My Favorite Carnitas Recipe!

If you were to ask me what my all time favorite Mexican food was, without a doubt, the answer would be carnitas. In this post, I’ll share my favorite carnitas recipe with you!

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You can’t go wrong with all of the flavorful, salty pieces of roasted pork with the most delicious toppings piled up on a warm corn tortilla. So good.

Wondering what to top your carnitas with? Some of the most popular toppings include:

Crumbled queso fresco or cotija cheese

Chopped onions

Cilantro

Hot sauce – my favorite is Cholula!

Mexican crema or sour cream

Shredded cabbage (sometimes pickled)

Guacamole

Freshly squeezed lime

Click here to check out my post, The Best Guacamole Recipe Ever!

What You Will Need

Pork shoulder

Vegetable Oil

White onion

Garlic

Chicken broth

Chili Powder

Cumin

Oregano

Lime

Corn tortillas

Toppings – such as chopped onion, cilantro, crumbled queso fresco or cotija cheese, shredded cabbage, hot sauce, guacamole, Mexican crema

How to Make Carnitas

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.

Cut the pork shoulder into large, 3 inch cubes. Generously season with kosher salt and pepper.

Using a large dutch oven, heat vegetable oil over medium high heat on your stovetop. Sear pork shoulder in batches, making sure to get a nice golden crust on each piece.

Once all of the pork shoulder has been seared, return all of it to the dutch oven. Add the onion, garlic cloves, chili powder, cumin, oregano and chicken broth. Add enough water to cover the meat.

Place lid on the crockpot and cook in oven for 2 1/2 hours or until meat is fork tender and breaks apart easily.

Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Once meat has cooled enough to work with, shred with forks.

If you prefer crispy carnitas (like I do), sear shredded pork in a frying pan with vegetable oil just prior to serving.

Serve carnitas with corn tortillas and all of your favorite toppings.

Enjoy!