Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Carnitas
Pork slow-confit in its own fat with orange and bay until meltingly tender, then crisped, Michoacán’s Sunday-market glory.
Mexican (Michoacán) · medium · serves 6
prep 15 min · cook 150 min
~1109 cal · 77g protein · 30g carbs · 75g fat · 2g fiber · 5g sugars · 18g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Carnitas, little meats, are the pride of the Mexican state of Michoacan and one of the country's best-known ways to cook pork. They are Sunday-market food, sold from great copper cazos where whole pigs are cooked down in vats of their own fat.
Pork is simmered slowly, half-, in lard with orange, bay, and spices until meltingly tender, then the heat is raised so the meat fries and caramelises at the edges. The result is the coveted contrast of soft, juicy strands and crisp, golden bits.
Chopped and piled into warm tortillas with onion, cilantro, lime, and salsa, carnitas make some of the finest tacos in Mexico. They are celebration and weekend food, the reward for a slow morning and the heart of many a family gathering.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, nut- and egg-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
3.5 lbs pork shoulder, large chunks
1 cup lard (or for the plant version)
1 orange, halved
1 head garlic
1 onion
3 bay
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp Mexican oregano
1/2 cup a splash of milk or Mexican cola (for browning)
for the table corn tortillas, to serve
to taste onion, to serve
to taste cilantro, to serve
to taste lime, to serve
to taste salsa, to serve
Instructions
1
Cover the pork (or jackfruit and mushrooms) with the lard or oil in a heavy pot, then add the squeezed orange halves, garlic, onion, bay, cinnamon, and oregano.
2
Simmer very gently, the pork half-submerged, for 2 hours (45 minutes for the plant version), until fork-tender.
3
Add the milk or cola and raise the heat, letting the liquid cook off so the pork begins to fry in its own fat.
✎ Chef’s note
The magic of carnitas is the finish: once the liquid boils off, the pork fries and caramelizes in the rendered fat. Do not stop at boiled, keep going to crisp.
4
Crisp the edges, then shred the pork coarsely into soft strands with crunchy bits.
5
Pile onto warm tortillas with onion, cilantro, lime, and salsa.
Michoacán copper-pot tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Michoacán. Carnitas are cooked in copper. Pork goes into a wide copper cazo, hammered out in Santa Clara del Cobre a short drive from Quiroga, and simmers in its own lard for hours before being crisped at the end. Quiroga is the town most often credited with the technique, and the copper is not incidental to it.
🗺️
Mexico. Mexican cuisine is UNESCO-recognized and older than any border, built on the ancient trinity of corn, beans, and chiles plus tomatoes, cacao, and a vast world of moles and salsas. From tacos to slow-cooked barbacoa, it layers Indigenous Mesoamerican roots with Spanish influence.
🌍
North America. The most consequential technique on this continent is nixtamalisation, cooking maize with lime or wood ash. It loosens the skins, makes the dough that becomes tortillas and tamales, and frees up niacin the body cannot otherwise absorb, which is why maize spread around the world without the technique and took pellagra with it.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Mexico
Cochinita PibilPork marinated blaze-orange in achiote and sour orange, wrapped in banana leaves and roasted until it shreds itself.
EnfrijoladasCorn tortillas bathed in silky black-bean sauce, folded and finished with cheese, crema, and onion.
BirriaJalisco’s chile-marinated slow braise, served as a rich consomé with tortillas, or griddled into dripping quesabirria tacos.
Browse all Mexico recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan.
Storing it: Stews and braises keep 3 to 4 days refrigerated and often taste better the next day. Reheat gently, adding a splash of water if it has thickened.
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Frequently asked questions
What is Carnitas?
Pork slow-confit in its own fat with orange and bay until meltingly tender, then crisped, Michoacán’s Sunday-market glory.
Where does Carnitas come from?
Carnitas is a Mexican (Michoacán) dish from Michoacán, Mexico.
Can Carnitas be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Carnitas recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Carnitas safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Carnitas take to make?
About 165 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 150 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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