Oh hey my beautiful people! It’s been a minute. But not to worry, I am about to let you in on my top-secret and highly requested 12 Hour (Easy) Carnitas recipe. Shut Up and Eat It has already brought this recipe as part of a Burrito Bar at several weddings this season—and it’s fool proof delicious.
After today, you will never again be settling for basic ground beef tossed in pre-packaged taco packets. And why would you if 15 minutes of prep and 12 hours of patience gave you pounds of juicy, fall-apart, tangy, herby Carnitas?! Exactly, you wouldn’t.
What You Will Need:
9 lbs Pork Butt
2 Tbs Salt
1 Tbs Black Pepper
2 Tbs Dried Oregano
3 Tbs Ground Cumin
2 Tbs Garlic Powder
2 Large Yellow Onions, cut in wedges
4 Cloves of Garlic, smashed
4 Bay Leaves
1 cup Coca-Cola (not diet)
1 cup good quality Orange Juice
5 Limes, juiced
Ok, brace yourself—this is going to be a brutal 15 minutes of labor. Just kidding, you make this one time and you will have the recipe memorized.
First, get your crockpot. You heard me right, this is one of my TWO crockpot recipes because I am just not a gifted crockpot cook. Into the bottom of the crockpot put your cubed onions and smashed garlic.
In a large bowl take your pork butt out of its packaging and discard any blood. Pour all of the spices on top of the pork and use your hands to pack the spices all over. Don’t be shy—a piece of meat this big is honestly difficult to over salt! Place pork into the crockpot fat side up. Add Bay Leaves, Coke, Orange Juice, and the juice from the Limes. Turn Crockpot to low and walk away for 12 hours.
Side note: If your pork butt is 6 pounds or smaller, check for doneness after 6 hours. How do you know if it’s done? Take the lid off the crockpot and poke the pork with a fork. (That was not supposed to rhyme… but let’s go with it.) If the fork pushes in with ZERO resistance—it’s done! If it’s a little stiff or you have to push the fork in then close it back up and set a timer for 2 more hours.
Now that everything is cooked, get that large bowl again and pull the pork out of the crockpot. Be careful it will be falling apart! Remove and discard of the thick fat layer and shred the pork with two forks. Place all that gorgeous Carnitas back into the crockpot to swim in the beautiful broth—and your done! Turn the crockpot off and eat your taco-loving heart out!