Delicious and Authentic Carnitas Recipe - A Food Lover's Kitchen (2024)

This Mexican Carnitas recipe is about as good as it gets. The tender pieces of pork are like little morsels of savory magic, and they can be used in so many different recipes, making this a very versatile recipe.

I remember the first time I tasted really good authentic carnitas. I was at La Sandia, a Mexican restaurant owned by one of my favorite Mexican chefs, Richard Sandoval. I order the skillet pork carnitas from the menu. They were unbelievably good.

There was a sweetness to the pork that really put them on another level from any carnitas I’d had before. I wanted to learn how to make them at home.

A few months later I was lucky enough to meet Chef Sandoval at a book signing at the restaurant. I couldn’t help but ask him what the secret was. You know what he said?

co*ke. That’s right, original cane sugar co*ke.

I began experimenting with my own authentic carnitas recipe after that. I knew that good carnitas needed fat. To be truly authentic, they should be slow cooked in lard.

They also need citrus/acid and a sweet element. Oranges and co*ke.

This is really all you need to create the most authentic, crispy and delicious pork carnitas you’ve ever tasted. It works every time. And there’s very little preparation involved.

I prefer to work with boneless pork shoulder and I cut it into large chunks. You can also use bone-in pork shoulder and leave it whole, if you wish.

The way I get around using full lard to braise the meat is to add in as much of the fat as is possible. Buying a fatty piece of shoulder is the best way to do it. Brown and cook the fat with the rest of the meat to create juicy and unctuous Mexican carnitas.

Another way to make amazing carnitas is in an Instant Pot. It quickly breaks down the meat so you don’t have to cook it for hours. Give this Instant Pot Carnitas recipe a try.

Ingredients You’ll Need

• Pork shoulder – I prefer to work with boneless pork shoulder and I cut it into large chunks. You can also use bone-in pork shoulder and leave it whole, if you wish. Because of it’s high fat content it helps the meat become super tender and juicy.
• Herbs and spices – Salt, black pepper, cumin, oregano, and bay leaves.
• Garlic
• Orange juice
• co*ke – Original cane sugar co*ke for sweetness.
• Taco fixings – Corn tortillas, diced onion, fresh cilantro, lime, and jalapeno.

How to Make Authentic Pork Carnitas

Carnitas are often made in the oven or slow cooker, because they need a lot of time for the meat to break down and become tender. I am going to show you how to cook pork carnitas on the stove.

The first step is to salt the pork and brown it in a stock pot on all sides. This takes about 6 minutes.

Once it’s browned, add the rest of the ingredients to the stock pot. This includes the orange juice, spices, and can of co*ke. If the meat isn’t at least 3/4 covered, you can add some extra water to get it 3/4 submerged.

Note: In this recipe, I use a stock pot on the stove to cook carnitas. You can also use a slow cooker or a pressure cooker, like the Instant Pot (which I adore). The cooking time will vary for all three methods.

If cooking on the stove top, set the heat to medium low, so the liquid in the pot is just bubbling, but not boiling. Cover with the lid. Maintain this level of heat for around 3-4 hours.

If you’re using a slow cooker, set the cooker to low and leave it for the day. It will need to cook for at least 4-6 hours.

The pressure cooker will take considerably less time. In the Instant Pot, set it for 45 minutes on the “Meat” setting.

After the cook time is up, you will have a pot of meat that looks like this, and smells incredible.

I chose to keep the meat in as large of pieces as possible until I decide how I’m going to use it. Of course, it comes out fall apart tender, and perfect for carnitas tacos, burritos, or tortas.

Really there is no limit to how you use the carnitas pork. You can even just serve it by itself. It’s THAT good.

If you love this tender shredded pork, you’ll also love our shredded beef barbacoa recipe. It’s just as easy to make and can be used in many dishes.

For authentic Mexican carnitas tacos, I shred the meat up into small, bite-sized pieces, then crisp it up either on a pan on the stove, or on a baking sheet under the broiler.

For just a couple of servings, the pan works just fine. Add a little oil and heat on high. Then add the meat and allow it to brown without moving it for around 30 seconds per side.

When the meat is crisped up, you can pile it onto warmed corn tortillas, followed by diced onion or pico de gallo, cilantro and a spritz of lime.

That’s all you need to make the perfect authentic carnitas tacos. You can use the leftovers to make these delicious carnitas burritos.

Adding the co*ke might seem like a strange addition, but believe me – it’s really integral to the outcome. The acid and sugar really give it a boost. Be sure to use the real cane sugar Mexican co*ke, if you can find it. Do not use co*ke Zero or Diet co*ke as a substitute.

If you don’t want to use co*ke, or don’t have any on hand, you can replace it with extra water and 2 tbsp cane sugar or light brown sugar.

FAQs

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