Off the Eaten Path

A Food and Travel Blog

  • recipes
  • north carolina travel
  • cookbook
  • about
    • press and publications
  • work with me
    • mentoring and consulting
    • food photography

pork carnitas

September 27, 2015 by Chrissie 12 Comments

Filed Under: all, main dishes, recipes, sunday supper Tagged With: Pork Carnitas, sunday supper, Tacos

Jump to Recipe

Pork carnitas are flavorful, versatile, and super easy. Put a few ingredients in your crockpot and come back six to eight hours later for tender meat that you can use in anything from tacos, to enchiladas, to nachos, to burrito bowls and more! I’m a member of the North Carolina Pork Council Blogging Network and was compensated for the cost of the ingredients used in this post.

pork carnitas

I love when dinner essentially cooks itself. Which is why I’m in love with my crock pot.

pork carnitas

I scored my trusty red friend at Target ages ago for a steal (something like $10 or $15). And it’s a miracle worker. My crock pot is a necessary and well used appliance in my kitchen; I bust it out at least once a week to whip something out. And we’re talking more than just for soups, stews, and your typical “slow cooker” meal (though it’s really great for all of those things). I’ve used it for meatballs, spaghetti sauce, pulled pork and even dessert every so often.

pork carnitas

If you haven’t recognized the versatility and simplicity of your crock pot, I feel sorry for you. It’s the perfect tool for a busy day at the office. It simmers away on a Sunday while you run errands and do things around the house. And when you’re ready to sit down and eat, a hearty, flavorful meal is just ready. The raw ingredients you threw in there 8 hours ago create a harmony to please your palate. It’s fantastic.

pork carnitas

A few weeks ago I woke up on Sunday morning, pulled a few ingredients out of the fridge, stood on my tip toes to get the crock pot out of the top cabinet, and eight hours later we had some delicious pork carnitas tacos. While AJ went to work shredding away, I chopped up some onion and cilantro. With a little squeeze of lime, we had dinner ready in about 5 minutes. For serious.

pork carnitas

Who doesn’t love pork carnitas? There are a few reasons I love them so much.

Delicious. Flavorful. Tender, spicy pork that practically falls apart when you touch it with a fork.

pork carnitas

Versatile. So versatile. A batch of pork carnitas can be used for almost anything: tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas, nachos, burrito bowls. The possibilities are endless. With this batch we had tacos one night, and burrito bowls a few days later. We froze the rest and busted out some pork carnitas nachos a week later for Sunday night football.

pork carnitas

Easy. Really the easiest. Dump all of the ingredients in the crock pot and walk away. Yes, just walk away. Come back later, shred the succulent pork with a fork (it will glide through like the meat is butter) and dinner is ready.

pork carnitas

Continue to Content

sunday supper | pork carnitas

pork carnitas

Ingredients

  • 4 pounds pork butt roast
  • 2 tablespoons bacon grease
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 6-8 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 1/2 cup lager beer
  • 2 teaspoons liquid smoke
  • 1 tablespoon sea salt
  • 1 tablespoon cumin
  • 2-3 tablespoons ancho chile powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon oregano

Instructions

  • Smear the bacon grease on the bottom of the slow cooker.
  • Place pork in crockpot.
  • Then add all remaining ingredients around the pork.
  • Turn the slow cooker on: Low for 8-10 hours, or High for 4-6 hours.
  • Once the pork is fork-tender, use 2 forks to shred the meat into the juices.
  • If you like carnitas crispy on the edges use a slotted spoon to scoop the meat out of the juices and spread in a thin layer on a baking sheet(s). Place on the upper oven rack and broil for 2-5 minutes, until darker crispy edges form.
  • © adapted from a spicy perspective

    PIN PORK CARNITAS RECIPE FOR LATER!

    Related Posts

    carolina beer temple at ayrlsey
    carolina beer temple at ayrsley
    bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers mummies
    bacon wrapped jalapeno popper mummies
    growler usa
    « duck donuts
    charlotte’s best bites | ashley’s picks »

    Comments

    1. Kate K (My Mommy Brain) says

      September 28, 2015 at 11:04 am

      Oh yum! That looks delicious. I too LOVE my crock-pot. Nothing better than coming home to a fully-cooked meal without breaking a sweat!

      Reply
      • Chrissie--Off The Eaten Path says

        September 29, 2015 at 8:03 pm

        Yes! Crockpots are the best!

        Reply
    2. Tiffani says

      September 30, 2015 at 10:36 pm

      This is a recipe my kiddos would love & I’d enjoy making….crockpot friendly! 🙂 I really like how you gave different meal options. Yummy post! 😉

      Reply
      • Chrissie--Off The Eaten Path says

        October 4, 2015 at 6:25 pm

        Thanks, Tiffani!

        Reply
    3. Leigh Powell Hines says

      October 1, 2015 at 6:59 am

      This looks really good. I think I will make it this fall.

      Reply
      • Chrissie--Off The Eaten Path says

        October 4, 2015 at 6:25 pm

        I feel like it’s a perfect fall recipe. My dad texted me today to let me know he was making pork carnitas for dinner!

        Reply
    4. Beth Ann Chiles says

      October 1, 2015 at 7:45 am

      Oh those look amazing. I have a red crockpot as well and it is my friend, too! Maybe our crock pots grew up together?? 🙂 Thanks for a great recipe!

      Reply
      • Chrissie--Off The Eaten Path says

        October 4, 2015 at 6:25 pm

        They are just as tasty as they look! 🙂

        Reply
    5. Jenna @ A Savory Feast says

      January 4, 2018 at 1:15 pm

      I can’t wait to try these for dinner soon! I love pork carnitas.

      Reply
      • Chrissie says

        January 4, 2018 at 3:13 pm

        Me too! And they are so easy for dinner!

        Reply

    Trackbacks

    1. where to eat in gaston county | off the eaten path says:
      October 17, 2017 at 7:55 am

      […] Aaron Rodgers’ broken collarbone rather than writing a new blog post…although I did do a photo refresh on my pork carnitas recipe and also updated my recipes page! (And played around with the monster that is Pinterest. Are you […]

      Reply
    2. The Best Football, Superbowl, Tailgating Recipe Round-up | NC Blogger Network says:
      February 21, 2018 at 6:11 pm

      […] Pork Carnitas […]

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    chrissie off the eaten path blog
    Hi! I'm Chrissie: a pizza and sushi loving, craft beer and red wine drinking, restaurant exploring and traveling home cook who's been taking pictures of my food since 2013. To learn more about Off the Eaten Path, click here!

    Get in touch: offtheeatenpathclt@gmail.com

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

    NEWSLETTER


    Find the ultimate cheese and food pairings when you are building your own cheese and charcuterie boards at home with Off the Eaten Path's Perfect Pairings Guide!

    FIND ME ON INSTAGRAM

    ★ GIVEAWAY ★  I’ve teamed up with the incre ★ GIVEAWAY ★ 
I’ve teamed up with the incrediblyyy talented @cosmiccreativ, for a New Year #giveaway!!! Her beautiful hand poured resin pieces are truly outta this world! Her pieces are one of a kind functional art (like charcuterie boards, lazy susans, serving trays & stovecovers) that will add tons of character and charm to your home (her boards are some of my favorites that I own!) Winner gets my cookbook, Stunning Spreads, and this giant hand-poured #charcuterie board featuring rose gold foil & extraaa sparkle 😍

Here’s how to win:

★ Head to @cosmiccreativ's post to get all the juicy details about entering to win (you must be following us both but enter on her post). Contest ends Thursday so click over right now!
★ While you're there, make sure you keep track of when her next batch will be launched, because even if you're not the winner of this giveaway, you're going to want one of her boards in your home.

Contest ends this Thursday evening, 1/21 at 10pm est. Winner will be announced her stories!

#cheeseboard #cheeseboardsofinstagram #cheeseboards #charcuterieboards #resinart #resinartwork #handpouredwithlove #functionalart #supportartists #supportsmallbusiness #cheeselover #grazingboard #cookbooks #cookbookclub #cookbookauthor #stunningspreads #womenownedbusinesses #womenownedbusiness #womensupportingwomen #cheeseboardgoals #custommade #handmade #easyentertaining #giftideas #cheeseplatter #cheeseplatters #cheeseplate
    @leah_and_louise is hosting such a creative and de @leah_and_louise is hosting such a creative and delicious event benefiting the Charlotte community today. their pay what you can soup kitchen (with a suggested donation of $20) brought together 16 local chefs to make really freaking good soup with all proceeds benefiting @myhealcharlotte an organization "created to support dialogue and relationship building between urban youth and families, the police, other divisions of government, and community partners." They "strive to engage a diverse group of youth to create stronger neighborhoods and a better city." In the wake of the pandemic, Heal Charlotte is on a mission to provide a safer and healthier living environment for the communities they serve.

We got two orders to go, so we got our choice of four pints plus rolls from @dukesbread to take home. It was SO HARD to pick just four from so many great chefs but we ended up with celery root soup from @chefwhitneythomas, brisket chili from @lewdon4, vegan curry sweet potato soup from @chefccoleman and Virginia peanut stew from @jbarnes757.

If you're jealous of our lunch and dinner today (yes we're eating soup all day) there are a few limited walk up tickets available, so swing by @campnorthend before the event ends at 3pm. I love the kindness and creativity of the Charlotte food community! 

#soupseason #soupweather #soupforthesoul #soupoftheday #soupfordinner #soupfordays #nosoupforyou #cltfood #cltfoodcommunity #charlottefood #charlottenc #charlottecommunity #clt #queencity #givebacktothecommunity #cltfoodie #cltfoodbloggers #mlkday #soupszn #soupbowl #supportlocalrestaurants
    Just in time for you to watch the playoffs on your Just in time for you to watch the playoffs on your couch this weekend ( #gopackgo ) I wrote a post all about the best wings in Charlotte 🤗

Local businesses are tagged and  leave a 🐓or 🍗 if you want me to send you the link!

#wings #buffalowings #chickenwings #buffalowing #cltfood #cltfoodie #cltfoodbloggers #cltfoodies #charlottenc #charlottefood #charlotteeats #clteats #eastcoastfoodies #eastcoastfeastcoast #eatclt #ncfoodfinds #ncfood #ncfoodie #northcarolina #northcarolinafood #dinelocal #foodiechats #supportlocalrestaurants #gamedayfood #gamedayready #footballfood #chickenwing #hotwings
    hi my friends, lets talk takeout. are you still lo hi my friends, lets talk takeout. are you still looking for local takeout inspiration? we've found that over the past ten months, one of the easiest ways for us to support local restaurants and eat delicious is by ordering takeout once a week (sometimes more if we can't get to the grocery store or don't feel like cooking). our take out routine is a mix of new to us places as well as some tried and true trusty standbys, and I'm going to try to highlight some of our favorite spots more often. (like a #takeouttuesday situation but since I'm not super organized I cannot promise a new post every tuesday!)

it seems very appropriate to kick of this takeout series (whatever you want to call it!) with a classic: pizza! @iniziopizza is one of our favorite restaurants in charlotte and we order from them a lot (confession: we always get two pizzas because we are greedy and don't want to share with each other). while I'm always and forever on team pistachio pesto pizza, we tried their two new seasonal pies this week: the Pizza Di Pera (with cider poached pears, toasted walnuts, fior di latte, buffalo mozzarella, topped with a gorgonzola cream) and Porchetta Pizza (slow roasted Italian porchetta made in house, broccoli rabe, lemon zest, pecorino, fior di latte, buffalo mozzarella, topped with a salsa verde). they were both delish but we agree we can't get enough of that gorgonzola cream 

this is a 🚨free food alert🚨 post. inizio graciously let us take home their new seasonal specials at no cost to us, but as avid pizza lovers we do exercise our wallets a lot at their dilworth location (inizio is included in my best pizza in charlotte post which I just updated you can read on my blog...if you want the link leave a 🍕). and please don't forget to tip, even with take out!

#pizzagram #pizzanight #pizzanapoletana #pizzaporn #pizzalove #pizzaday #pizzaislife #cltpizza #charlottepizza #cltfood #cltfoodie #clteats #charlottenc #queencity #eatlocal #feastagram #eastcoastfeastcoast #charlotteeats #charlottesgotalot #eatclt #pizzatime #ncfoodfinds #ncfood #supportlocalrestaurants #dinelocal #foodiechats
    I believe Black Lives Matter. I wear a mask to pr I believe Black Lives Matter.

I wear a mask to protect my family, friends, neighbors and strangers I've never met.

I will get the vaccine when it's my turn.

What happened at the US Capitol yesterday was white supremacy. It’s the same white supremacy that this country was founded on and has plagued the US for centuries. It’s the deep-seated, extremist right-wing ideology that underlies US policing and the Republican Party.

These beliefs are not politics. It’s humanity.
    • privacy policy
    • disclaimers
    • disclosure policy

    Copyright © 2021 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress

    59shares