Slow cooked pork made simple. Carnitas is the Mexican version of pulled pork. A delicious version at that. One of my favorite ways to cook pork! Tender pork, simply seasoned and slow cooked to perfection. The best tacos, enchiladas, sopes, tostadas and more are made with carnitas. The best part? There is very little prep work involved to produce this delicious slow cooked meat.

I have a huge love for Mexican Cuisine. The authentic dishes that I have experienced have been some of my favorites I have ever eaten. The first time I had the pleasure to experience carnitas was from an authentic Mexican restaurant in my town. I had carnitas sopes, and fell in love. The simplicity of the seasonings really allows the pork flavor to shine. Which is probably the best part of carnitas, actually being able to taste the pork and not have it covered in a ton of spices.

Don’t get me wrong, I love spices but this way of cooking the meat and allowing the pork flavor to come through is something special. Since then, I have had carnitas in tacos, enchiladas, and on top of tostadas. My favorite way to eat carnitas is still on sopes.

Traditional carnitas is made by slow cooking the meat in lard. For this recipe the meat is slow cooked in a little water first then towards the end of the cook time half of the liquid is removed (and reserved) and the rest is allowed to evaporate off leaving the rendered pork fat to crisp up the meat. I must say, the meat turns out just as good when prepared this way. In the picture below you can see that the cooking liquid has evaporate after simmering the meat with the lid off for 1 hour. All that is left in the bottom of the pot is the fat that has been rendered off of the meat.

I have seen and tried a few different methods for crisping up the pork. One popular method is to shred the pork then lay it out on a sheet tray and place in a hot oven to crisp up the pork.

Another method is to add oil to a skillet and place the shredded pork in it to crisp up. I like to allow the pork to crisp up as it finishes cooking, shred it, then add it back to the pot with the rendered fat and crisp it up some more. Using some of the reserved cooking liquid to add moisture back to the crisp meat is something I also like to do. It has so much flavor, why waste it?

Ingredients Needed to Make Carnitas

• Pork Butt-the fattier the better. More fat means more flavor.
• Onion
• Garlic cloves
• Salt
• Pepper
• Olive Oil
• Water

Just a few simple ingredients are needed to make this delicious recipe. While simple ingredients are used, the meat comes out tasting very flavorful. Some other common ingredients that are used in the cooking process to add flavor are:

• Mexican Coca-Cola
• Fresh Orange Juice
• Bay Leaves
• Mexican Oregano

What to Make with Carnitas?

Honestly carnitas can be served as is alongside your favorite dishes like spanish rice and refried beans. Here are a few ideas of dishes you can make with carnitas.

• Tacos
• Tostadas
• Sopes
• Burritos
• Nachos
• Quesadillas
• Tamales
• Taquitos
• Burrito Bowls

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4 from 1 vote

Carnitas

Simply seasoned pork that is slow cooked to produce tender, juicy and crispy carnitas with great flavor!  Perfect for tacos, tostadas and more.

Author: Sky Pilgreen Cooking Method: Pan searing, Simmering Courses: Dinner, Lunch Recipe Keys: C carnitas P pork

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Prep Time 15 mins Cook Time 2 hrs Total Time 2 hrs 15 mins Difficulty: Beginner Servings: 6

Ingredients

Servings

• 3 lb pork butt (cut into 2" pieces)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 Teaspoon pepper
• 2 tsp salt
• ¹⁄₂ Large onion (large diced)
• 6 Cloves garlic (crushed)
• As Needed water

Tacos

• 12 soft corn tortillas (or flour)
• As Needed diced onion (or pickled)
• As Needed fresh salsa (like pico de gallo)
• As Needed chopped cilantro
• As Needed lime wedges
• As Needed cheese (like crumbled queso fresco or cotija)

Instructions

1. Season the pork pieces all over with the salt and pepper.  

2. Heat a large dutch oven or pot over medium high heat.  Add in the olive oil and begin browning the meat, working in batches if needed.  Do not over crowd the pan, the meat will steam instead of brown.

3. Once all of the meat is browned add in the onion and garlic.  Cover the meat 1/2 way with water.  Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 1 1/2 hours.

4. After 1 1/2 hours, remove the lid and carefully ladle out 1/2 of the cooking liquid.  Reserve for later use.

5. Continue simmering (uncovered) on low for 1 hour or until the meat is tender and the liquid has evaporated.  The fat that has rendered from the meat should be left.

6. Remove the pork and shred.  Add back to the pot and turn the heat to medium.  If there is not enough rendered fat left in the pot, you can add in oil as needed. 

     Crisp up the pork until it reaches your desired crispness.  Add some of the cooking liquid for additional flavor when serving.  Enjoy!