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Tender, juicy, slow-cooked pork, shredded and crisped to perfection. This classic Mexican-American dish is served with warm tortillas, rice, and beans for a hearty and incredibly flavorful meal.
Sear the Pork
Braise the Pork
Shred the Pork
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Tender, juicy, slow-cooked pork, shredded and crisped to perfection. This classic Mexican-American dish is served with warm tortillas, rice, and beans for a hearty and incredibly flavorful meal.
This mexican_american recipe takes 210 minutes to prepare and yields 4 servings. At 1384.54 calories per serving with 74.41g of protein, it's a moderately challenging recipe perfect for lunch or dinner.
Crisp the Carnitas
Assemble and Serve
For a more traditional Michoacán-style flavor, add a cinnamon stick and a few whole cloves to the braising liquid.
While pork shoulder is classic, you can also make carnitas with well-marbled pork loin or even chicken thighs, though cooking times will need to be adjusted.
This recipe can be adapted for a slow cooker (6-8 hours on low) or an Instant Pot (45 minutes on high pressure, followed by natural release).
Instead of a plate, serve the carnitas in tacos, burritos, quesadillas, or on top of nachos.
Pork is a complete protein, providing all the essential amino acids your body needs for muscle repair, growth, and overall function. A single serving of this dish provides a significant portion of your daily protein needs.
Pork shoulder is a good source of several B vitamins, particularly niacin, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12. These vitamins are crucial for energy metabolism, brain function, and the formation of red blood cells.
This dish offers important minerals like selenium, a powerful antioxidant, and zinc, which is vital for immune system function and wound healing.
This Carnitas Plate is a very hearty and calorie-dense meal. While it's an excellent source of protein from the pork, it is also high in fat and sodium. It's best enjoyed as an occasional treat or in smaller portions if you are monitoring your calorie and fat intake.
A single serving of this Carnitas Plate, including the pork, rice, beans, and tortillas, contains approximately 1400-1500 calories. The exact number can vary based on the fat content of the pork and the specific brands of ingredients used.
The best cut is boneless pork shoulder, also known as pork butt or Boston butt. This cut has the ideal amount of fat marbling, which renders down during the slow cooking process to make the meat incredibly tender, juicy, and flavorful.
Yes, absolutely. After searing the pork on the stovetop, transfer it and all other braising ingredients to a slow cooker. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours, until the pork is tender. Then, shred and crisp in a skillet as directed.
Store leftover shredded (but not yet crisped) pork in its braising liquid in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. To reheat, simply crisp it in a hot skillet with a little lard or oil until heated through and crispy.
There are a few common reasons: the pan wasn't hot enough, you overcrowded the pan (which steams the meat instead of frying it), or you didn't use enough fat (lard or oil). Ensure the skillet is very hot and work in batches for the best results.