Easy Crockpot Carnitas
Meaty, Satisfying, SUPER FLAVORFUL and SO EASY that a monkey could put it together! (NOT that you are a monkey!). But SERIOUSLY ready to go in about 5 minutes! Just dump and GO! PERFECT for Tailgating and Game Day!
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 243kcal
Cost: $7
Equipment
- measuring cups and spoons
- Small bowl
- Crockpot
- knife
- cutting board
- Zester
Ingredients
- 1 Tbs Chili Powder
- 1 Tbs Ground Cumin
- 1 Tbs Cinnamon
- 1 Tbs Ground Pepper
- 2 tsp KOSHER salt
- 1 Tbs Rosemary
- 1 Tbs Thyme
- ¼ C Minced Garlic
- 3-4 lb Country Style Pork Ribs see notes
- 1 medium yellow onion cut into ribs or quarters
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 orange
- 2 limes plus extra for serving with the finished meal
- ½ Cup water
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix the chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, pepper, salt, rosemary, thyme, minced garlic. Rub this mixture onto the surface of the country style ribs and then place them in the crockpot bowl.
- Cut the onion and place it on top of the ribs.
- Zest the orange, then cut it in half and give it a squeeze before placing it into the crockpot.
- Zest the limes and then give them a squeeze before placing them into the crockpot. Pour the water gently down the sides of the crock pot so that it doesn’t wash the spices off of the pork. Add bay leaves.
- Put the lid on, set on high for 4-6 hours or low for 6-8 hours.
- When the meat is falling from the bone, it is finished.
- Remove the orange and lime halves from the crockpot giving them a good squeeze into the crockpot before discarding. Remove bay leaves.
- Remove the meat from the crockpot with tongs to a baking sheet.
- Use two forks and shred the meat by pulling it in opposite directions with the forks turned upside down. Discard any bones or heavy tendons that you may find.
- Dip out 1 Cup of the crock pot juices and pour over the meat in the baking sheet and mix well.
- Broil under HI for about 3-4 minutes to crisp up the meat
- Pour off the juices from the crockpot into a bowl while meat is in the broiler.
- Put the carnitas meat back into the crockpot once it is crisped as desired.
- Add back some of the reserved juices if you feel that it appears to dry.
- Serve on soft warmed tortillas with cheese, pickled onions, sour cream, cilantro, avocado slices and limes.
Video
Notes
- We use Country Style Ribs in the recipe because they are affordable and easy to work with. If you are expecting a BIG CROWD, go ahead and use a whole Boston Butt or Pork Shoulder Cut. Put this all in the crockpot the night before and let it cook on low for 24 hours. Delicious! You’ll need to double or triple the seasonings depending on the weight of your cut of pork.
- Feel free to cut the orange and limes up and put the fruit pieces into the crockpot, my family just doesn't like it like that. The orange and lime flavors are strong enough for us the way that I make this here.
- If you do not have minced garlic, use fresh. Remove as much of the papery skin on a head of garlic as you can, cut it in half (through the equator) and then put it in the crockpot whole (no worries, you won’t be eating the papery skin, it will stay in place).
- You’ll want to serve this with a delicious sauce! Try our Yum Yum Sauce or Tiger Sauce!
We love the carnitas meat served over a salad (if we have leftovers) with some sour cream and Doritos chips crushed over the top! YUM!
- Pro Tip - If you prefer the meat to remain soft instead of crisping the edges, then simply skip the broiler step (that’s what we do at our house).
Nutrition
Calories: 243kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 82mg | Sodium: 672mg | Potassium: 484mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 415IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 70mg | Iron: 2mg