..Big Boss cooker is out of this world,try it people you’ll like it,…
i just made this and found it to have an extremely bitter and unpleasant aftertaste due to the orange rind. anyone else have this problem?
What if your oven doesn’t have a broiler? Can you just bake it on high heat?
Can this be made the day before and transferred into a crockpot to keep warm? How would you go about this?
Yep, definitely! Pull it out of the fridge and transfer it to a crockpot (or place it in the crockpot after shredding/broiling and then refrigerate it) and cook on low for a few hours until reheated. Not totally sure how long it would take to get up to serving temperature, but my guess would be in the 3-4 hour range on low.
Kate – This doesn’t really relate to your yummy carnitas, but I have your yummy cookbook and I want to take the Mexican-Style Sweet Shredded Pork to Lake Powell for a family dinner. I have a question for you.
Would you cook it at home and freeze it then thaw it in a slow cooker down there or sear the meat at home and add all the other ingredients and freeze and THEN thaw and cook down there in a crock pot?
Does that make sense?
If it will be traveling out of the freezer at all, I would make it completely, and then just thaw it there. Enjoy!
I love taco truck carnitas and have not quite been able to get the taste right in the meat. When I saw this recipe I was very hopeful but very disappointed. I don’t know what the weird taste was (I suspect the orange) but the meat was sweet…yuk! Try this instead…fix the pork by browning it with garlic salt and pepper, add the water, garlic cloves, 2 Serrano peppers and onion and put in the oven for 2-3 hours until fork tender, taking the lid off in the last 20 min in oven. Drain remaining juice, shred and pan fry in a hot skillet with oil until some pieces are brown. Serve with onion, cilantro, & lime. Much better!