A simple recipe for delicious Crockpot Pork Carnitas! This Mexican classic comes together in no time using flavorful pork butt, spices, onion, oranges, and beer! With a special trick to get your carnitas tasting better than what you get at a restaurant! Perfect for filling tacos, burritos, quesadillas, and more!
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Let’s Make Easy Pork Carnitas in the Slow Cooker
The best recipes in my opinion are ones that are simple to make, delicious, and can be stretched into multiple meals AND THIS ONE DOES IT ALL!
These Crockpot Carnitas are:
- Easy to make. Basically a dump and go slow cooker recipe!
- Super flavorful, a recipe the WHOLE FAMILY will devour.
- It is a large recipe that keeps really well so it is perfect for stretching into multiple meals!
I love these Carnitas so much in fact that I am working on a whole recipe series of what to make with your Leftover Carnitas!
What you need to make Easy Crockpot Carnitas:
Equipment you need:
- Slow Cooker/Crockpot
- Standard Kitchen Tools (Cutting Board, Knife, Fork, Measuring Spoons)
- Oven
- Sheet Pan/Tray
Ingredients you need:
- Pork Butt: Around 4 pounds & preferably boneless, also called a Boston Butt. It is actually the cut of pork that comes from the upper part of the front shoulder. It is the cut of pork typically used for making pulled pork.
- Onion: Diced, a sweet, yellow, or white variety will work.
- Spices: Chipotle Chili Powder, Dried Oregano, Cumin, and Salt. NOTE: The Chipotle Chili Powder is different from just normal Chili powder, most big brands like McCormick Spices do carry the Chipotle variety, known to be more smoky and slightly more subtle.
- Orange: Just 1 orange, a navel variety works best but any standard size orange will work. You will be using the zest and the juice.
- Blue Moon Beer: Or similar beer, Blue Moon is a Belgian-style Witbier AKA a Wheat Ale, so look for something similar if you can’t find Blue Moon. You will just need one bottle for this recipe.
How to make Crockpot Carnitas Recipe:
Carefully cut the pork butt into 4 even pieces. Leave any fat pieces on, this adds to the flavor and the fat can be picked off when it is time to pull the pork. I cut the pork but into pieces to allow more flavor soak into the meat.
Transfer pork pieces to the crock. Add the diced onion, chipotle chili powder, oregano, cumin, and salt over top pork.
Zest entire orange over top the spices and juice the entire orange into the crockpot.
Now slowly pour the beer overtop the crockpot contents.
Cover the crockpot and set to LOW for 6 to 8 hours or HIGH for 4 hours. Cooking times will vary depending on size of meat and equipment used.
Once the pork is done in the crockpot (able to be easily pulled apart) there is one last step that is a game changer for making these carnitas better than a restaurant. You will shred the pork and then it will be crisped up in the oven.
So set your oven to BROIL. Transfer all the pork to a sheet pan. Pull/shread pork apart and spread over the entire sheet pan.
Measure out about 1/4 cup of the liquid from the crockpot and sprinkle evenly over the pulled pork.
Transfer to the middle rack of the oven and broil 5 to 6 minutes until the pork gets nice and crispy edges.
Serve immediately. Suggested serving, for delicious tacos serve with warm tortillas, queso fresco cheese, cilantro, and red onions.
If you like this recipe you might like:
- Slow Cooker Chipotle Pineapple Carnitas
- Crockpot Rotisserie Chicken
- Crockpot Clean Eating BBQ Pulled Chicken
- Slow Cooker Chicken Shawarma
- Crockpot Bolognese
Have Leftover Carnitas?? Here are some great recipe ideas on how to use up those leftovers:
Need Chipotle Chili Powder? Order some here:
Crockpot Carnitas
A simple recipe for delicious Crockpot Pork Carnitas! This Mexican classic comes together in no time using flavorful pork butt, spices, onion, oranges, and blue moon beer! With a special trick to get your carnitas tasting better than what you get at a restaurant! Perfect for filling tacos, burritos, quesadillas, and more!
Ingredients
- 4 pounds pork butt
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon chipotle chili powder
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 large orange
- 1 (12oz) Blue Moon or similar wheat beer
Instructions
- Carefully cut pork butt into 4 even pieces. Transfer pork pieces to the crock. Add onion, chipolte chili powder, oregano, cumin, and salt over top pork. Zest entire orange over top the spices and juice the entire orange into the crockpot. Slowly pour the beer overtop the crockpot contents. Cover the crockpot and set to LOW for 7 to 8 hours or HIGH for 4 hours.
- Set oven to BROIL. Once pork is done (able to be easily pulled apart) transfer all the pork to a sheet pan. Pull pork apart and spread over the entire sheet pan. Measure out about 1/4 cup of liquid from the crockpot and sprinkle evenly over the pulled pork. Transfer to the middle rack of the oven and broil 5 to 6 minutes until the pork gets nice and crispy edges.
- Serve immediately. Suggested serving, for delicious tacos serve with warm tortillas, queso fresco cheese, cilantro, and red onions.
Notes
Chipotle Chili Powder is different than plain Chili Powder, use Chipotle Chili Powder in this recipe.
If you skip broiling in the oven I do find that the carnitas are really wet and mushy which isn't great, so don't skip the broiling step!
While I highly suggest beer for this recipe, if you don't have beer in your house you can use broth instead.
The Pork Butt cut is also referred to as a Boston Butt, they are the same thing. This cut of meat sometimes will contain a bone, I recommend a boneless cut.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 632Total Fat: 43gSaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 23gCholesterol: 195mgSodium: 447mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 1gSugar: 3gProtein: 53g
Nutritional data is automated, final nutritional information will depend on ingredients used and any changes made.
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Hi, I made this last night and it turned out really nice. My question is what do you do with all the leftover liquid. I left mine in the fridge and skimmed off the grease this morning, but I’m wondering if I can use it for something. It seems a waste to chuck it.
I sent this two days ago but I never received a response 😢
@Douglas, Here’s what I did: Before crisping the meat, I strained the liquid and boiled it all down to about 1 cup. It has deep flavor. I pour that evenly over the shredded pork and THEN under the broiler. Delicious!
That is a great idea Laurie!
Tacos, burritos, nachos, enchiladas many yummy meals ahead ! My hubby made cilantro- lime rice for a side. We shredded the amount for dinner and pan fried it. You can freeze it for later. Thanks
Can I use a pork loin roast instead. It’s what I have available
If that is all you have available you could try it but it won’t turn out the same. Since the size and amount of fat in the pork tenderloin is so different from a butt/boston/shoulder cut it probably won’t work that well. You could certainly give it a try because this recipe does have quite a bit of liquid it will prevent the tenderloin from drying out but the result might not be exactly the same as if you used a pork butt. Hope that helps!
Hands down the BEST carnitas ever! This recipe is the BEST! So yummy and flavorful!
Thanks so much Dawn!! I appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment!
This looks so yummy! I only have an instapot instead of a crockpot though. I’m wondering if this will affect the recipe? I used the slow cook option on the instapot, but since the inside cylinder is narrower and higher than a traditional crockpot, the blue moon liquid doesn’t completely cover all the meat. Will this be a problem? Thanks!
I don’t think it should be a problem at all, as long as most of it is covered it should cook just fine!
Would love to try this but don’t have a crockpot. Could it be done in the oven maybe?
You could certainly try it! I would try it in a dutch oven or a covered roasting pan!
@Lauren Schmidt, Thank!!
Think it would
be fine switching up beef for pork?
You could try it! Let me know how it goes if you do
This. looks amazing! I am making this today. I could only find an almost 8 lb roast, so Idoubled up on the spices and beer-hope it works!
This was soooooo good!! Will be making again! Thank you for sharing!!
I am so glad you enjoyed it!!
This was one of the easiest recipes and most delicious at the same time! I was very impressed! My family was too, even my mom who is an excellent cook!
Thanks so much Yolanda! It makes me so happy you enjoy it!
I only have an amber beer , will that be okay?
Yes, it will work!
It was good. I think I would use a small orange next time and pass on the final step in the oven (family’s request). It only seemed to dry out the meat – adding back some of the sauce onto the meat would have been nicer and more moist in the wraps.