Pineapple Citrus Slow Cooker Carnitas & Carnitas Tacos
This easy recipes for slow cooker carnitas is always a win. Robust spices rubbed into the meat create incredible flavor as the meat slow cooks over several hours. The resulting meat can be used in many dishes including Carnitas Tacos.
Servings 24 1/3 cup servings (Makes 8 cups total)
Calories 64kcal
Ingredients
- 1 large Yellow Onion peeled, quartered and layers separated
- 4 Garlic Cloves peeled
- 1 tablespoon ground Cumin
- 2 teaspoons Chili Powder
- 2 teaspoons Oregano
- 2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
- 1 teaspoon ground Black Pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground Cinnamon
- 3 pounds Pork Butt or Pork Shoulder large pieces of fat removed
- 1 cup Pineapple Juice
- ½ cup Orange Juice
- ¼ cup Lime Juice
Carnitas Tacos (amounts based on desired quantity of tacos)
- Corn Tortillas
- Red Pickled Onion
- Cojita Cheese crumbled
- fresh Cilantro leaves torn
- Lime wedges
Instructions
- Line the bottom of a 6 quart or larger slow cooker insert with the onions. Add the garlic cloves.
- In a small mixing bowl combine the cumin, chili powder, oregano, salt, pepper and cinnamon. Rub to cover the pork shoulder and place on top of the onions in the slow cooker.
- Pour the pineapple juice, orange juice and lime juice into the slow cooker avoiding pouring it onto the pork and displacing the rub. Cover and cook for 8 hours on LOW.
- Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil and preheat the broiler. Move the top oven rack to the second rack position.
- Remove meat from the slow cooker (reserve liquids) and place on a cutting board. Using two forks shred the meat. Put the shredded meat onto the prepared baking sheet evenly spreading it into one layer.
- Broil for 2 minutes, flip the meat and broil another 2 minutes. Drizzle with ¼ cup of the cooking liquids, toss and broil for a final 2 minutes.
- Serve hot. Leftovers can be stored sealed in the refrigerator and are best broiled again for 2 minutes before serving.
Carnitas Tacos
- Add some of the carnitas to a corn tortilla, with pickled red onion, cojita cheese and torn cilantro leaves. Serve with lime wedge.
Video
Nutrition
Calories: 64kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 0g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 223mg | Potassium: 164mg | Fiber: 0g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 65IU | Vitamin C: 5.2mg | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 0.8mg