Recipe Background
Your taste buds won't believe just how juicy and tender these Tender Pork Carnitas are. Tender is in the name, but you won't totally understand it until you experience it! Soaked in slightly spicy, savory spices with a hit of citrus, this perfect pork is ideal for whatever you're serving. Tacos, rice bowls, or burritos, you name it and this Tender Pork Carnitas will bring the protein pizzaz!
Your taste buds won't believe just how juicy and tender these Tender Pork Carnitas are. Tender is in the name, but you won't totally understand it until you experience it! Soaked in slightly spicy, savory spices with a hit of citrus, this perfect pork is ideal for whatever you're serving. Tacos, rice bowls, or burritos, you name it and this Tender Pork Carnitas will bring the protein pizzaz!
Ingredients
For the pork carnitas:
- 1 (3-4-pound) pork shoulder butt roast boneless, cut into large chunks
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 large navel oranges
- 1 lime
- 1 large white onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 bay leaf
Optional toppings:
- orange wheels to taste
- lime wheels to taste
- cilantro to taste
- white onions to taste, diced small
Directions
- Season the pork chunks evenly with the salt and the pepper.
- In a large pan, heat the olive oil.
- Add the seasoned pork chunks, in batches, to the heated oil and cook until they are browned on all sides.
- Use a vegetable peeler to peel 5 strips of the rind off 1 of the oranges and 3 strips of the rind off 1 of the limes. Then, juice the orange and the lime.
- In a slow cooker, add the browned pork cubes, the orange rind strips, the lime rind strips, the orange juice, the lime juice, 1 of the onions, the garlic, the chicken broth, the chili powder, the cumin, the oregano, and the bay leaf and stir to combine.
- Cover the slow cooker and cook until the pork is fork-tender, about 4-5 hours high heat and about 8 hours on low heat.
- Turn the oven on to the broil setting.
- Remove and discard the bay leaf.
- Use two forks to shred the pork cubes.
- In a large, oven-safe serving dish, use a slotted spoon to add the shredded pork in a single layer, then use a ladle to drizzle 1/3 of the juice on top.
- Broil the carnitas until they are crisp, about 4-5 minutes.
- Stir the carnitas and ladle 1/2 of the juice on top.
- Broil the carnitas, about 5 minutes.
- Spoon the remaining juice over the carnitas.
- Serve the carnitas garnished with the extra orange wheels, the extra lime wheels, the cilantro, and the remaining diced onions.
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