I’ve done a fair amount of hunting for the perfect carnitas recipes throughout the years. I’m not sure what’s so hard about getting a great recipe for carnitas, but everything I tried came out mushy or flavorless or one-note or too spicy or too fatty and I was frustrated.
In a last-ditch attempt, I checked my cooking bible, Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook, to see if they had a carnitas recipe. And they did, but honestly, after all my unfortunate carnitas experiences, I was nervous. See, the ingredients they used really weren’t all that different than the other recipes I’d tried.
As I picked a piece of flavorful, crispy meat off the pan, I felt all sorts of guilt for my crisis of faith–they had not failed me.
As I’ve made it again and again, I’ve tweaked a few things here and there (I added a little red wine vinegar to brighten it up a little and a few cloves of garlic because I’m Kate and that’s what I do) and it’s become one of our family’s favorite meals.
Ingredient Notes
- Classic Flavors – You’ll need a white or yellow onion, some fresh garlic, fresh lime juice, red wine vinegar, dry oregano, ground cumin, bay leaves, salt and pepper, and an orange.
- Pork – You’ll also need 3 1/2 – 4 pounds of boneless pork butt roast (sometimes called boneless pork shoulder or boneless picnic roast).
Instructions
- To start, place the oven rack in the lower middle position and preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Now, pork shoulder can be pretty fatty, and that fat’s going to come into play later. But I still like to trim the pork of excess fat (mostly the big globs on the outside) before I cut it into 2″ chunks.
- Place the pork in a heavy lidded pot like a Dutch oven. Add enough water to cover the pork and then add onion, garlic, lime juice, red wine vinegar, oregano, cumin, bay leaves, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, and the juice from the orange.
- After squeezing the juice from the orange, toss the rinds into the pork mixture and stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cover the pot and transfer to the oven. Cook for about 2 hours or until the pork falls apart when poked with a fork.
- When the pork is fork-tender, remove the pot from the oven. Remove the orange rinds, onion, and bay leaves. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pork from the liquid to the foil-lined baking sheet. It’s pretty much not appetizing at ALL. Have no fear.
- Return the pot to the stovetop and bring the liquid to a boil over high heat. Boil for 8-15 minutes (longer or shorter if necessary) until the liquid is thickened and glaze-y and, when stirred, the spoon leaves a trail in the liquid (you should have about 1 cup of liquid).
- Use your fingers to pull apart the pork pieces, discarding any particularly fatty pieces (or removing the fat from them). Drizzle with the cooking liquid.
- Turn your oven broiler on high and place the pork in the oven for 5-8 minutes or until the pork starts to brown and the edges become crispy. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and use a spatula to flip the pork. Return to the oven for another 5-8 minutes, broiling until the pork is browned and crispy (but not charred, unless that’s your thing). Mine got a little blacker than I planned on, but it was still delicious.
- Serve in warmed tortillas with desired toppings. Makes about 12 servings.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I make this ahead of time? Yes! Cook the pork one day, and make your sauce. Store separately and then combine and broil when ready to eat.
- Can I make this a freezer meal? While I have not personally frozen this pork, slow cooked meats tend to freeze pretty well. I would recommend cooking the carnitas all the way through as instructed and then freezing in food saver bags with as much air removed as possible.
Serving Suggestions
- Alongside Lime-Cilantro Rice with Pineapple and a grilled veggie
- In warmed corn or Flour Tortillas with red onion, avocado, cilantro, and cotija.
Did You Make This?
I’d love to hear from you! Snap a picture and tag me on Instagram, then come back and give this recipe a rating!
Print Carnitas {Mexican Pulled Pork}
- Total Time: 2 hours 35 minutes
- Yield: Serves 12
Ingredients
3 1/2–4 pounds boneless pork butt roast (sometimes called boneless pork shoulder or boneless picnic roast)
2+ cups water (enough to cover the pork in the pot)
1 white or yellow onion, peeled and halved
4–6 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
2 tablespoons lime juice (about 1 lime)
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dry oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 bay leaves salt and pepper
1 orange
For serving: Small corn or flour tortillas, grated cheese (I like cotija cheese), pico de gallo, mango pico de gallo, mint-pineapple pico de gallo, guacamole, sliced avocado, sliced white onion, sprigs of cilantro, fresh lime wedges, etc.
Instructions
- Place the oven rack in the lower middle position and preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
- Trim the pork of excess fat and cut into 2″ chunks. Place the pork in a heavy lidded pot like a Dutch oven. Add enough water to cover the pork and then add onion, garlic, lime juice, red wine vinegar, oregano, cumin, bay leaves, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, and the juice from the orange. After squeezing the juice from the orange, toss the rinds into the pork mixture and stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
- Cover the pot and transfer to the oven. Cook for about 2 hours or until the pork falls apart when poked with a fork. When the pork is fork-tender, remove the pot from the oven.
- Remove the orange rinds, onion, and bay leaves. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pork from the liquid to the foil-lined baking sheet. Set aside.
- Return the pot to the stovetop and bring the liquid to a boil over high heat. Boil for 8-15 minutes (longer or shorter if necessary) until the liquid is thickened and glaze-y and, when stirred, the spoon leaves a trail in the liquid (you should have about 1 cup of liquid).
- Use your fingers to pull apart the pork pieces, discarding any particularly fatty pieces (or removing the fat from them). Drizzle with the cooking liquid. Turn your oven broiler on high and place the pork in the oven for 5-8 minutes or until the pork starts to brown and the edges become crispy.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and use a spatula to flip the pork. Return to the oven for another 5-8 minutes, broiling until the pork is browned and crispy (but not charred, unless that’s your thing). Serve in warmed tortillas with desired toppings.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
- Category: Main Dishes
- Method: Stovetop
Questions & Reviews
This is delicious and the glaze is AWESOME!!! Thank you for sharing it!!!
BOOM! Mind…blown. This carnitas recipe is amazing! Thanks for all you do, Ladies!!
This has been a long time favorite recipe. Tonight I tried it in the instant pot. Yum!!! I thought the flavors were a lot more intense and it turned out great in half the time!!!
This turned out very tender, but not very flavorful 🙁 Perhaps it needed more orange or lime, I don’t know. Maybe my fruits weren’t very acidic because they’re not in season. More salt, for sure. The good thing is that I can always squeeze a little extra orange/lime mixture over the carnitas before putting them under the broiler. I think that’ll help. Either way, they’re pretty good, but I have had better. Next time I’ll try it in the pressure cooker. That seems to ramp up flavors.
I’ve used this recipe at least a dozen times. Usually with a whole butt which weighs more than 3 lbs after boning. I increase both the citrus content and red wine vinegar as well as garlic and onions. you can never use too much garlic in this recipe. Finishing it under the broiler as directed is absolutely necessary, giving it a nice crust. In a taco, usually soft, or over rice is an excellent dinner. Ive tried other carnitas recipes, but I’ve found this one to be the one I like most by far.
I wanted to thank you again for this recipe. Whenever I’m too sick to manage the house we always make it because it’s so easy and everyone loves it. My teens even know it by heart so they can pitch in and prepare a great meal without much fuss.
My kids are finicky eaters and they loved it. My wife and I lived in San Diego for three years and she’s kind for saying it was the best she ever had. I loved it but I have to say the Tortilla Salsa Market on West Chase Blvd in El Cajon has the absolutely best Carnitas I have ever had. If only I could get their recipe.
Wow – having a Mexican fiesta for my family and just made this recipe. First time ever. Just fantastic. Cannot wait to serve it. Thank you.
I just wanted to know about the original recipe in the “Our Best Bites” cookbook in regards to the salsa. Are talking like a bottled salsa such as Pace or something else. Just wanted to get the recipe right!
the broiling step technically makes it al pastor.
i do my Carnitas in a pressure cooker. Put the roast in a stainless bowl so it sits in all the pork fat as it cooks, with 2 bay leaves, salt, pepper 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp dark chili powder. 3 lb roast done in about 2.5 hours.
Mash it up in the bowl and serve it right from the bowl to the tortillas dripping with pig fat.. the pig fat in the bowl will stay hot for about 1.5/2 hours perfect for serving.
I made these yesterday (with some minor adjustments. I was out of Bay so omitted it. I didn’t have an orange, but I did have fresh squeezed OJ so I added about a 1/4 cup of that. I also added 6 smashed cloves of garlic & some paprika. My husband pretty much thinks everything in the world needs to be doused in hot sauce but he gobbled this up and asked for it again ASAP. This will be a new regular for us. Thank you so much!
I tryed this today and didn’t like it… I think I messed up not with the roast but with the ingredients it just didn’t taste right the meat was perfect just everything else was not.
wow – we must think alike! I made this on Sunday, but didn’t broil until last night (Tuesday) It was absolutely perfect. Great for a make ahead week night meal. While the meat was broiling I quickly made a salsa fresco and guacamole.
This recipe is a KEEPER! I doubled the recipe and followed the exact directions, and it came out perfectly. I want to mention that it is okay to delay the broiling until before you are ready to serve. I shredded the pork by hand into a container the morning before and kept it in the fridge. I put the reduction into a mason jar and set aside. About 30 minutes before I was ready to serve, I broiled the meat in the juices as instructed. I used the corn tortillas from Trader Joes and put them over the open flame on our stove top and flipped with tongs. I covered with a kitchen towel to stay warm. I served with crumbled Mexican cheese, homemade tomatillo salsa and lime wedges. I loved the idea of boiling the meat first so that meal was much leaner. I also enjoyed the citrus accents. Thank you!!!
I’ve made this several times, and it always gets rave reviews. It’s on the menu for our Memorial Day gathering tomorrow.
Wow, this is so good. I left mine stove top vs putting in oven , then moved it to the pan for broiling. Very good , tender and flavorful. I did not have the vinegar so that was omitted. Still yummy!
I just made this for my annual Cinco De Mayo celebration, and I have to say, I don’t think we could have gotten a better meal at any Mexican restaurant. I followed the recipe exactly and even doubled it with no problems, and I’m glad I did! I woke up this morning looking forward to Carnitas for breakfast!