Crispy and Juicy Carnitas Tacos

These crispy and juicy carnitas tacos with fresh crisp toppings like pico de gallo, red onion, and cilantro are plain irresistible.

Course Dinner, Meal Prep, potluck

Cuisine American, Mexican, texmex

Keyword carnitas tacos

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 10

Servings servings

Calories 261kcal

Author Kelli Shallal MPH RD

Equipment

Slow Cooker or instant pot
sheet pan
Tongs

Ingredients

Carnitas Ingredients

4 lbs pork shoulder or pork butt
2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoon coconut sugar
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp chipotle chile powder
1 tablespoon fine sea salt
½ tsp black pepper
1 tablespoon avocado oil
12 garlic cloves
1 onion sliced
1 cup water
1-2 limes

Taco Toppings

10 tortillas
1 cup pico de gallo
1 cup cialntro

Instructions

Slow Cooker Instructions:
Combine all ingredients for the rub (oregano, coconut sugar, basil, chipotle chile, smoked paprika, sea salt, and black pepper) in a jar or ziplock bag (really whatever you want). Rub the seasonings all over the pork shoulder. Make sure to get every crevice!
Add avocado oil to a large nonstick pan on medium-high and brown all sides of the pork shoulder. 1-2 minutes on each side should be plenty! Once the pork is browned, place 12 small slits all over the pork shoulder, then stuff garlic chunks down in each slit.
Add ½ cup water, followed by the pork and onion slices, to the slow cooker. Squeeze the juice of 1-2 limes over the top. (PS If your limes are big, stick with one or it will be VERY limey.)
Cook on high for 6-8 hours or low for 8-10 hours. You can check doneness by trying to shred it. It should be EXTREMELY easy to shred when done. Shred the pork. You can do this in the slow cooker and then drain or just pull out the pork shoulder and do it on your cooking board. Keep the broth if you plan to freeze the meat!
Crank the oven to broil and spread the pork accross a foil-lined sheet pan for 3-6 minutes.

Build Tacos

Build tacos by adding meat, cilantro, pico de gallo, and any other toppings you want!

Video

Notes

Instant Pot Carnitas Instructions: Please see this post.

Freezer Instructions: Shred the meat but do not brown it. Shredded meat tends to lose its moisture when frozen or stored. To my hubby, this is UNACCEPTABLE. If it was up to him, we wouldn't brown the meat at all because he likes it really juicy, but I NEED the crispiness. So, freeze the meat and juice in separate containers. You can freeze for up to 3 months. Let it defrost under refrigeration, and then follow the steps to saute or broil the meat for crispiness. Add back in broth as needed!

**Corn tortillas used in nutrition facts.

Nutrition