These Crispy Pork Carnitas are a longtime reader favorite and SO easy to make. The pork gently braises for hours in a Dutch Oven or Slow Cooker until fork-tender then finishes under the broiler until crispy. All you need are tacos and your favorite toppings. My favorite all-purpose recipe for meal prep, hosting, or gifting!
These Carnitas are the Perfect Recipe To Make When You Need to Hit the Easy Button on Dinner
Every time I make this pork carnitas recipe, I’m like, why don’t I make this more?! It’s a staple recipe that checks all the boxes: easy to make (with a hands-off braise and quick broil!), juicy and flavorful (thanks to a simple braising liquid!), and great for enjoying whichever way you please.
Since it’s so versatile, it’s also one of my favorite recipes to meal prep for the week, make for a crowd, or deliver to a friend who just had a baby or needs a comforting meal. It’s the perfect base for tacos, rice bowls, burritos, quesadillas, salads…pretty much anything!
Just let the oven do the work for a few hours, and you’ll have the absolute BEST tender shredded pork with crispy edges. Trust me, you’ll find yourself making this recipe over and over again.
Key Ingredients
The best meat for making carnitas is boneless pork shoulder, often called “Boston butt.” I prefer using boneless pork because you can cut it into large chunks for easy, even searing. You’ll need about 2 ½ pounds for this recipe, but if your pork shoulder is bigger, there’s no harm in having leftovers!
The key to amazing pork carnitas is a flavorful braising liquid that infuses the meat as it cooks. I build the liquid with rich chicken broth, orange juice for a little sweetness, lime juice for brightness, thinly sliced onions, smashed garlic cloves, dried bay leaves, and simple spices like cumin, dried oregano, and paprika.
How to Make the Best Pork Carnitas
This recipe starts in a heavy-bottomed pot like a Dutch oven, braising the pork low and slow until it’s tender enough to shred. Then the pork finishes on a sheet pan under the broiler for those irresistibly crispy edges signature to carnitas.
Step 1: Sear the Pork. The trick to the best braised carnitas is to sear the pork first. Do not skip this step!! Browning adds a deep, rich flavor, and you can totally taste the difference. Season the pork with salt, then sear each piece of pork in your braising pot until the sides are golden brown.
Step 2: Build the braising liquid. Add the orange juice, lime juice, chicken broth, and spices to the pot, then cook the pork in a 300 degree F oven for 3 hours. The low, slow heat gently breaks down the fat and tenderizes the meat until it falls apart. You can also use your Slow Cooker if you prefer not to have your oven on, but it will take longer – about 4-6 hours on high.
Step 3: Shred and broil until crispy. Once the pork is tender, move it from the pot or slow cooker to a sheet pan. Use two forks to shred the pork, pour the braising liquid back over the meat so it doesn’t dry out, then broil the carnitas in the oven until browned and crispy.
Serving Suggestions
The most classic way to serve pork carnitas is in a taco with quick pickled onions for a little crunch and a creamy guacamole. I also love making this recipe for burrito bowls with cilantro lime rice and black beans.
But you can keep going from there! These pork carnitas also make great quesadillas or nachos with your favorite melty cheese, breakfast tacos with scrambled eggs, or a healthy green salad with crunchy, cooling veggies like cabbage, tomatoes, corn, and avocado.
I hope you give these Crispy Pork Carnitas a try! Leave a comment with a star rating below. You can also snap a photo & tag @allthehealthythings on INSTAGRAM. Your reviews and ratings help support All the Healthy Things and make it possible for me to continue to create the recipes you trust and love.
Print
Oven Braised Pork Carnitas with Crispy Edges
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Total Time: 3 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stove Top / Oven
- Cuisine: Mexican
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
These Crispy Pork Carnitas are a longtime reader favorite and SO easy to make. The pork gently braises for hours in a Dutch Oven or Slow Cooker until fork-tender then finishes under the broiler until crispy. All you need are tacos and your favorite toppings. My favorite all-purpose recipe for meal prep, hosting, or gifting!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 2.5 pounds pork shoulder, cut into large chunks
- 6 cloves fresh garlic
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 3/4 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 1 large white onion, sliced
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1/2 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
- Heat a dutch oven or large skillet over medium-high heat. While the dutch oven is heating, sprinkle the pork pieces liberally with salt. Once the dutch oven is hot, add in a tablespoon of avocado oil and then add the pork. Sear for 4-5 minutes on each side until browned.
- Add the garlic, onion, orange juice, lime juice, chicken broth, salt, bay leaves, and spices to the pot. Stir until well combined, cover with a lid, and the braise for 3 hours at 300 degrees.
- If you are using a slow cooker, once the pork has been seared, remove it from the pan and add it to the slow cooker. Next, add the remaining ingredients and cook the carnitas on high for 4-6 hours or until the meat is fork tender.
- Once the pork is tender and shreddable, remove it from your dutch oven or slow cooker and transfer the meat to a sheet pan. Use two forks to shred the meat and then pour the remaining braising liquid back over the meat. Broil the carnitas in the oven on high until browned and crispy. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Store any leftover carnitas in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 to 4 days.
Freeze the carnitas for up to 6 months! When you’re ready to eat, thaw the them in the fridge overnight before reheating.
Reheat any the carnitas in a hot skillet until crispy and warmed through. I find the skillet is the best way to reheat the carnitas but the microwave will also work!
Recipe by: Ashlea Carver / All the Healthy Things | Photography by: Eat Love Eat
This recipe is so great! We added BBQ sauce for pulled pork sandwiches and it was a big hit with the whole family! Kids loved it and even my husband who normally doesn’t like shredded meat said it was great and I needed to make it again!
Yay! Love haring that, Emily! The addition of the BBQ sauce sounds amazing! Thanks for sharing!
A great recipe that is both easy and so much flavor. I loved the crispy bits from broiling. Will be going in the permanent rotation. The flavor combo in the marinade is just perfect for the pork.
That’s the best, Jennifer! So glad this has become a regular favorite for you! Thanks for sharing!
Wow! I usually don’t write reviews but I am sitting here, trying steaming hot carnitas straight out of the oven on a quick quesadilla and my mouth is watering. This is so good! And surprisingly easy! I have never made carnitas from scratch and assumed it would be a lot of work, but this was the easiest recipe! I followed the recipe exactly (except for adding a touch more seasoning when I seared the pork). The only recommendation I have would be to include what to do with the onion (cut into large chunks) and garlic (smash and leave whole) in the instructions. I had to scroll down to the comments to find and also referenced the picture to make sure I was doing this right. Will definitely be following your advice to have with eggs and on salad…if it even lasts that long to meal prep with. 5 stars!
Made for taco night. My grandson loved them so much he had 4 tacos and leftovers for lunch today! Thanks for the great recipe
That’s the best! I’m so glad you all enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for sharing, Judy!
Followed the recipe exactly as written. DELICIOUS! I made mine in the oven. Used in enchiladas for the kids and ate it as is with vegetables for me and my husband.
Such a great idea, Johnna! So glad everyone loved the recipe! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review!
Wow! These were fantastic! I loved how tender the meat turned out. Flavors, we’re on point and I have leftovers too! Thank you 💛
You’re so welcome, Heather! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review!
Thank you for this delicious recipe! I was just wondering if I should have drained some of the fat after browning the pork chunks. There was quite a bit of fat in the braising liquid. Also, I couldn’t quite crisp the pork under broiler…should I have only put some (not all) of the braising liquid on top of the shredded pork before broiling? Please let me know what you think
Hi Cristina, You can drain some of the fat after browning if you prefer, but you don’t have to! If you would like, you could try less liquid next time before broiling and see how that works!
This has become a trusted go to and what I love is that we can do SO many things with the end product: spice it up for tacos or bowls, add some bbq sauce to it so much. The meat is flavorful and delicious. It never disappoints!
I’m so happy you loved the recipe, Shunta! Love how you’re using it for so many different meals. Thanks for taking the time to leave a review!
Do you chop the onion and garlic?
Hi, Alexa! I smash the garlic and cut the onion into large chunks. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
This dish is one of my all time favourite!
I find it extremely hard not to pile my plate high and not share with my family 🙈
It’s the best way to cook pork…. flavoursome, tender and everyone LOVES it ❤️
So happy to hear that, Keeley! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review!
These are so flavorful and simple to make. My whole family loved these!
Thanks, Carrie! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
These are soooo good and so easy to make! This was the first recipe I tried from the site and I can’t wait to try more.
Thanks for sharing, Valerie! I’m so glad you loved it!
Wow this was amazing!! Pork has always seemed overwhelming to me- but this recipe was so easy and wonderful! I used a bone in pork butt and it was about double the size you called for so I doubled everything. This will definitely be on repeat in our house! I also can’t wait to eat the leftovers all week!
We love doubling this recipe, too, Sam! Thanks for sharing!
This recipe is amazing!!! It turned out so tender and flavorful; my family devoured it! We ate it with the cilantro lime rice and they were an awesome combo!
I’m so happy y’all loved it!
Thanks so much for this! First timer and it was so good. Broiling at the end a must. We made way too much so wondering if it can be frozen?
Yes! you can definitely freeze the carnitas and we do it all the time. I just reheat them in a skillet!
Simply the BEST carnitas I have ever made. Highly recommend the Dutch oven to really caramelize everything and send these flavors through the roof. Make sure you save the onions and mix them into your shredded meat – it’s just crazy how delicious this is! I will never need another carnitas recipe again, this is a keeper!
I’m so happy you loved the recipe, Lauren! Thanks for sharing!
These carnitas are delicious and easy to make! I actually used an instant pot and just pressure cooked the meat for about 40 minutes, it turned out great. I would definitely recommend trying these!
Thank you so much for sharing, Clare! So glad you loved the recipe!