I know, weird name huh? I bet many of you are thinking “What the heck kind of recipe is twice-baked crockpot carnitas!?” Well, you’re going to have to trust me on this one and just keep reading because I promise it will be well worth it!
I don’t know why I have such a fascination with my crockpot lately, but I do! Whenever I see a recipe with “crockpot” in the title…I’m instantly intrigued, and when you add the word “carnitas” you’ve got me – hook, line, and sinker! So when I saw this recipe for Crockpot Carnitas from Lindsay at Pinch Of Yum I was a goner. But it gets better! They are EASY Crockpot Carnitas! I don’t think it’s possible to get any better than that right there.
Carnitas means “little meats” and is a type of roasted pork in Mexican cuisine. It can be eaten by itself, but we like it as the main ingredient in tacos, and burritos.
It all starts with a good-sized pork butt. Don’t make the mistake (like I did the first time I made this!) and buy a pork ROAST. While it will still TASTE good, it will not be the nice, tender, carnitas-type meat you’re looking for. Once again, trust me on this one.
Let’s get started, shall we?
Twice-Baked Crockpot Carnitas
adapted from Pinch Of Yum
- 6-8 pound pork butt
- 5-6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- juice of 2 limes
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 12 ounces cola
- 1/2 cup salsa
Like I said, start with a 6-8 pound pork butt and place it in your crockpot with a generous amount of finely-chopped garlic on top. You could also use the minced stuff in the jar in a pinch.
Then you’re going to make a lovely seasoning combination to put on top of the meat.
You can just sprinkle each spice on separately, or you could mix them all together like I did.
It may seem like a lot of seasoning, but that is one of the signatures of good carnitas, highly seasoned meat.
After you have covered the meat with this wonderful seasoning mixture, then it’s time to add the liquid. Start with the lime juice, then add orange juice, cola (I used Dr. Pepper because that’s what I had on hand), and salsa (jarred or homemade, your call.)
Now it’s time to cover this baby up and let the crockpot do its thing for 6 to 8 hours on LOW. (If you are in a time crunch you can do 3-4 hours on high, but it won’t be as “fall-off-the-bone tender”).
When the 6-8 hours are up you should be able to shred the pork without hardly even touching it! It quite literally will fall off the bone when you start prodding at it with two forks.
After you have shredded the meat, transfer it to a baking sheet and spread it out in an even layer. You might want to foil your pan first for easier clean-up, but I didn’t and clean-up was not a problem. Spoon some of the juice from the crockpot on top of the meat.
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Preheat the broiler in your oven and put the pan in for 5 to 10 minutes or until the edges of the meat start to brown. Remove the pan from the oven.
Here’s where this recipe gets its crazy name! When I took the meat out of the oven the first time I thought it looked great, but as I started taking it out of the pan and putting it onto a platter I noticed that only a small percentage of the meat in the pan had that nice browning on it. So I decided to stir and turn the meat with some tongs and put it BACK in the oven for another 5 to 10 minutes. Thus the name “Twice-Baked Crockpot Carnitas”.
When it came out….perfection! LOTS of nice brown edges on the meat. I also spooned a little more of the juice on the meat at this point to moisten it up a bit.
Like I said earlier, you can eat this just like it is…
….or you can put it in tortillas and fashion it into whatever you please. We used corn tortillas and garnished it with cheese, tomato, cilantro, sour cream, etc.
I’m telling you, this is SO delicious!! The flavor is amazing to begin with, but when you add the “twice-baked” method, it is out-of-this-world good!
I hope you will give it a try and let me know how you like my “twice-baked” carnitas!
Twice-Baked Crockpot Carnitas
Ingredients
- 6-8 pound pork butt
- 5-6 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- juice of 2 limes
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 12 ounces cola
- 1/2 cup salsa
Instructions
- Place a 6-8 pound pork butt in your crockpot with a generous amount of finely-chopped garlic on top. You could also used the minced stuff in the jar in a pinch.
- Mix garlic, salt, cumin, chili powder, black pepper, oregano, cinnamon, cayenne pepper and apply liberally to the pork butt.
- After you have covered the meat with this wonderful seasoning mixture, then it’s time to add the liquid. Start with the lime juice, then add orange juice, cola (I used Dr. Pepper because that’s what I had on hand), and salsa (jarred or homemade, your call.)
- Cook for 6 to 8 hours on LOW. (If you are in a time crunch you can do 3-4 hours on high, but it won’t be as “fall-off-the-bone tender”).
- Shred meat
- Transfer it to a baking sheet and spread it out in an even layer.
- Spoon some of the juice from the crockpot on top of the meat.
- Preheat the broiler in your oven and put the pan in for 5 to 10 minutes or until the edges of the meat start to brown. Remove the pan from the oven.
- Stir and turn the meat with some tongs and put it BACK in the oven for another 5 to 10 minutes.
Nutrition
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I often see pork butt on sale, but we don’t buy it often because it’s only two of us. Do you think this would freeze well? If so, at what point would you freeze it?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Absolutely, Wendy! Just let the meat cool and then divide the leftovers in portions for multiple meals.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I made this last week for my husband and myself. I had to decrease the spices due to having a much smaller piece of meat. The butcher actually offered to cut a big piece into four pieces since I was just feeding two people. I used a 2 pound pork roast butt. It was the best carnitas we’ve ever eaten! It was so delicious! Thanks Jillee for this recipe! It’s wonderful!!
Respectfully,
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Susan B.
I do consider all the ideas you’ve offered to your post. They are really convincing and will certainly work. Nonetheless, the posts are too quick for novices. Could you please prolong them a bit from next time? Thanks for the post.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.This sounds great! But does the soda give it a sweet flavor? We love carnitas but don’t care for sweet meats.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I think I did something(s) wrong. Some of the meat was very easy to pull but some really wasn’t. I cooked it on slow for 6 hours then put it back on in the morning for another 4. Maybe I went past the point of tender.
Unfortunately, nobody really loved it so we put our favorite vinegar bbq sauce on it and had bbq sandwiches. Made for several meals.
I would want some additional advice if I try it again.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’ve never actually cooked something in the crockpot, taken it out, and then put it back in again, but I’m guessing you overcooked it.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I am making these for supper tonight. I forgot to buy orange juice for this recipe so I added extra cola. In fact all I had was cherry diet coke. I couldn’t find pork butt at my Walmart but they sold pork marked as ‘pork for carnitas’. My town has a huge Hispanic population so I assumed this is what they must use for carnitas too.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I also made a good thing today. http://www.amazon.com/Mastrad-A64501-Top-Chips-Maker/dp/B004Z762VA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1362253677&sr=8-2&keywords=mastrad+topchips+chip+maker I made potato chips which were awesome! I bought my chip maker from Bed,Bath&Beyond last week and tried it out this weekend. The chips were awesome without any oil!
Hi Jillee I love your blog I read it everyday. I made this last night for my family I followed your directions to the T and we LOVED it I never heard so many ohh ahhh over something I made for dinner in a long time..:) I also made your homemade laundry soap and I love that as well. Thank you for all your great ideas and sharing them with the world!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I made this today, for tacos tonight, and they were fabulous. While cleaning up the kitchen, I had a hard time not picking at the leftovers!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I made this this evening for my family, Mom, sister and niece. We’re Mexican and it was a big hit. Thanks for the recipe! (I did omit the soda because we don’t drink it.)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Oh my gosh I love this idea! The other day I slow roasted a pork shoulder because I wanted those crispy burnt pieces. It turned out how I wanted it, but I didn’t like how I had to leave my oven on for 14 hours. I’m definitely doing it this way next time!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have a tomato allergy so I would have to leave out the salsa, it isn’t much so I don’t think it would affect the recipe.
As for how much a pork butt/shoulder makes I have frozen half after cooking and sometimes I ask the butcher people to cut a large piece of meat in half, then I freeze one half for later and cook the other!
Thanks Jillee for another awesome post!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Made these this evening and were scrumptious! I used the pork tender loin and turned out great!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’ve just spent ages trying to find out what pork butt is! Anyone else in the UK may want to know it’s pork shoulder with the blade bone in.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.This was absolutely delicious! Thank you.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’m a Mother of 3 that works fulltime outside of the home and I’m in love with both my Crock Pot and my Pressure Cooker. I’m so glad that I found Jillee’s Blog thanks to Pinterest. It’s my go to place when I want to try something new & different. I have these Carnitas cooking at home right now while I’m away at work. My husband just called and asked me what I’m cooking because it smells so good. It’s like torturing him while he is home for lunch. The only thing I did different from Jillee’s instructions is that I rubbed the garlic & seasoning into the meat, placed it in one of those Slow Cooker Liners (that I also love) and let it sit overnight in the refrigerator to hopefully infuse the flavor into the meat even more. In the morning, I placed the seasoned meat directly into the Slow Cooker and added the all the liquids and Salsa. Set it and I’m not forgetting it all! It’s been on my mind all day! I’m so anxious to try it. Thanks a bunch Jillee for all the inspiration you have provided me. Keep up the good work!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I tried this yesterday with a whole chicken (small). Substituted chicken stock for cola, lime juice and orange. Turned out beautifully! My husband couldn’t get enough. Yum, yum, yum!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I used a smaller pork shoulder than you, about 4 lbs, and mine was not “fall off the bone” tender, though it didn’t have much of a bone in it. Should I have adjusted the cooking time? They still turned out pretty good and definitely tasty!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I made these yesterday for Sunday dinner with hubby and the kids and grandkids. Unfortunately, it took MUCH longer than 6-8 hours. When we got home from church, the meat was no where near done! We fortunately had some pizzas in the freezer so had lunch anyway! When I left to go back to church about 4:00, it still wasn’t done! But when I got home at 7:30, it was pull-off the bone tender! That was about 15 hours!!! So I went ahead and twice baked it. Hubby and I had it for lunch today. It was good but we didn’t care for the cinnamon. Will leave it out next time. Thanks for the recipe.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I agree with Carol. It took a lot longer than expected. Luckily I checked it around 3:00 and got a little worried so I put my crockpot on high and it was perfect by dinner. Also – I would NOT add the cinnamon next time either. I didn’t care for that. But I would definitely make it again! Thanks.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Making this as we speak. Winco didn’t have pork butt, so I just bought Carnitas meat and since I’m a Singleton, I halved the recipe (but left the lime, yum!).
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Keep you posted…
Well as much as I WANTED to love these…I didn’t….family liked them ok but not enough to have them again. I am not sure what it was about them I didn’t care for as I love everything that goes in them….I think I would make them again and change the seasoning up a bit, maybe leave out the orange juice and lime….or atleast cut them back some. Sorry Jillee…I love the idea but not the follow through :) I will keep coming back though
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Just voted for you! Good luck!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I just made the Carnitas and OMG (goodness) they turned out better than I dreamed. Pull apart tender. Yumo thanks for a great recipe.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Fans/Friends/Readers……Jillee’s One Good Thing is currently in second place to win an award as the blog “Most Likely to Make Life as CHO (Chief Household Officer) Easier.” There are several links on this page, and it only takes a minute to vote….no registration necessary. Seems to be the perfect title for One Good Thing by Jillee! Thanks…..blessings….. Jill (NOT Jillee….HA!)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Just letting you know that I very gladly voted for your incredible blog at the Parents Magazine contest site. I’ve never seen a blog that is so well rounded, and shares such a variety of great forehead slapping ideas! I also pinned the Carnitas recipe…..crockpots are so forgiving. Thanks Jill….from Jill
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I made it! It is L.O.V.E. It is as wonderful as you say. A new recipe hit for our family!
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