Dutch Oven Carnitas
You'll love this easy recipe that creates crispy pork carnitas in your dutch oven at home. Moist and juicy pork roast is slow-cooked and seasoned with spices until it's fall-apart tender!
Servings: 16
Calories: 256kcal
Ingredients
Pork Carnitas
- 4.5 pound pork butt roast (boneless)
- 2 cups beef broth (or water)
- 1 medium onion (cut in chunks)
- 2 medium oranges (squeezed into broth)
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon oregano (Mexican if possible)
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- orange and lime wedges (optional)
Carnitas Tacos
- 1 package corn tortillas
- 2 small limes
- 1 small red onion
- ½ cup cilantro (chopped)
- 1 cup salsa
- 1 cup cojita cheese
Instructions
Pork Carnitas
- Prepare Pork: take the pork roast out of its wrapper and pat it down with a paper towel. Trim excess fat off of pork with a sharp knife. Add beef or chicken broth to the bottom of a large dutch oven, and place the roast in the pot.
- Add spices: sprinkle pork with cumin, oregano, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Squeeze the juice of two oranges into the pot. Add minced garlic, then nestle onions that have been cut into large chunks and a few orange and lime slices beside the pork.
- Cover and bake: make sure the lid fits securely. Place in a 350ºF oven and bake for 3 hours.
- Check half way through: half way through the cooking process, add more broth to the pot and turn over the roast. Close lid and continue to bake.
- After 3 hours: open lid and check to see if pork can be easily pulled with a fork. If it can, take it out of the dutch oven and place on a sheet pan. If it won't pull easily, bake it for 1 more hour.
- Let the roast rest: bring meat to room temperature or cool it down before shredding with two forks. To make this process faster, cut the roast in several large chunks to release the steam. The outer bark will be dark but not hard.
- Chop up the pork pieces: shred some and chop others into small bite-size pieces. Use two forks to pull the meat apart, or chop with a knife (if you wish) to the desired size.
- Broil the pork: to make crispy carnitas, broil the shredded meat for 10 minutes on the sheet pan in the oven. Remove from oven and drizzle pork with braising liquid from the pot.
Carnitas Tacos
- Sear corn tortillas: use kitchen tongs to sear tortillas in the bottom of a frying pan. Turn the heat to high and sear each side for about 10 seconds, moving tortillas quickly until edges are slightly charred.
- Fill tortillas with pork: add a generous amount of meat to the bottom of each tortilla.
- Add toppings: pile on the toppings of your choice. Try topping with cilantro, red onions, cotija cheese, salsa and a squeeze of fresh lime.
Notes
- How long will carnitas last in the fridge? If kept in an airtight container, pork carnitas will last up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Reheat in the oven or microwave in its own juice.
- Can you freeze carnitas? Freeze leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw in refrigerator overnight and reheat in a 350ºF oven for 15 to 20 minutes until meat reaches 145ºF with an instant read thermometer.
- Can carnitas be chicken? Carnitas is a Mexican pork dish, but you can substitute chicken for pork if desired. Try this dutch oven recipe for pulled chicken which is an easy way to make it in one pot. Just remember to add the spices listed in this recipe during the cooking process.
- View the Google Web Story for Dutch Oven Carnitas!
Nutrition
Calories: 256kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 565mg | Potassium: 598mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 102mg | Iron: 2mg