Pork Carnitas Recipe

The perfect pork carnitas recipe that is crispy on the edges and moist and flavorful on the inside.

Course Main Dish

Cuisine Mexican

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 5

Total Time 5 15

Servings servings

Calories 446kcal

2½ - 3 pound pork butt carnitas or shoulder cut into large pieces at least 2x2 inches in size
1 pound lard cut into pieces
½ orange skin on, quartered
1 lime skin on, quartered
4 garlic cloves skins removed and slightly smashed
1 medium onion skinned and quartered
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon garlic powder
cilantro for garnish

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
In a 9x11x2 casserole dish or large roasting pan, place all ingredients.
Cover with parchment and foil and bake for five hours.
Remove from oven and scoop out meat.
Place cooked pork on a foil-lined sheet pan, drizzle with some of the left over liquid and place under broiler for five minutes to crisp up the edges. Shred if desired.
If the bottoms seem too wet, flip the pork and broil the other side for another minute or two. This step needs to be watched – you want the meat to caramelize without burning it or drying it out.
Garnish with chopped cilantro

Don't skip the last step of putting the meat under the broiler. Crisping up the edges gives the carnitas so much flavor and I love the texture it gives too.

Trust me on the lard or "manteca". It is the traditional way of slow roasting carnitas. You can leave it out but you don't get the same flavor without it.