Dutch Oven Carnitas Recipe

Enjoy the flavors of Mexico with Authentic Dutch Oven Carnitas. This classic recipe features succulent pork shoulder, seasoned with a blend of spices and slow-cooked to perfection in a cast-iron Dutch oven, resulting in tender, crispy-edged goodness. Serve these mouthwatering carnitas in warm tortillas with cilantro, onions, and lime for a truly authentic Mexican dining experience.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword authentic mexican carnitas, dutch oven carnitas recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 3

Servings servings

Calories 312kcal

Author Bon Appeteach

Equipment

Dutch Oven

Ingredients

3 lbs Boneless Pork Shoulder cut into 2-inch cubes
8 oz. Lard or vegetable oil for frying
1 large Yellow Onion large chop
1 large Orange juiced
2 Limes juiced
1 bottle Mexican Coke
12 oz. Evaporated Milk canned
1/2 cup Water
1 small Cinnamon Stick
2 Bay Leaves
4 Garlic Cloves roughly chopped
2 tsp. Mexican Oregano
1 tsp. Cumin
3 tsp. Coarse Salt or 1 tsp per pound of meat

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325 F. and set the oven rack to the middle.
Preheat a large heavy bottom Dutch oven pan over medium heat on the stove and add the lard to the pan to begin to melt.
Trim the boneless pork shoulder to remove any silver skin (you can trim the fat cap down to about 1/4 inch or remove it entirely). Cut into 2 inch cubes and season with the salt.
Place the pork shoulder pieces into the melted lard and increase the temperature to medium high heat. Let the lard fry and sear the meat until golden brown (10-12 minutes per side works best).
Flip the cubes pieces of pork as needed until it is entirely golden brown. This whole process may take 20-30 minutes depending on how hot the lard is and how much meat is in the pan.
Carefully add in the roughly chopped garlic, the spices, cinnamon stick, and bay leaves.
Add in the lime juice and freshly squeezed orange juice. Cut the squeezed out orange rind into wedges and toss this into the pot.
Roughly chop a large yellow onion and sprinkle the cut pieces over the pork.
Finally, pour over the water, evaporated milk, and the Mexican coke (Mexican coke works best because it's not sweetened with corn syrup and you want the sugars to help caramelize the meat).
Move the carnitas from the stove top and place it into the oven uncovered to cook until tender, about 2-2.5 hours. Use a meat thermometer to check for tenderness (pork shoulder begins to be soft and shreddable between 195 F.-204 F.)
Remove the carnitas from the oven and let them rest before shredding. Shred the carnitas and use in tacos, burritos, salads, nachos, and more!

Notes

Most grocery stores sell individual Mexican coke bottles. If you cannot find the Mexican coke you can still use a regular coke or just sub with some brown sugar (1/4-1/2 cup) and an additional 1/2 cup of water.

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