Crispy Oven Baked Pork Carnitas
These Crispy Oven-Baked Pork Carnitas are juicy, flavorful, and packed with crispy golden edges. Perfect for tacos, burritos, or piling straight onto your plate.
Servings: 10
Calories: 254kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 pound pork shoulder (aka pork butt), bonless
- 1 onion peeled and halved
- 3 cloves garlic crushed
- 2 medium oranges juiced and keep the spent halves
- 2 limes juiced and keep the spent halves
Dry Rub
- 1½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon cumin ground
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon oregano dried
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300℉.
- In a small bowl, combine all the dry rub ingredients together.
- Place the pork shoulder in a large Dutch oven or an oven safe pot and rub the dry rub all over the pork on all sides. Throw in the onion, garlic juice from the oranges, limes and the spent orange and lime halves.
- Cover the pot and place it in the oven. Bake for 3½ hours until the meat is tender and shreddable.
- Remove the meat from the pot and place it on a baking sheet. Using two forks shred the meat into small pieces. There should be about 1½ cups of liquid left in the pot. Ladle about 1 cup of that liquid all over the shredded pork.
- Place the meat under the broiler, for about 5 to 10 minutes. Half way through turn them over with a spatula to crisp up on both sides. You can crisp them up 450℉ for about 30 minutes, especially if your oven doesn’t have a broiler.
- Serve hot on tortillas, burritos, tamales, sandwiches, etc.
Video
Notes
- Pork shoulder: Stick with pork shoulder (also called pork butt) for the best results. It's the ideal cut for juicy, tender carnitas with crispy edges.
- Cutting time: Short on time? Cut the pork into 4-inch chunks before baking — it’ll shave about an hour off the cooking time.
- Save the cooking liquid: After shredding, ladle some of the flavorful liquid over the pork before broiling to keep everything juicy and loaded with flavor.
- Storage: Leftovers keep in the fridge for 3–4 days or freeze beautifully for up to 6 months. Reheat in a hot oven (400℉) until crispy and delicious again.
- Extra crispy? No problem. Broil them a little longer or pop them back in the oven for a few extra minutes.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 254kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 41g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 108mg | Sodium: 451mg | Potassium: 774mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 125IU | Vitamin C: 18.9mg | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 1.9mg
