Pork Carnitas Tacos

5 from 3 votes

Deliciously crispy pork carnitas served taco-style with lime, cilantro, and red onion. The pork is cooked until tender in a slow cooker with fresh lime & orange juice. It's then broiled in the oven until crispy & ready for tacos!

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time8 hrs 10 mins

Total Time8 hrs 20 mins

Servings: 6 - 8 tacos

Ingredients

To make carnitas:

4 pounds boneless skinless pork shoulder (or butt)
3 cloves garlic chopped
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 yellow onion quartered
2 oranges juiced
3 limes juiced
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper

To make the tacos:

¾ cup red onion diced
¾ cup cilantro chopped
6 - 8 Tortillas
3 - 4 Limes cut into wedges

Instructions

Make the carnitas:

Mix together the chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Rub it over the pork on all sides.
Add the pork to the slow cooker along with the orange juice, lime juice, onion and garlic on top.
Cook for 8 - 10 hours on low or 5 - 6 hours on high. The pork should be fall-apart tender.
Take the pork out of the slow cooker and shred it on a cutting board using 2 forks.
Place the pork on a baking sheet in one layer and pour in 1 cup liquid from the slow cooker. Add pork to the oven, turn the oven to broil at 450 degrees and cook for 7 - 10 minutes, until the edges of the pork are crispy.

Assemble the tacos:

Make your tacos by layering your tortilla with carnitas, onion, cilantro and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

Notes

Onion: you can use either red onion or white onion for topping your carnitas.
Avocado: adding avocado or guacamole on top of your tacos is also tasty!
To make this recipe gluten-free or paleo: This recipe is naturally all of these categories, except for the tortillas. Swap out your tortilla to fit your eating style. For example, Cassava Flour Tortillas fit these diets (gluten-free & paleo).