Carnitas, a classic Mexican dish, is known for its tender, flavorful pork that can be easily shredded and enjoyed in a variety of dishes, particularly tacos. Cooking carnitas in a slow cooker is an excellent way to achieve fall-off-the-bone tenderness, making it a popular choice for busy home cooks and those who love set-it-and-forget-it meals. With the right combination of spices, herbs, and cooking techniques, you can create the best slow cooker carnitas that will wow your taste buds and become a staple in your recipe repertoire.
Here are our top 4 tried and tested recipes!
THE BEST EVER SLOW COOKER CARNITAS
What makes these carnitas different? They are crisped and browned on the stove after low and slow cooking in the crock pot. These are incredibly easy to make and have replaced traditional taco filling at our house. These carnitas or "little meats" are great in Tacos, Burritos, Enchiladas, Tamales or Nachos. When served with corn tortillas, they are also gluten free!
Provided by sellingsavannah
Categories Mexican
Time 7h40m
Yield 8-10 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 11
Steps:
- Mix cumin, garlic powder, oregano, coriander, kosher salt and ground black pepper together in a small bowl to make a dry rub. Pat the pork shoulder roast or boston butt dry with paper towels, and then cover roast with dry rub.
- Place the pieces of onion and the bay leaf in the bottom of your slower cooker, lay the roast on top. Carefully pour the chicken stock or the water around the roast, taking care not to wash away the dry rub. Cook on low for 6 hours or until the pork easily falls apart.
- Once the pork is easily falling apart, remove from slow cooker to cool. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Remove and discard the excess fat, shred the remaining pork.
- Place the reserved cooking liquid in a large non-stick skillet with shredded pork. Cook over medium high heat until the liquid is absorbed, tossing the pork occasional to coat.
- Once the cooking liquid is absorbed, add the oil and crisp up the carnitas to your desired doneness. We like our extra crispy, usually about 14-18 minutes.
- Serve with your favorite taco fixings, like corn or flour tortillas, cilantro, lime, shredded cabbage, pico de gallo, sour cream and cheese.
THE BEST SLOW COOKER CARNITAS, GREAT FOR TACOS!
These carnitas cook low and slow in the Slow Cooker or Crockpot and finish on the stove for a crispy and delicious filling for tacos, burritos or nachos. This is the new taco filling for Taco Tuesday at our house. My whole crew prefers this to traditional taco filling made with ground beef or ground turkey.
Provided by sellingsavannah
Categories Mexican
Time 6h30m
Yield 10-12 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 11
Steps:
- Mix the kosher salt, garlic powder, ground cumin, ground coriander, dried oregano and black pepper together in a small bowl. Coat the pork shoulder roast with the dry rub.
- Place the sliced onion and bay leaves in the bottom of your slow cooker, lay pork shoulder roast on top. Carefully pour water or chicken broth around the roast, making sure you don't disturb the dry rub.
- Cover and cook on Low until the pork shreds easily with a fork, about 6 hours. Turn the meat after it has cooked for 3 hours.
- When the pork is tender, remove from slow cooker, remove and discard excess fat and shred with two forks. Reserve cooking liquid.
- Place shredded pork into a large skillet with 1 cup of reserved cooking liquid over medium high heat, stirring occasionally. Once liquid has cooked down completely, add canola or vegetable oil. Stir occasionally for 15-20 minutes or until the meat has reached desired crispiness.
- Serve in warm flour or corn tortillas with your favorite taco toppings. We serve ours cilantro, pickled red onions, salsa or pico de gallo, guacamole, sliced cabbage and lime wedges,.
SLOW-COOKER CARNITAS
We shared these flavor-packed tacos with friends from church who came over to help us move. They're so good, I put them on my blog, manilaspoon.com! The slow cooker makes this recipe extra easy, and I love that whenever I make it, I'm reminded of the wonderful people back in Michigan. -Abigail Raines, Hamden, Connecticut
Provided by Taste of Home
Categories Dinner
Time 8h25m
Yield 12 servings.
Number Of Ingredients 13
Steps:
- In a small bowl, mix first 9 ingredients. Place onions in a 6-qt. slow cooker. Place roast over onions; pour salsa mixture over roast. Cook, covered, on low until pork is tender, 8-10 hours., Remove roast; remove and discard bone. Shred pork with 2 forks. Serve in tortillas with toppings as desired. Freeze option: Freeze cooled pork mixture in freezer containers. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Microwave, covered, on high in a microwave-safe dish until heated through, stirring occasionally; add water or broth if necessary.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 393 calories, Fat 18g fat (6g saturated fat), Cholesterol 100mg cholesterol, Sodium 757mg sodium, Carbohydrate 25g carbohydrate (2g sugars, Fiber 4g fiber), Protein 32g protein.
SLOW-COOKED CARNITAS TACOS
Provided by Amy Finley
Categories Slow Cooker Kid-Friendly High Fiber Cinco de Mayo Dinner Pork Rib Winter Poker/Game Night Healthy Party Bon Appétit Sugar Conscious Dairy Free Wheat/Gluten-Free Peanut Free Tree Nut Free Soy Free No Sugar Added Small Plates
Yield servings
Number Of Ingredients 10
Steps:
- Toss pork in bowl of slow cooker with salt, black pepper, and dried oregano to coat. Place onion pieces atop pork. Cover slow cooker and cook pork on low setting until meat is very tender and falling apart, about 6 hours.
- Using slotted spoon, transfer pork to cutting board. Discard onion pieces. Using fingers, shred pork; transfer carnitas to platter. Place avocado slices, cilantro sprigs, and sliced red bell peppers, if desired, alongside. Wrap corn tortillas in damp kitchen towel; microwave until warm, about 1 minute. Serve carnitas with warm tortillas and tomatillo salsa.
Tips:
- For the best results, use a pork shoulder roast that is at least 3 pounds. This will ensure that you have plenty of meat for your tacos.
- If you don't have a slow cooker, you can also cook the carnitas in the oven. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit and cook the pork shoulder for 4-6 hours, or until it is fall-apart tender.
- Be sure to season the pork shoulder generously with salt, pepper, and cumin. This will help to give the carnitas a delicious flavor.
- If you want your carnitas to have a crispy exterior, you can broil them for a few minutes before serving.
- Carnitas are a versatile dish that can be served in a variety of ways. They are great in tacos, burritos, enchiladas, or even just on their own with a side of rice and beans.
Conclusion:
Carnitas are a delicious and easy-to-make Mexican dish that is perfect for a party or a weeknight meal. With a few simple ingredients and a slow cooker, you can have a flavorful and tender pork dish that everyone will love. So next time you're looking for a new recipe to try, give carnitas a try. You won't be disappointed!
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