You know the feeling. You’re in the car on the way home from work and you start thinking about dinner… and how the thought of cooking a meal from scratch sounds like too much work. And there’s the Chipotle you are just about to pass by and wouldn’t that be so much easier than cooking something at home tonight…
Not if you have carnitas cooking in your slow cooker, just waiting for you to arrive home and assemble the most delicious tacos you have ever had in a mere 15 minutes! Healthier, tastier, cheaper, and much more satisfying than picking up Chipotle. Trust me.
Not a whole lot is better than a homemade carnitas taco, my friends. Not. A whole. Lot.
Confession time. There was a time when Zach and I first started dating that we ate out a lot. Nope. That’s an understatement. It was like every night. No joke. We had lots of excuses for our all-too-typical 20-something millennial behavior. Roommates with whom we shared the kitchen and didn’t want to disturb. We were tired and hungry and needed food NOW. We were in love and wanted to go on a bazillion dates. But most of all, we were working our butts off teaching long hours and didn’t know how to balance that with healthy home cooking.
We’ve come a long way, which is why I started this blog! To share with YOU, all you busy, hard-working people!
Back to the tacos.
Juicy and flavorful pulled pork is cooked in the slow cooker all day with jalapeno, onion, orange, and spices. When you get home, just remove the meat from the slow cooker and pull apart with two forks (this will be extremely easy, as the meat will be extremely tender from slow cooking all day).
Then comes the best part.
The pork is fried until the outsides are crispy, then piled high on a toasted corn tortilla with delicious fixings (I used avocado, sour cream, finely diced onions, cilantro, and hot sauce).
Thank goodness I made a ton of this (and I mean a TON. I have enough for two more meals in my freezer!*)
Now. If you want to, you can skip the frying part and simply have the pulled pork topped with the fixings in a taco (um, or in a salad? or in a burrito? OR IN A QUESADILLA?!). It will be extremely delicious, albeit less authentic. Alas, sometimes you must forego authenticity for convenience. Such a struggle.
Recipe below. Enjoy!
*I made a 6 lb pork shoulder because frankly, that was the smallest my grocery store had! This made enough for 3 meals for four people (8 tacos/meal). To freeze the leftovers, put the pulled pork in an airtight container and cover with the juices from the slow cooker (there will be a lot of them!). When ready to eat, defrost and drain the liquid.
Slow Cooker Carnitas (pulled pork) Tacos
Equipment
Ingredients
For the carnitas:
- 2-3 pound pork shoulder
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 onion chopped
- 1 jalapeño pepper chopped (seeds removed for mild version)
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- juice and zest of one orange
For the tacos:
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil or canola oil
- 8 corn tortillas
- chopped cilantro, chopped onion, sour cream, salsa, hot sauce, avocado, etc. for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Pat the pork shoulder dry with a paper towel.
- Mix together the cumin (1 tablespoon), oregano (1 tablespoon), cayenne pepper (1/2 teaspoon), salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
- Rub pork with olive oil until coated, then rub the spice mixture all over the pork. Place in slow cooker.
- Mix together the onion, jalapeño, minced garlic, and orange zest. Spread on top of the pork.
- Squeeze the orange juice on top of the pork and place the orange rinds in the slow cooker.
- Cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-5 hours.
- When the pork is done cooking, take the meat out (careful- it will be very tender and will tend to fall apart!) and place on a large platter or dish. Pull meat apart with two forks.
- Heat the 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet and fry the pork until crispy.
- Meanwhile, toast corn tortillas over gas burners, in the oven, or in a skillet. Or, just microwave them for a few seconds to soften.
- Add pork to the tortillas and top with fixings.
Notes
- The provided nutrition information does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. Feel free to calculate it yourself using this calculator or by adding the recipe to Yummly.
Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and reflects one serving of the recipe (total servings indicated at top of recipe card). It does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
John
I have made this recipe now a half dozen times and it never fails to go over big. I am so happy to have found this and be able to add it to my rotation. My Wife requested it special for Mother’s Day.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Thank you so much! So happy you and your wife like this recipe! Tell her “Happy Mother’s Day” from me :-)
Edneia Bettencourt
Hi there, when ou wrote 2-3 pounds pork shoulder, did you mean one pork shoulder between 2-3 pounds or 6 pounds of meat total?
Elizabeth Lindemann
Oh great question! One pork shoulder, between 2-3 lbs ? but you could go more too, slow cookers are so easy to adjust the quantity like that!
Connie Mary
I am making a pork loin with traditional seasonings (salt, pepper, onion,garlic, bay leaf, soy sauce )in the crock pot. I chose one big enough to have a second meal which will be pork tacos. What is the best way to season the meat for tacos? Your ingredients sound delicious. Thanks.
Elizabeth
Yum- that pork loin sounds great! I’ve never used that cut for tacos, but here’s what I’d do. First, chop it up into very small pieces (I like super small pieces of meat in tacos). Heat up some oil in a skillet and add the pork, some smoked paprika a little garlic powder, and some cumin, plus a little cayenne if you like spicy. This is my go-to combination for Tex-Mex flavors. Stir to coat in all the spices. Taste and add salt and pepper if necessary. After the meat has crisped up a bit from cooking in the oil, you should be ready to go! Hope that helps :-)
Raquel F
My roommate and I made carnitas using your recipe, And OH MY GOODNESS they were amazing! We have made them 3 times in 2 months! Super yummy!
Elizabeth
Yayyy so glad you and your roommate liked them! I love how delicious AND inexpensive AND easy they are. Thanks for the comment :-)
Heather Edgar
I’m curious what you use for “fixings” in with the pork. Looks tasty.
Elizabeth
Thanks Heather! It’s in the ingredients list in parenthesis- chopped fresh cilantro, avocado, hot sauce, sour cream, or salsa. Sometimes if I’m feeling fancy, I’ll make a homemade guacamole :-)
Joan Devlin
Can’t wait to try this. Love using my slow cooker even though I am retired and have sufficient time to use the oven!
Elizabeth
There’s something about the slow cooker though that is SO stress-free, even if you have boatloads of time! Hope you like it :-)
Daisy
I used your recipe last night and everything turned out great. Also made my house smell amazing!! Thanks!!
Elizabeth
Woo hoo! So glad you liked it!
Angela
What do you think of replacing the zest and juice of the orange with lime? I’m trying to only use what I have on hand
Elizabeth
I think that’s an AWESOME idea! I’m all about substituting for things you need to use up. It will have a tangier and slightly less sweet flavor but it will be delicious. Let me know how it comes out!
Angela
I made your recipe last night but substituted lime for the orange and chilli powder for the cayenne pepper. It was delicious! Thank you
Elizabeth
Yay! So glad you liked it!
becky
Just to make sure I’m not missing something – the only liquid you’re using ins the OJ, right? I’m anxious to try this because it looks great but I don’t want to screw it up!
Elizabeth
That’s right! The meat will release a lot of liquid while it cooks and so will the onions, so no other liquid needed :) good luck, hope you like it!
Sydney
Do you think if I put the carnitas back in the slow cooker at a warming setting after the frying step that would adjust the taste? Or ruin the meat?
Elizabeth
Hm. I don’t think it would taste BAD, and it definitely wouldn’t ruin the meat! But I do think it will affect the texture a bit. The carnitas are nice and crispy right out of the frying pan, and are at their best then. They may get soggy or dry out too much if you keep them in the slow cooker for too long after- but I’m not positive about that. If you are going to do that, I would just make sure they don’t sit in the slow cooker for TOO long. But honestly, I’ve had pulled pork like this without frying it (I just shred it and put it back into the slow cooker) and it was fine! Just not crispy. So if you want, maybe try that option, so you don’t waste time frying it and then having it get soggy or dry out? Hope that was helpful- and let me know how it comes out if you try it!
Claudine Salmon
This was a helpful answer. I have never made these before. I had a pork loin in the freezer so it is in the crock right now! Do you freeze AFTER you fry the pork? ?
Elizabeth
I would freeze before frying, and fry it up after it’s defrosted right before serving. Hope you like it! :-)
Becky
I made these tonight and they were delicious! The only changes I made were to use boneless country-style ribs and to double the dry spices (since there was so much surface area to cover). I’ve tried several slow cooker pulled pork recipes and my family hasn’t been thrilled with any of them until now. These were a big hit! Flavorful, without being too spicy and frying the meat to crisp it up also added appeal. It made tons, so the leftovers will make tomorrow night’s dinner super easy! Thanks for a great recipe!
Elizabeth
I’m so happy you and your family liked this!! Love the idea of using ribs- I’ll have to try that :)
Mama B
Oh yes please. I love your addition of orange, and happen to have some pork butt in the freezer.
Elizabeth
Thanks so much! I hope you like it :-)
marla
The tacos look great!
Elizabeth
Thank you! :-)
Oriana | Mommyhood's Diary
We love carnitas!! I use to make a big batch and then divided it to freeze for easy weeknight dinner. I’ll try your recipe next time. Pinned!
Elizabeth
It’s seriously the easiest thing ever… especially since you can freeze it! I hope you like my recipe. Thanks for pinning!! :-)
Lois Jewell
Looks great, Elizabeth!
Elizabeth
Thanks, Lois! :-)