Slow Cooker Carnitas Recipe

Slow Cooker Carnitas. An easy, flavorful, healthy meal made in the crockpot. Tender pork served in your favorite tortilla and topped with a homemade salsa? Gimme! showmetheyummy.com #porkcarnitas #slowcookercarnitas

5 from 5 votes

These Slow Cooker Carnitas are packed with juicy, tender pork, zesty citrus, and bold spices that'll have everyone coming back for seconds.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time8 hrs

Total Time8 hrs 10 mins

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: American, Mexican

Keyword: crockpot pork, easy carnitas, easy mexican dinner, easy pork dinner, easy taco dinner, mexican pork, pork carnitas recipe, shredded mexican pork, slow cooker pork

Servings: people

Calories: 382kcal

Author: Jennifer Debth

Equipment

Crockpot

Ingredients

1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt more to less to taste (I use about 1 teaspoon)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds boneless pork shoulder
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice about 1/2 orange
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice about 1 lime
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon about 1 lemon
1/4 cup soy sauce use a gluten-free variety, if necessary
2 tablespoons white vinegar

Serving Suggestions

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Grease a 6 quart crockpot with cooking spray. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together smoked paprika, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, salt, and pepper then stir in the oil.
Rub the spice mixture to evenly coat all sides of the pork, then set aside.
Whisk together orange juice, lime juice, lemon juice, soy sauce, and vinegar, then pour half into the prepared crockpot.
Place the pork in the crockpot and pour the rest of the juice over the top.
Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours or HIGH for 4 hours.
Remove the pork from the crockpot and set aside while you skim excess fat off the liquid (optional), shred the pork using two forks, broil or pan-fry (optional) stir back into the juices (if you'd like or just drizzle the juices over the pork later), then serve as desired and enjoy!
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Notes

Nutritional information is for 1/4th of the carnitas mixture, but depending on what you're using it for (salads, tacos, nachos, etc) - it could definitely serve more than 4!

Nutrition