• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • FAQS
  • Privacy Policy

Rants From My Crazy Kitchen logo

  • About
  • Recipe Index
  • Contact Me/Work With Me!
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • About
  • Recipe Index
  • Contact Me/Work With Me!
  • Follow Me!

    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Recipes

    September 19, 2016

    Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    These Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas are bursting with flavor! Pork shoulder simmered with the perfect blend of seasonings, onions, and garlic simmered in orange juice and lime juice, then quickly fried. You won't want to wait for Taco Tuesday for these!

    These Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas are bursting with flavor! Pork shoulder simmered with the perfect blend of seasonings, onions, and garlic simmered in orange juice and lime juice, then quickly fried.

     

    Our daughter has been really into doing Taco Tuesday every week. Amanda always wants the crispy taco shells, so if I use flour tortillas I just give her tortilla chips instead. Her "tacos" are always made like nachos.  Since my husbands heart attack I don't normally make ground beef tacos anymore, or if I do I use 97% extra lean ground beef. Instead, I switch off between ground chicken, turkey, pork, or more rarely fish. Sometimes I get tired of regular tacos, though, and that's where Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas come in. The flavor of the orange juice and lime juice stands out, but isn't overpowering. It isn't really spicy, either, at least not to me. Most importantly, I love that they are easy to prepare!

    Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas

    Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas

     

    I had corn tortillas that I wanted to crisp up, but I didn't want to add a lot of fat, so I had the idea to spray each tortilla with cooking spray, sprinkle them lightly with salt, and fry them until they were golden. I was still able to bend them without breaking, they were lightly crispy, not too greasy, perfect!

    These Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas are bursting with flavor! Pork shoulder simmered with the perfect blend of seasonings, onions, and garlic simmered in orange juice and lime juice, then quickly fried. You won't want to wait for Taco Tuesday for these!

     

    The pork cooks in the slow cooker for on high for 4-5 hours, then take it out and shred it, put it back in the slow cooker with the juices and seasonings for half an hour more. After that, the pork is removed from the slow cooker with a slotted spoon and fried in a small amount of oil until slightly crisp. The result is melt-in-your-mouth, flavorful pork! Top with your favorite taco toppings; I used spinach because we were out of lettuce (and we like it!), diced tomatoes, diced avocado, and shredded Mexican cheese.

    This recipe is adapted from The Food Network.

    Print Recipe
    No ratings yet

    Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas

    These Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas are bursting with flavor! Pork shoulder simmered with the perfect blend of seasonings, onions, and garlic simmered in orange juice and lime juice, then quickly fried. You won't want to wait for Taco Tuesday for these!
    Prep Time10 mins
    Cook Time5 hrs 40 mins
    Total Time5 hrs 50 mins
    Course: Entree
    Cuisine: Mexican/American
    Servings: 12
    Calories: 216kcal
    Author: Bernadette Martin

    Ingredients

    • 3 ½ pound bone-in pork shoulder (or 3 pound boneless, trimmed of excess outer fat)
    • 1 large yellow onion, chopped
    • 3 cloves garlic, minced
    • 1 jalapeno, membrane and seeds removed, minced
    • 1 cup no pulp orange juice
    • ½ cup lime juice
    • 2 teaspoons dried cilantro
    • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
    • 1 teaspoon chili powder
    • 1 teaspoon paprika
    • 1 teaspoon cumin
    • ¼ teaspoon ground red cayenne pepper
    • 2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
    • 12 corn tortillas
    • vegetable cooking spray
    • salt

    Instructions

    • Place the pork shoulder in the slow cooker and top with the chopped onion, garlic and jalapeno. In a two cup measuring cup or a bowl combine the orange juice, lime juice, cilantro, oregano, chili powder, paprika, cumin, and cayenne pepper; mix well. Pour the mixture over the pork shoulder, cover and cook on HIGH for 4-5 hours, or on LOW for 8 hours.
    • Remove the pork from the slow cooker to a large cutting board and shred. Place back in the slow cooker, cover and cook for ½ hour more.
    • Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. With a slotted serving spoon, transfer just enough pork to the pan to cover the bottom. Press the pork into the oil and fry for about 2 minutes, Stir once, cook for about 1 more minute, or until the pork is slightly crisp. Serve on corn tortillas that have been sprayed with cooking oil, lightly salted and fried over medium high heat, one at a time, for two minutes on each side until golden and lightly crisp.

    Notes

    Leftovers may be frozen and then thawed in the refrigerator. Reheat in a saute pan with oil.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 216kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 54mg | Sodium: 77mg | Potassium: 407mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 220IU | Vitamin C: 16.4mg | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 1.7mg

     

     

    « Homemade Cayenne Pepper Sauce
    One Pot Turkey Cheeseburger Helper »
    232 shares
    • Facebook16
    • Twitter

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi everyone!
    Welcome to Rants From My Crazy Kitchen, where I share my favorite recipes and my thoughts on food, picky eaters, products, and restaurants. Join in the fun by subscribing to receive new posts as they are published. You can find out more about me by clicking on my picture. Enjoy!

    More about me →

    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

    Trending Recipes

    • Close up photo of Broccoli Cheddar Pasta Salad
      Broccoli Cheddar Pasta Salad (Walmart Copycat Recipe)
    • Photo of Creamy Cucumber Salad in a large white bowl on a wood table next to a black serving spoon
      Creamy Cucumber Salad
    • photo of a whole pot pie on a baking sheet on top of a wood table
      Chicken Pot Pie
    • Photo of 5 Ingredient Taco Soup in a white bowl topped with shredded cheese and sliced scallions along with a bowl of tortilla chips
      5 Ingredient Taco Soup

    Seasonal Favorites

    • photo of sliced brie on a platter surrounded by fruit
      Baked Brie With Apricot and Walnuts
    • close up photo of a filled and decorated cookie
      Salted Caramel Thumbprint Cookies
    • This Overnight Eggs Benedict Casserole with homemade Hollandaise sauce is perfect for Christmas morning or Sunday brunch. Just a few minutes of prep work the night before and you can have a delicious breakfast ready without any stress in the morning.
      Overnight Eggs Benedict Casserole
    • Slow Cooker Honey Ham

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    • ABOUT
    • RECIPES
    • CONTACT ME/WORK WITH ME!
    • FAQS
    • PRIVACY POLICY

    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

    Copyright © 2023 Rants From My Crazy Kitchen

    Enter your name and email address to subscribe by email
    Stay up to date on all the latest recipes, reviews, giveaways, and more for free!

    Your privacy is important! Please refer to Rants From My Crazy Kitchen's Privacy Policy for information how we use your information and protect your rights.

    232 shares
    232 shares