This is the healthier version of carnitas. In Mexico, carnitas are like pulled pork, but in addition to braising the meat, carnitas are also fried in lard to give a delicious crunchy texture. For this recipe we are skipping the lard; we use our Yucatan marinade to add flavor and we are cooking in a slow cooker to simplify the process. The preparation time is no longer than 5 minutes and the result is a tender, flavorful pork.

The traditional way to cook carnitas is in a copper pot (called cazo in Mexico). Lard is used to cover the meat. Once the lard has melted, spices are added – these varies depending of the cook but they may include salt, cumin, oregano, marjoram, thyme, bay leaf and garlic. Then the meat simmers in the lard until tender over a very low heat. Once cooked, the heat is turned up and the outside of the pork begins to crisp.

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Carnitas Pulled pork Yucatan
Slow Cooker Carnitas (pulled pork) Yucatan-style
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
4 hrs
Total Time
4 hrs 5 mins
 
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Servings: 8
Author: Leticia
Ingredients
  • 5 lbs pork shoulder , trimmed of excess fat
  • 1 bottle Molli Yucatan marinade
  • 4 cups of chicken stock
  • ½ cup fresh cilantro , chopped
  • ½ onion , diced
  • 1 lime , quartered
  • 10 corn tortillas warm
Instructions
  1. Place pork in a non-reactive dish and add the Molli Yucatan marinade. Marinate for 4 hours or overnight in the fridge. If you don’t have time, you can skip this step.
  2. Place pork, the Molli Yucatan marinade and chicken stock in the slow cooker. Cover with lid and cook on low for 8 hours (or high heat, for 4 hours). The pork should be falling apart when finished.

  3. Take our the meat from the slow cooker, but reserve the liquid. Using two forks, pull pork into smaller strands and set on a platter. Add liquid from the slow cooker to the pork, one cup at a time, until the pork is moist.

  4. Serve pork on a warm corn tortilla and garnish with fresh cilantro, diced onions and a squeeze of lime. We like to add a slice of avocado too. Provecho!

Recipe Notes

If you don’t have time to marinate or you forgot, you can skip this step.