Pork Carnitas Recipe (Mexican Pulled Pork)

platter of carnitas tacos with side of salsa, crumbled cheese, and limes

Pork Carnitas Recipe (Mexican Pulled Pork)

Pork carnitas are a classic Mexican dish featuring pork that is slow cooked until fork tender and crispy on the outside. Flavorful and perfect for feeding a crowd!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword pork

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 3

Total Time 3 30

Servings

Calories 202kcal

Author Sara Garska

Cost $20

Equipment

1 Large Dutch Oven
1 broiler safe pan

Ingredients

4 pounds boneless pork shoulder or pork butt (trimmed and chopped)
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 onion peeled and halved
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 cups water
1 medium orange juiced - Add juice AND the halves to the mixture

Instructions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
Combine all the ingredients in a large Dutch oven.
Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, uncovered.
Once it simmers, cover the pot and transfer to the oven. Cook until meat falls apart easily, 2 to 3 hours (mine took 2 ¾ hours).
When the meat is tender, remove the meat from the liquid and place on large pan or plate to cool. Remove the orange halves, onions, and bay leaves from the liquid.
Simmer the liquid over medium, until the liquid is reduced and thick. About 15-20 minutes. Watch it so you don’t reduce it too much.
While the liquid is simmering, use two forks to pull the chunks of meat into about three pieces each.
Once the liquid is reduced, add the meat back into the liquid and gently stir to coat.
Preheat the oven broiler.
Spread the pork out evenly on a broiler-safe, foil-lined pan.
Place the pan on the middle rack and broil until the top of the meat is well-browned and the edges are crispy. About 5 minutes.
Use a spatula to flip the pieces of meat and broil the other side until the meat is crispy and browned as well.
Serve with tortillas and your favorite toppings.

Notes

The original recipe gave a cooking time of two hours in the oven. My meat needed an additional 45 minutes to be tender enough.

Nutrition information is an estimate only.

Nutrition