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Fall Apart Carnitas with Crispy Edges: Slow Cooked Pork with Orange and Lime
The real texture of Fall Apart Carnitas with Crispy Edges comes from crisping the shredded pork in a hot pan. Add fresh lime, salsa, and guacamole, and dinner is ready for the table.
Why You Will Love and Enjoy This Fall Apart Carnitas with Crispy Edges
- The pork gets incredibly tender: A slow braise gives the pork shoulder plenty of time to become juicy and fork-tender.
- You get crispy and tender in every bite: The shredded pork is browned in a hot pan, giving you those irresistible crispy edges without drying out the meat.
- Orange and lime brighten everything: The citrus cuts through the richness of the pork and keeps the flavour fresh.
- It’s easy to customize: Load your tortillas with salsa, guacamole, red onion and coriander, or add your own favourite toppings.
- It’s great for feeding a crowd: The recipe makes plenty of tender pork for tacos, tortillas and leftovers.
Additional Information
- Can this be frozen? Yes, Fall Apart Carnitas with Crispy Edges freezes very well. For the best texture, freeze the shredded braised pork before crisping it. Cool the pork completely, place it in an airtight freezer container or freezer bag, add a small amount of the reserved braising liquid to prevent it from drying out, and freeze for up to 3 months.
- Thaw the pork in the refrigerator overnight, then crisp it in a hot frying pan with a little oil or lard just before serving. This gives you much better crispy edges than freezing the pork after it has already been crisped.
- How long can this be stored and how? Store cooked Fall Apart Carnitas with Crispy Edges in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 to 4 days. Keep the pork refrigerated within 2 hours of cooking and allow it to cool before sealing the container. For the best results, store the pork separately from the tortillas and toppings. Reheat the pork in a frying pan over medium-high heat until piping hot, then crisp it again. Add a splash of the reserved braising liquid or a little chicken stock if the pork seems dry.
Substitute suggestions for ingredients
- Pork shoulder: Pork butt can be used instead, as it’s also well suited to long, slow cooking. Avoid very lean pork cuts, as they can become dry.
- Chicken stock: Beef stock or vegetable stock can be used, although chicken stock keeps the flavour lighter.
- Oil or lard: Use vegetable oil, canola oil or another neutral cooking oil. Lard gives the pork a particularly rich flavour and helps with crisping.
- Red peppers: Green, yellow or orange peppers can be substituted. The flavour will change slightly, but the recipe will still work.
- Fresh coriander: If you don’t enjoy coriander, use fresh parsley or simply leave it out.
- Cinnamon sticks: If you only have ground cinnamon, use about 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, but add it with the paprika and cumin rather than placing it directly into the braising liquid.
- Fresh oranges and limes: Bottled juice can work in a pinch, but fresh citrus gives the best flavour. If using bottled juice, you’ll miss some of the fresh citrus character from the orange halves used during braising.
- Tortillas: Use flour or corn tortillas, depending on your preference. You can also serve the carnitas over rice, in bowls, or with a simple salad if you don’t want tortillas.
A couple of extra kitchen notes
- If your braising liquid seems quite fatty after cooking, don’t worry. That’s normal with pork shoulder. You can skim off some of the fat before shredding, but leaving a little behind helps keep the meat moist and flavourful.
- The real trick is not to skip the final crisping step. The slow braise makes the pork tender, but the hot frying pan is what turns it into proper carnitas with those browned, crispy bits everyone fights over.
Fall Apart Carnitas with Crispy Edges
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 210 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours 55 minutes
- Yield: 8–10 depending on size 1x
- Category: Dinner Recipes
- Method: Easy Cooking
- Cuisine: Mexican
Description
Tender pork shoulder is slow cooked with orange, lime, garlic and warm spices, then shredded and crisped until deliciously browned. Serve these flavour packed carnitas in warm tortillas with salsa, guacamole, red onion and fresh coriander.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 4.4 lb – 2 kg pork shoulder, cut into 5 cm chunks
- 2 onions, roughly chopped
- 1 orange, juiced, with the squeezed halves reserved
- 2 limes, juiced, plus extra lime wedges for serving
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 3 to 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped or minced
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 2 red peppers, roughly chopped
- 1/3 cup oil or lard, divided as needed
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- 8 to 10 tortillas, warmed
For Serving
- Chopped red onion
- Fresh coriander, chopped
- Salsa
- Guacamole
- Lime wedges
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350⁰F (180⁰C).
- Pat the 2 kg pork shoulder dry with paper towel and cut it into roughly 5 cm chunks.
- Season the pork shoulder all over with salt and black pepper. Don’t go overboard with the salt at this stage, as the chicken stock will add some seasoning too.
- Heat about 1/3 cup oil or lard in a large heavy-based, oven-safe pot over medium-high heat.
- Brown the 2 kg pork shoulder in batches, turning the pieces so they get a good colour on several sides. Don’t crowd the pot or the pork will steam instead of browning. Transfer each browned batch to a plate.
- Add the 2 chopped onions and 2 chopped red peppers to the same pot.
- Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring and scraping up some of those browned bits from the bottom.
- Add the 3 to 4 cloves garlic, 2 tsp paprika, 1 tsp ground cumin, 2 cinnamon sticks, and 2 bay leaves. Cook for another 1 to 2 minutes, just until everything smells lovely.
- Pour in the juice from 1 orange and the juice from 2 limes.
- Stir well, scraping the bottom of the pot to loosen any tasty browned bits.
- Return the browned 2 kg pork shoulder to the pot. Add the reserved squeezed orange halves and pour in enough of the 3 cups chicken stock to come about two-thirds of the way up the meat.
- You may not need every drop, depending on the size of your pot. Bring the liquid to a gentle simmer, then cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid.
- Transfer the covered pot to the oven and cook at 350⁰F (180⁰C) for about 3 hours, or until the pork shoulder is very tender and pulls apart easily with a fork.
- Check the pork after about 2 1/2 hours. If it still feels firm, give it more time. The pork should be properly fall-apart tender, not just cooked through.
- Remove the pot from the oven and carefully take out the 2 cinnamon sticks, 2 bay leaves, and squeezed orange halves. Skim off some of the fat from the surface if you prefer.
- Reserve about 1/2 cup of the braising liquid, then drain the remaining liquid from the pork. Don’t throw all that liquid away just yet. It’s packed with flavour and is useful for keeping the shredded pork juicy.
- Transfer the tender pork shoulder to a large bowl or tray and shred it with two forks. Discard any large pieces of excess fat, if you find them.
- Heat a large frying pan or cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add a little of the remaining 1/3 cup oil or lard if needed, then add a portion of the shredded pork shoulder in a fairly even layer.
- Let it cook undisturbed for a few minutes so the bottom gets browned and crispy.
- Toss or turn the pork and continue cooking until you have a mix of tender meat and crispy edges. Repeat with the remaining pork, adding a little more oil or lard as needed.
- Add a small splash of the reserved 1/2 cup braising liquid to the crispy pork, a little at a time, tossing gently until the meat is moist but not soggy.
- You probably won’t need all of it. Taste and adjust the salt and black pepper if needed.
- Warm the 8 to 10 tortillas, then fill them with the crispy carnitas.
- Top with chopped red onion, fresh coriander, salsa and guacamole.
- Serve with lime wedges for squeezing over everything just before eating.
Notes
Prepared, tried, and tested by Rochelle
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 482
- Sugar: 4.7 g
- Sodium: 238.3 mg
- Fat: 17.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 4.1 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 20.2 g
- Fiber: 3.1 g
- Protein: 58.9 g
- Cholesterol: 166.2 mg
Recipe Card powered by
Crispy Carnitas with Juicy Orange and Lime Braised Pork
Fall Apart Carnitas with Crispy Edges delivers tender pork shoulder infused with orange, lime, garlic and warm spices, then finishes it with beautifully browned, crispy edges. The combination of juicy shredded pork, warm tortillas and fresh toppings makes this an easy choice for taco night, a weekend dinner or a relaxed meal with family and friends.
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