Crispy Pork Carnitas Recipe
This crispy pork carnitas recipe is slow oven roasted marinated pork cubes with a crispy caramelized crust. Rich, moist, flavorful and so tender it melts in your mouth!
Why You’ll Love This
Yes, crispy pork carnitas can be achieved by the home cook! Do you wish you could make pork carnitas at home in your oven?
If you are like me you don’t want to cook carnitas the authentic way, which is slow cooking pork fully submerged in lard.
This confit method of cooking produces pork that’s rich and so tender. But who wants to deal with a pot full of lard? While delicious, the cleanup process is arduous at best.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t have amazing, rich, and tender pork carnitas at home!
This crispy carnitas recipe was inspired by our favorite local Mexican restaurant. ANYTIME we want the real deal, we go there.
They serve the pork carnitas cut into cubes, not as shredded pork, and it’s our favorite way to eat pork carnitas tacos. The tender meat just falls apart.
Topped with fresh pico de gallo and a squeeze of fresh lime juice. PERFECTION!
Our method is marinating the pork butt and then slow oven roasting it. This produces rich, moist, flavorful, and tender crispy caramelized pork pieces that it melts in your mouth!
It’s not overseasoned, the citrus comes out, and you get bits and pieces of char on the pork … it’s just amazing!
This is an easy method for cooking pork carnitas that is crispy on the outside and packed with authentic flavor!
It’s really the best carnitas I have ever had.
Key Ingredients
- Pork – You want to use a higher fat content cut for carnitas such as pork butt (boston butt) or pork shoulder. This help keeps the meat tender and juicy during the long cooking time. Boneless pork shoulder works just as well.
- Seasoning – The secret to carnitas is the citrus juice! Marinating the pork in fresh orange and lime juice helps tenderize and break down the meat. The citrus flavors add a bright fresh flavor!
How To Make Crispy Pork Carnitas In The Oven
Cube the pork shoulder or butt into large 2″ x 2″ cubes. Whisk together fresh orange juice, fresh lime juice, olive oil, garlic cloves, cilantro, cumin, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
Place the cubed pork in a large zip-top bag and pour the marinade over it. Remove the air from the bag and zip it closed.
Massage the meat around so the marinade covers it thoroughly. Place the bag on a large plate or platter (just in case it leaks) and refrigerate for 12 hours or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 275ºF.
Line a large rimmed baking sheet with heavy-duty aluminum foil.
Place the cubed pork on the baking sheet in a single layer.
Cover with foil and slow roast for 2 hours.
Increase the oven temperature to 300ºF.
Remove the foil and continue to cook another 45 minutes to one hour, until the pork is fork tender.
Once the pork is falling apart tender, drain the juices from the baking pan. Broil until desired crispiness is acquired. For us, it’s about 5-8 minutes.
Remember every oven is different.
How to Serve Carnitas
Serve with flour tortillas (or corn tortillas) and your favorite toppings as carnitas tacos, in a burrito, or on a salad.
Some great toppings are sour cream, pico de Gallo, shredded cheddar cheese, guacamole, and lime wedges.
You will swoon when you taste the moistest, most flavorful, tender pork carnitas you have ever cooked at home!
A warm tortilla stuffed with this fork-tender, flavorful pork is so awesome.
Top this off with some pico de gallo (or red onion, at least) and some cilantro, and a squeeze of lime. You will have probably made your new favorite, delicious meal!
So switch up taco night and give this Mexican dish a try. You’ll love it!
Tips
- Don’t trim the fat. You want the fat to help keep the meat moist during the long slow cooking process.
- Marinating the meat helps infuse those Mexican flavors you expect from pork carnitas.
- You can shred the pork if you like, but this cubed method is how we enjoy carnitas the most!
- Skip the tortillas, and this is a low carb/keto meal.
- This is a great recipe for meal prep.
- This delicious meal would be perfect for any Cinco De Mayo celebration.
Variations
- You can use this meat to make delicious burrito bowls. Just add some black beans, avocado, rice, and some salsa.
- If you are a fan of rice bowls, this meat works great for that. In fact, check out our Cilantro Lime Rice. This would be an amazing pairing to this easy recipe.
- Many recipes have carnitas with roasted red onions and green bell peppers. By all means, use them if you like. I recommend removing them right before broiling the pork.
FAQ’s
We also recommend serving this with a very tasty rice dish, such as our Cilantro Lime rice. You can even do up some Black Bean dip and make it a full-on party with enough to feed a family or your group of friends!
Place leftover pork carnitas in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days. Warm in an air fryer at high heat for just a few minutes or in the oven under the broiler. You don’t want to bake them and dry them out.
Place the carnitas in a freezer-safe container or bag and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
Crispy Pork Carnitas Recipe
Equipment
- Baking Sheet
Ingredients
- 4-5lb pork butt or shoulder, cut into 2″ cubes
Marinade
- 2 oranges juice of fresh
- 2 limes juice of fresh
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 10 garlic cloves , peeled and cracked
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro , chopped
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons black pepper fresh ground
Instructions
- Cut the pork butt into 2″ cubes. Place in a large zip-top bag or bowl.
- Mix together the orange juice, lime juice, olive oil, garlic cloves, cilantro, cumin, salt, and pepper. Pour over the pork and massage or stir to cover thoroughly with the marinade. Refrigerate for at least 12 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 275F degrees. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with heavy-duty aluminum foil.
- Place the pork in a single layer on the baking sheet. Cover with foil and slow roast for 2 hours.
- Increase the oven temperature to 300ºF.
- Remove the foil and continue to cook another 45 minutes to one hour, until the pork is fork tender.
- Once the pork is falling apart tender, drain the juices from the baking pan. Broil until desired crispiness is acquired. For us, it’s about 5-8 minutes.
- Serve with flour tortillas and your favorite toppings.
Notes
- Don’t trim the fat, you want the fat to help keep the meat moist during the long slow cooking process.
- Marinating the meat helps infuse those Mexican flavors you expect from pork carnitas.
- You can shred the pork if you like, but this cubed method is how we enjoy carnitas the most!
- Skip the tortillas and this is a low carb/keto meal.
This is excellent! I’m going to make this again and again.
I used this marinade for 30 lbs. cubed pork butt, which I marauded for 48 hours. Also did 20 lbs. of cubed chicken thighs & 40 lbs. of chicken wings with this marinade, but changed the spices to better suit poultry. All went on my vertical smokers at the same temp. & time. After 3 hours, seared the cubed chicken & pork on a 48″ discarda. Served them to my guest street taco style with four different pico de gallo mixtures pineapple, mango, watermelon, apple. The wings were seared over hot apple wood coals and served with a honey cilantro lime dipping sauce. I would recommend this marinade.
Just realized that step 4 does not instruct you to cover the pork with foil. It would be helpful if you added it since I did not remember reading it in your story above. Hoping my carnitas do not come out too dry :(. They smell so good.
Hi, Suzy! Thank you so much for bringing this to our attention. I hope you enjoyed them!
Do you remove the juices before the last hour, or right before broiling? The recipe says one thing but the story says another? Thanks!
Right before broiling. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.