Super Easy Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas Recipe that Foodies and Kids will Love

I am super “no fuss” when it comes to cooking at home. Don’t even get me started on how I loathe making weeknight meals. Even most slow cooker meals can just be too complicated for me. I want to throw a bunch of stuff in a pot, turn it on and walk away. Oh, and it has to be healthy and my kids have to love it. Slow cooker pork carnitas seem to hit all of my needs, right?

Of course, if I have to sear something, buy special ingredients, if no substitutes are allowed or it takes me more than 10 minutes to prep, I’m out.

My hunt for the perfect pork carnitas recipe began after we moved back east from Seattle. My family has been craving tacos and burritos, something we used to eat at least once a week. Our favorite Seattle restaurants and taco trucks, El Camion, made a mean pork carnitas burrito. I’ve been on the hunt for our replacement meal.

I finally found one! I had to modify it a bit, but CaféDelites.com version came close. Here’s what the pork carnitas recipe I came up with.

Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas Recipe

• Pork tenderloin (about 4 pounds)
• 1 packet of Onion soup mix
• 1 teaspoon of pepper
• 1 tablespoon of dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 8 smashed cloves of garlic (or 4 teaspoons of minced garlic in a jar)
• 4 tablespoons of lime juice (or 2 fresh limes juiced)
• 2 oranges juiced (or 4 tablespoons of lemon or orange juice)
• 1 cup of chicken stock
• bay leaves
• Salt to finish

Instructions

• Rinse pork tenderloin and put into the crockpot
• Add all ingredients, except the finishing salt, to the crockpot
• Set crockpot to low and let cook for 6-8 hours (on high 4-6 hours)
• Meat is cooked once you can pull apart with a fork.
• Once meat is cooked, line a cooking sheet with foil.
• Shred all meat and put on foil. Pour two cups of crockpot liquid cover the meat.
• Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of salt, if you like salty pork.
• Cook meet in over at 450 degrees until top is crispy (you can also broil to speed things up, but keep a very close eye on it). Turn the meat every few minutes, but don’t let it dry out.
• Take meat out of the oven and assemble pork carnitas tacos.

Toppings

• Fresh cilantro
• Limes, cut into wedges
• Sour cream
• Sliced Avocado
• Flour or corn tortillas
• Shredded cheese
• Tomatoes
• Lettuce
• Sliced radishes

Side Dishes

• Spanish rice and black beans.

Drink Pairings

• Try out Easy Mojito Recipe or Key lime Martini