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4 from 1 vote

Slow Cooker Carnitas

Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time5 hours
Total Time5 hours 15 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 230kcal

Ingredients

  • 3 1/2 lb boneless pork shoulder
  • 1 white onion chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 orange juiced
  • 1 lime juiced
  • 1/2 cup no salt added chicken broth
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp Mexican oregano
  • 1/2 tsp cumin

Instructions

  • Add onion, garlic and chicken broth to the bottom of a slow cooker.
  • Rinse the pork shoulder and pat dry.  Rub with seasonings on all sides and place in slow cooker, fat side up.
  • Squeeze orange and lime over top of pork shoulder.
  • Slow cook on low for 5-6 hours or until the internal temperature reaches about 180-190 degrees (higher temp allows for collagen breakdown and makes it easy to pull apart).  Remove pork from slow cooker and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes on a cutting board.
  • Pull the pork shoulder, removing any fat and remaining connective tissue.  Arrange on a foil lined baking sheet and broil for 5 minutes, then remove and turn the pulled pork.  Broil for another 5 minutes.  Repeat the process additional times for extra crispy carnitas.

Notes

I used a 3.78 lb boneless pork shoulder and weighed it out to be 745 grams (~1 lb 10 oz) after cooking and removing any remaining fat.  Each cut of pork shoulder will be slightly different and will impact the nutrition per serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 230kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 93mg | Sodium: 66mg | Potassium: 355mg | Sugar: 1g