Get ready to indulge in the most epic pork carnitas extravaganza of your life!

Today, we’re diving into the world of Mexican cuisine, and trust me, you won’t want to miss this!. No more boring, flavorless pork!

Imagine tender, juicy pork with crispy edges, packed with tons of flavor. Perfect for parties, tacos, nachos, burritos, or even on a salad or in a rice bowl!

First, whisk together the cumin, salt, pepper, chili powder, and coriander. Trim your pork and place it in the slow cooker. Spread the dry rub seasoning on both sides of the pork. I like rubbing it in the slow cooker so I don’t lose any of the seasoning.

Add in the onions, jalapeno chunks, and garlic cloves. Then squeeze the juice of oranges onto the pork and drop the rind of one orange into the slow cooker. You don’t want to add too much of the rind because it can cause your pork to get bitter.

Cook the pork on high for 4 hours until it’s tender and once it’s done, remove it to a plate and cover it with foil.

Next strain all the liquid left in the slow cooker into a small saucepan. Throw out all the solids, you’ve gotten all their flavor! This step is what is going to give you super flavor packed carnitas.

Bring the liquid to a boil and allow it to reduce down until about 1 cup of liquid is left.

Next you’re going to get those crispy edges so preheat your oven to broil and line a baking sheet with foil for easy clean up. Shred the pork that is now cool enough to handle and place it evenly on your baking sheet.

Drizzle the reduced liquid on top of the shredded meat and coat it evenly. I use my hands for this step. This liquid adds a ton of flavor, but also keeps the carnitas moist.

Broil the meat until it’s crispy on the tops. This will take about 4 minutes, but stay close by, as ovens vary and you don’t want to dry your meat out. You are just looking for crispy edges.

This method takes a little bit more time, as you have to work in batches. Follow the recipe as written steps 1 – 7. Finish the meat as follows:

Orange juice is added into carnitas for flavor as well as the acid in the juice breaks down the tough meat making it tender. Apple juice can be used in carnitas in place of orange juice. If using apple juice, you can add a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to increase the acidity.

Carnitas are a version of pulled pork. The spice combination and the addition of orange or lime juice sets Mexican carnitas apart. American pulled pork is the same cut of meat, slow cooked, or smoked mixed with BBQ sauce most frequently.

The word carnitas translates to “little meats”, so technically carnitas can be any type of meat that is shredded, but traditionally Mexican Carnitas are made with shredded pork.

Carnitas are high in protein and low in fat, making them one of the healthier taco options. Pork is also high in iron.

The rule of thumb is to allot 1/2 pound of uncooked meat per person. This will produce enough meat for 3 well-filled tacos.