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Carnitas ~ Mexican Braised Pork – Leite’s Culinaria


I’ve to admit one thing. Pork carnitas—Mexican braised and fried pork chunks with their addictively crisp edges—had been unfamiliar to me till I attempted this recipe. Which is bizarre, as a result of I like pork and I like Mexican meals, however by no means the twain had met within the gloriousness that’s carnitas. However that’s all historic historical past seeing as I’ve been making this dish for years now.

This recipe is the traditional—with one exception. As an alternative of being cooked totally on the stovetop, the pot is slid into the oven so that you don’t should tirelessly attend to the burner to ensure the pork is cooking at simply the precise temperature.

The One and I devour these tucked into tender, heat tortillas as tacos in addition to heaped atop rice and beans. We add a complete orange to the pot, as we like that trace of citrus within the background. And, sure, we do use lard—qué sorpresa.

david caricaturedavid caricature

Why Our Testers Beloved This

Our testers had been really smitten with this Mexican fried pork recipe. Natalie Reebel beloved that “this recipe labored precisely as written and produced an extremely great-tasting, genuine pork carnitas,” whereas Sofia Reino was delighted that “the meat got here out juicy and fork-tender with a slight crispness,” which had her household begging for the recipe on repeat.

Notes on Substances

Ingredients for carnitas--pork shoulder, onion, garlic, oranges, bay leaves, lard, oregano, and sweetened condensed milk.Ingredients for carnitas--pork shoulder, onion, garlic, oranges, bay leaves, lard, oregano, and sweetened condensed milk.
  • Pork shoulder–You can too use pork butt for this recipe. Select a pork roast that’s well-marbled with fats. If it comes with pores and skin on, take away and discard it earlier than cooking.
  • Lard–This makes for really genuine pork carnitas. You may substitute vegetable oil, when you choose.
  • Sweetened condensed milk–Use the additional milk from the can to make condensed milk cookies.

Step-by-Step Directions

Water being poured into a Dutch oven filled with pork, onion slices, orange wedges, and bay leaves and a person stirring the mixture.Water being poured into a Dutch oven filled with pork, onion slices, orange wedges, and bay leaves and a person stirring the mixture.
  1. Mix the entire components in a big Dutch oven. Set over excessive warmth.
  2. Carry to a boil and skim off any scum that rises to the floor.
  3. Scale back the warmth to medium-low and simmer till the liquid evaporates.
  4. Warmth the oven to 450°F. Slide the pork into the oven and prepare dinner till the pork is browned.

Gradual Cooker Carnitas

I confess generally I’m simply too lazy to prepare dinner carnitas on the range, so I haul out my gradual cooker. Simply toss every part within the gradual cooker, decreasing the quantity of water by at the least 1 cup, and prepare dinner on low, coated your entire time, for 8 to 10 hours or on excessive for six to eight hours, or till the pork is tender and falls aside. Utilizing tongs or a slotted spoon, place the chunks of pork in a big skillet, leaving the cooking liquid within the cooker. If desired, shred the pork utilizing two forks (or your fingertips when you like issues messy).

Warmth the pork within the skillet over medium to medium-high warmth till crisp on the edges however nonetheless knee-weakeningly tender inside. If desired, dribble somewhat of the strained cooking liquid over the pork earlier than serving to moisten and taste it. (If the cooking liquid is kind of watery, pour it right into a saucepan and simmer till it reduces to the specified consistency.)

Curious to listen to extra about working magic along with your gradual cooker? Try what our testers needed to say within the TC feedback under, after which peruse our complete choice of gradual cooker recipes.

Immediate Pot Carnitas

Season the pork with the salt and, working in batches, sear the pork in a big skillet within the lard or olive oil till very, very brown. (The Immediate Pot’s insert is simply too slender and high-sided to sear successfully. It takes too lengthy, and the meat finally ends up steamed quite than seared. Belief me, the skillet is infinitely higher and quicker.)

In the meantime, juice 1 or 2 oranges to yield 1/2 cup of orange juice. Layer the onions, garlic, juiced orange halves, orange wedges, and bay leaf on the underside of the Immediate Pot insert. Dump within the pork and sprinkle with oregano as you go. Drizzle over the condensed milk and orange juice.

Safe the lid and push the strain launch valve to “sealing.” Choose “handbook” and set the cooking time to half-hour at excessive strain.

When completed, fastidiously fast launch the pot by shifting the strain launch to “venting.” As soon as the steam is totally launched, open the pot and scoop the pork with a slotted spoon onto a foil-lined baking sheet. Discard the orange halves and bay leaf. Prepare dinner the pork within the oven at 450°F (232°C) till crisped, 10 to fifteen minutes.

Widespread Questions

How do you correctly lower this recipe in half?

This genuine carnitas recipe makes what some would take into account A LOT of pork. Hardly an issue in our minds, seeing as we will’t think about not having the ability to pack away a batch of this subtly infused Mexican pulled pork in a single sitting. 

That stated, do you have to want to make simply half a batch, the creator advises that you simply lower the quantity of pork, salt, and oregano within the recipe under in half, however that you simply depend on the identical quantity of water, onion, orange, garlic, bay, sweetened condensed milk, and lard (mmmm, lard). 

You’ll additionally need to depend on a barely smaller pot than the recipe suggests. Think about your child batch the diminutive–although by no means diminished–type of this traditional. Carnitas-ito, anybody?

What’s the distinction between pulled pork and carnitas?

Pulled pork and carnitas are sometimes ready the identical manner, by slowly roasting or simmering till the meat is tender sufficient to be shredded. Carnitas are usually fried or roasted once more after shredding, with a view to crisp up the meat.

Why is milk added to carnitas?

It acts as a tenderizer, serving to to interrupt down the pork into these tender bites that all of us crave.

How do you serve carnitas?

They’re mostly served as carnitas tacos, with the meat piled into corn tortillas and topped with salsa, lime juice, and onion. Nonetheless, the meat is equally divine in burritos, atop chilaquiles, or in a Mexican-inspired rice bowl.

Professional Ideas & Troubleshooting

  • Leftover pork carnitas could be saved in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 3 days, or frozen for as much as 3 months.
  • If frozen, thaw in a single day within the fridge. Reheat on the stovetop or within the oven with somewhat further lard till warmed by and crisped on the perimeters.
  • This pork carnitas recipe is appropriate for gluten-free diets.
A red Dutch oven filled with braised pork cubes with an orange wedge on top and a few orange wedges, garlic cloves, oregano, and spoon on the side.A red Dutch oven filled with braised pork cubes with an orange wedge on top and a few orange wedges, garlic cloves, oregano, and spoon on the side.

Extra Very good Pork Shoulder Recipes

Write a Evaluation

In the event you make this recipe, or any dish on LC, take into account leaving a assessment, a star ranking, and your greatest picture within the feedback under. I like listening to from you.–David

That is higher than restaurant carnitas. My one go-to dish at any Mexican restaurant is pork carnitas to see how good the restaurant is. Amazingly, each place is totally totally different, however that is actually the perfect carnitas I’ve ever had…and I made it.

josh
  • 4 kilos fatty pork shoulder, lower into 2-inch items
  • 3 cups chilly water
  • 1 medium white onion, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 orange, ideally seedless, lower into 2 wedges, (or 1 to 2 oranges if utilizing the Immediate Pot Variation)
  • 1/4 cup lard, (or, for the lard averse, vegetable oil)
  • 8 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 tablespoon sweetened condensed milk
  • 2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano, crumbled
  • 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons nice salt, or 3 to 4 teaspoons kosher salt
  • Place the entire components in a large 6- to 7-quart heavy pot. (Don’t fear if every part is not utterly submerged.) Carry to a boil, skimming any scum that collects on the floor as essential.

  • Scale back the warmth to medium-lowish and simmer vigorously, stirring sometimes, till the pork is fork-tender and the liquid has utterly evaporated, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Discard the orange items and bay leaves.

    ☞ TESTER TIP: If the liquid hasn’t utterly evaporated, switch the pork to a bowl and proceed to simmer the liquid, stirring typically, till it’s lowered and solely a shiny layer of oil stays.

  • Preheat the oven to 450°F (232°C)

  • In case your pot is not ovenproof, switch the pork and fats to a dish of some kind that is ovenproof. Slide the pork into the oven, uncovered, and let it fry in its personal fats till it is browned, 20 to half-hour. There’s no have to stir. Serve it straight from the pot.

  1. Storage–Leftover pork carnitas could be saved in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 3 days, or frozen for as much as 3 months.
  2. Reheating–If frozen, thaw in a single day within the fridge. Reheat on the stovetop or within the oven with somewhat further lard till warmed by and crisped on the perimeters.
  3. Dietary–This pork carnitas recipe is appropriate for gluten-free diets.

Serving: 1 portionEnergy: 291 kcalCarbohydrates: 6 gProtein: 28 gFats: 17 gSaturated Fats: 5 gMonounsaturated Fats: 6 gTrans Fats: 1 gLdl cholesterol: 94 mgSodium: 550 mgFiber: 1 gSugar: 3 g

Diet data is robotically calculated, so ought to solely be used as an approximation.

Recipe © 2011 Roberto Santibañez. Photographs © 2023 David Leite. All rights reserved.


Recipe Testers’ Opinions

I like this genuine Mexican fried pork, and these genuine carnitas had been exactly what I used to be searching for by way of style and texture. The creator’s methodology of oven-frying the pork within the rendered fats from the shoulder is genius.

I’ve to confess that I pilfered a few of this “liquid gold” to brown onions and garlic for killer black beans and rice to function a facet. [Editor’s Note: Brilliant! We’re stealing that trick!]

I used the half-recipe methodology, and it labored completely. Nonetheless, I’ll counsel that though I’d lower the salt in half, the discount turned dangerously near being a tad salty. Err on the facet of warning, whether or not you make the complete 4 kilos or in any other case, and add much less salt than specified.

I made carnitas tacos with this, and the recent tomatillo salsa was scrumptious, creamy, and added a pleasant steadiness to the wealthy meat.

This Mexican fried pork dish is RIDICULOUS! It’s so tasty that I can’t imagine I made it! And I like the trace of orange within the meat.

I believe essentially the most difficult half was slicing the pork away from the bone—in any other case, it got here collectively superbly. It required the complete 2 hours to evaporate all of the liquid within the pot and about 25 minutes within the oven to darken the pork to some extent that it was virtually burnt (I find it irresistible that manner).

This is a superb recipe that I’ll make once more as soon as I’ve a crowd—within the meantime, I’m wanting ahead to leftovers!

Does it get any simpler than this? I don’t suppose so. This recipe labored precisely as written and produced an extremely great-tasting, genuine pork carnitas.

The place you place the pork from there may be as much as you. It’s incredible in tacos, could be scrumptious in a burrito with some salsa verde, and one thing to stay up for on a tostada after a busy work day. And it tastes even higher the second day.

Examine the pork after 20 minutes within the oven, because it browns faster than you would possibly suppose.

I’ve been a fan of pork carnitas as a restaurant dish for years, however have by no means made it myself, so I used to be comfortable to take a crack at this recipe. Lengthy a fan of duck confit, I shortly realized upon studying the outline of the dish that that is primarily pork confit. Candy child Jesus, what might be higher than that?! I’m right here to let you know, not a lot.

That is for sure one of many tastiest dishes I’ve ever made, and on condition that it’s a cinch to throw collectively, I can see making it many times and many times and…you get the image.

My solely deviation from the recipe as written is that I pulled the pot from the oven solely quarter-hour into the roasting section, whereas the recipe requires 20 to 30 at this level to crisp the meat. Consideration is warranted at this step. Other than that, following the recipe to a T yielded a sheet pan stuffed with moist, flavorful, and superbly caramelized pork deliciousness.

One might at all times dabble with the aromatics within the braising liquid to deliver different flavors to the dish, nevertheless it’s awfully good simply as it’s, and definitely not in want of any tweaking.

SLOW COOKER: I didn’t maintain out a lot hope after I received house and first noticed the ends in the gradual cooker. The pork appeared form of meh, nondescript, probably not attention-grabbing. Then I eliminated the meat, shredded it onto a pan, and put it within the convection oven for about quarter-hour, stirring as soon as.

Holy smokes! What a distinction! Once I pulled the pork out, the feel had modified, and it was tender and crisp on the similar time. The pork was gently spiced and scrumptious.

I discovered an excessive amount of liquid within the pot, nevertheless it saved the meat very moist and tender. I left it on low for 8 hours whereas I used to be at work. I used a 4-pound pork shoulder roast, cubed, and saved the opposite components true to the recipe, aside from the lard. (The roast was fatty sufficient that I felt the lard wasn’t wanted.) And I used to be proper since I skimmed numerous fats from the pot, however no scum.

I additionally made this within the Immediate Pot. I like simple recipes like this, with minimal hands-on time with massive, flavorful outcomes. My pork shoulder was nearer to 4 1/2 kilos. It took me 10 minutes to sear the meat in 3 batches, then juice the orange, layer every part within the pot, set it and let the magic occur. When the meat was eliminated and put onto the tray to crisp, it was very tender.

After the time within the oven, it was fabulous. The meat was flavorful, tender, and crisp. I used to be very stunned to seek out I might nonetheless style the orange used after all of the cooking. We served this with tortillas, sliced avocados, shredded lettuce, and chopped onion and tomato. Everybody favored this a lot that there was little or no left over.

When recipes are this simple to do, and the outcomes are so stuffed with taste, I’d be comfortable to make this many times. We received 10 beneficiant servings from the recipe.

This recipe was incredible! There aren’t a ton of components on this dish, and having by no means made this earlier than, I used to be stunned by simply how easy the ingredient record was (the place had been the spices?). It takes a while to return collectively, nevertheless it simply must be babysat. It’s a extremely easy dish to make.

I put it on to simmer and made selfmade Spanish rice and salsa.

It didn’t look like a lot at first–in reality, I had doubts wanting on the meat and veggies swimming round on this unappetizing milky water, however the finish is the place the magic occurs.

Once I lastly pulled the completed product out of the oven and noticed these superbly browned items of tender pork, I might hardly wait to start out consuming it. It was undoubtedly a success!

SLOW COOKER: I made these final evening utilizing a special method with the gradual cooker. First, I lowered the water from 3 cups to 2 cups, then I cooked the meat on excessive for 3 hours and, realizing the meat was totally cooked by, and I used to be not risking undercooking pork, I took off the lid and continued to prepare dinner it on excessive for 3 extra hours till the liquid was absorbed.

Then I transferred the meat to a big forged iron skillet and browned the meat. We tasted the meat each earlier than and after browning, and it was wonderful each methods.

I can not think about a neater recipe to make on a weeknight. WOW! And WOW to its taste and tenderness, too.

The meat got here out juicy and fork-tender with a slight crispness. Everybody in our family requested me to make this once more—and shortly.

I served it with recent tomatillo salsa, white rice, and black beans. The salsa was a incredible addition to the meat. The chilly, tart salsa was a real mix of tastes.

This recipe delivered tender, crisp pork carnitas as promised. The components had been available and the preparation was easy, particularly for the reason that pork might be browned by sliding the unique pot into the oven.

The pork had a nice taste when tasted proper out of the oven, though it was ten instances higher the next day when the flavors had an opportunity to mix and mellow. (The oregano was a bit too dominant proper after cooking for my style).

SLOW COOKER: I tailored this recipe to the gradual cooker, which required some modification however produced wonderful outcomes. The massive distinction between gradual cooker and stovetop cooking, and sometimes the downfall of the previous, is that a lot much less liquid evaporates within the gradual cooker, and sometimes the flavors are usually not as concentrated.

With that in thoughts, I omitted ALL the water on this recipe. I blended the pork shoulder and different components, and squeezed the opposite half of the orange over every part. Then I let it prepare dinner on low for 7 hours. Throughout this time, the pot went from having no liquid to the pork being virtually coated with fats and liquid.

After the 7 hours of low and gradual cooking, I moved the insert of the gradual cooker to an oven preheated to 450°F. I let this go for nearly an hour, stirring as soon as to show every part over and stop over-browning.

At this level, all of the liquid had evaporated, and the pork had browned in its personal fats. The carnitas had been falling aside tender, and really flavorful. It’s nice on tacos or simply with rice. A tomatillo salsa is the best embellishment.

What a incredible dish! That is a kind of recipes that I instantly knew I needed to make. Cinco de Mayo was the proper event.

I made the recipe precisely as-is aside from substituting the condensed milk (I used two tablespoons of complete milk heated with one tablespoon of sugar). I used coconut oil and a Cara Cara orange, which dissipated properly into the pork. (I used to be in a position to discard the orange peel, though it did break into a number of massive items.)

It took about 1 1/2 hours for the liquid to boil down utterly. The oven browning methodology labored nice. I’ll undoubtedly make this once more.

The inexperienced tomatillo and avocado blended salsa recipe additionally discovered on this website is incredible with these!

INSTANT POT: Each time I’ve used the Immediate Pot, I’ve been impressed with its efficiency. This carnitas recipe was no totally different. It requires shifting across the kitchen, from range to Immediate Pot, and again into the oven to complete, so I like to recommend it for a night when you might have extra time within the kitchen (and time to do dishes).

The pork ended up flavorful, moist, and simply melt-in-your-mouth scrumptious. I couldn’t determine if I beloved the crunchy outer bits or the wealthy fatty ends extra. Both manner, collectively they created a decadent mixture.

I used a cast-iron skillet on medium-high warmth to sear the pork. I labored in 2 batches, every taking about 12 minutes, flipping the items a few times. I wanted one massive navel orange to get 1/2 cup of juice.

It took 10 minutes to succeed in excessive strain. The pork emerged from the steam step tender, however nonetheless held collectively considerably.

I let the pork keep within the oven quarter-hour. It received a tremendous crunchy outer layer. I used two forks to interrupt the pork chunks into shreds for tacos.

I received 4 good-sized entrée servings. I served the carnitas on tacos with cilantro-lime bitter cream, veggies, and cheese.  I don’t suppose the leftovers I gifted my boyfriend will survive the subsequent 24 hours.


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