Pork Carnitas

Crispy, tender, and juicy Pork Carnitas have been one of my family’s favorite (and most frequent) meals for over ten years now. This is one of those recipes I love because it looks super impressive, but the actual work takes less than 30 minutes. It’s easier than you think.

Carnitas are hard to resist when they first come out from the broiler, juicy and tender with all those glorious crispy bits. But they’re even better as an ingredient, piled into street tacos or burritos. I’ve used this meat in countless meals. I even have a slow cooker pork carnitas recipe. But, no matter how I serve them, I always find myself stealing bites along the way!

Ingredients and Substitutions

The Meat – I use a 3-4 lb boneless pork shoulder or butt roast for this recipe. But, if using a bone-in cut of meat, it needs to be 1-2 lbs heavier.

Onion – Some other recipes don’t include onions, but I find that this aromatic makes a wonderful difference. I use a white or yellow onion here.

Lime Juice – I add 2 tablespoons of fresh squeezed lime juice. This is not a traditional ingredient, but I have found that the higher acidity helps this recipe achieve those perfect bites of melt in your mouth pork. 

Oranges – As with traditional recipes, I include the juice and spent halves of 4 clementines. You can also swap these for 1-2 large oranges.

Water – I use water in this recipe instead of the traditional lard. The extra liquid helps with the reduction process on the stove.

Bay Leaves – I find that adding dried bay leaves to the pot while simmering the pork adds a very subtle earthy note to the meat and helps balance the other flavors nicely.

Seasonings – In my opinion, including a bit of cumin and oregano enhances the flavor of the meat. And, I always use kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper in my cooking.

How to Make Pork Carnitas

Warming the Oven: I preheat the oven to 300°F.

Prepping the Ingredients: While the oven heats up, I cut the pork into 2-3″ chunks. They don’t need to be perfectly uniform. I also peel, halve, and trim the ends off the onion. 

Combining the Ingredients: I place all the ingredients except for the oranges into a large Dutch oven with an oven-safe lid.

Juicing the Oranges: I halve the oranges and squeeze them by hand into the pot. Then, I place the spent halves around the roast.

Cooking the Meat: Setting the pot over medium-high heat on the stove, I bring the contents to a steady simmer. Then, I cover the pot and transfer it to the oven to cook for about two hours.

Checking Doneness: I use a fork or tongs to test the tenderness of the meat after two hours in the oven. If it’s not falling apart, I let it continue cooking and check again in 15 minute increments.

Removing the Meat: I remove the pot from the oven, then set the oven to broil. 

Pulling Apart the Meat: Using a set of tongs, I remove the pork from the pot. Then, I carefully break it apart into bite-sized chunks on a large baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.

Reducing Liquids the Final Broil

Straining the Liquid: After straining the remaining contents of the pot, I keep only the liquid. Everything else gets discarded.

Reducing the Liquid: I place the pot on the stove over medium high heat to boil it down for 10-20 minutes, until the liquid is thick and syrup-like.

Coating the Meat: I transfer the meat to the pot of reduced liquid, then gently stir to ensure it is completely coated.

Crisping the Carnitas: I spread the bites of coated pork out across the baking sheet and place them under the broiler for up to 8 minutes, until golden brown and crispy on the edges. 

Flipping the Meat: Once the meat has caramelized and crisped up a bit, I use a spatula or the tongs to flip the pork over to broil for another 6-8 minutes.

Serving the Meat: When the edges have caramelized a second time, I pull the sheet pan out of the oven. It’s now ready to serve!

Serving Suggestions

This delicious meat is so incredibly versatile. I serve it on top of a carnitas salad bowl, piled high in carnitas street tacos, and even with eggs and potatoes in a carnitas breakfast skillet.

And, pork carnitas goes well with every side dish you could want in a homemade Mexican meal. We enjoy it with chipotle lime rice and Mexican street corn dip. My boys like to drizzle it with homemade queso blanco dip. Then, if I’m feeling fancy, I whip up a batch of arroz con leche for dessert.

Make Ahead & Storage

Make Ahead: Absolutely! This is a terrific recipe to make in advance.

How to Store: I allow the meat to cool, then store it in an airtight container. It will keep for several days in the fridge. If I am lucky enough to have a lot of leftovers, I also portion some of it out into freezer-safe bags where it will keep for several weeks.

How to Reheat: To warm the leftovers back up, I recommend heating the carnitas in a skillet on the stove. This helps recreate the crispy edges that I think make this meat so incredible.

More Pork Recipes

• Balsamic Pork Chops
• Green Chile Pulled Pork
• Cheesy Pulled Pork Enchiladas

Frequently Asked Questions

recipe slightly adapted from and with thanks to Cooks Illustrated via My Kitchen Escapades {originally posted 12/15/12 – recipe notes and photos updated 1/5/26}