These Crock Pot Pork Carnitas only require a handful of ingredients and are full of flavor. Perfectly seasoned pork and a trick to help the meat stay tender with crispy edges!
shredded cheese, sliced avocados, sliced radishes, chopped onions, sour cream, chopped cilantro, pico de gallo or salsa,for serving
Instructions
Unwrap the roast and gently dry with paper towel.
Combine salt and spices in a small bowl and mix well.
Rub the roast with oil (this will help the spices stick better.)
Then coat the roast with spice mixture.
Get it all over the roast and rub it in well.
Wrap the roast well with plastic wrap.
Pop the roast into the refrigerator and refrigerate overnight (if possible.)
The next morning, unwrap the roast and put it into to crock pot (fat side up) on high for 6 hours or low for 10 hours.
No additional liquids are needed for cooking. The pork will cook in its' own juices.
When finished cooking, remove roast from crock pot and set aside onto an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet.
Then pour 1/2 cup of the rendered cooking liquid from the crock pot into a measuring cup. Shred roast into chunks and remove the shoulder bone and fatty pieces and toss those.
Cut lime into wedges and squeeze juice all over pork.
Toss the squeezed lime wedges into the pan with the pork for extra flavor. (At this point, go ahead and turn the broiler onto 'High" on your oven)
Drizzle 1/2 cup of the rendered cooking liquid over the pork.
Place baking sheet on the middle oven rack and broil on high until pork pieces begin to sizzle and crisp up (about 5 minutes.)
Remove from oven and serve with flour or corn tortilas and desired toppings.
Notes
I really recommend letting the pork roast sit in the seasonings overnight. It really does make a HUGE difference in taste.
If you prefer, you can purchase store-bought packet seasonings for this - fajita seasoning is probably the closest to these flavors. I do recommend giving this easy homemade seasoning a try. The oregano really adds a kick of flavor here.
You want to look for a pork roast that has a good fat cap on it. This will really help keep the pork moist and flavorful as it cooks. The fatty bits will be removed when the pork is fully cooked.
I think a bone-in pork shoulder works best here since it adds more flavor but if all you can find is boneless, then you can certainly go with that. Just look for one that has a good bit of fat on top.