Pork · Slow cooker adaptation

Slow Cooker Traditional Carnitas (Cooking Con Claudia)

Claudia's stove-top carnitas confit 4 lb of pork shoulder in 2 lb of lard, then finish with orange, bay and a slug of Mexican Coke for that caramel edge. Slow cooker version skips the lard bath and lets the pork shoulder braise gently in those same aromatics until it shreds with a fork.

R By Richard · Adapted from Cooking Con Claudia · Published 24 June 2026
👁 78.1k source views ❤️ 5.1k source likes
⏱Prep 20 min
🍲Slow cook 8 hr (Low) / 4 hr (High)
🍽Serves 6
No-Fuss TRADITIONAL CARNITAS That Come Out PERFECT Every Time, Easier than EVER!

Source video by Cooking Con Claudia on YouTube. This recipe was adapted with strict source-fidelity rules and is marked for human review.

Cooking Con Claudia's traditional method confits boneless pork shoulder butt in 2 lb of lard on the hob, then flavours it with onion, garlic, the juice and peel of an orange, bay leaves and a cup of Mexican Coke. This slow cooker adaptation keeps the same flavour base but skips the lard bath: the pork shoulder braises low and slow in its own juices with the aromatics, and the crisp carnitas crust is built back at the end under a hot grill or in a frying pan. Serve in tortillas with a quick salsa of tomatillos, Roma tomato, chile serrano and chile de arbol.

Slow cooker notes: Source is a stove-top lard-confit carnitas. Adapted for the slow cooker by dropping the 2 lb (900 g) lard bath entirely and braising the pork shoulder chunks gently with the aromatics until they shred. To get the signature crispy edges back, shred the cooked pork and finish it under a hot grill or in a frying pan with a little fat. Salt reduced to taste because the lard volume that originally diluted the 5 tsp salt is gone. Mexican Coke, orange juice and peel, onion, garlic and bay quantities kept as Claudia stated where given.

Ingredients

Main
  • 1.8 kgboneless pork shoulder butt, patted dry and cut into large even chunks
  • onion, peeled and quartered
  • garlic
  • 1 wholeorange, washed, juiced; peel reserved and added to the pot
  • 25 gfine salt, dissolved in 120 ml (0.5 cup) water
  • bay leaves
  • 240 mlMexican Coke
To finish
  • lard or neutral oil, for crisping the shredded pork at the end (add late)
To serve
  • corn tortillas, warmed

Method

  1. Pat the pork shoulder dry, then cut it into large even-sized chunks so they cook at the same rate.

    ~5 min

  2. Put the pork chunks into the slow cooker. Scatter over the onion and garlic.

    ~3 min

  3. Squeeze the juice of one orange over the pork and drop the orange peel into the pot.

    ~2 min

  4. Dissolve the salt in 120 ml of water and pour it in. Add the bay leaves and the Mexican Coke. Give everything a good mix.

    ~3 min

  5. Cover and cook on Low for 8 hours or High for 4 hours, until the pork is tender enough to shred with a fork.

  6. Lift the pork out of the cooking liquid and onto a tray lined with brown paper or kitchen paper to drain. Discard the orange peel and bay leaves.

    ~5 min

  7. Shred the pork. To finish, slide the shredded pork under a hot grill, or fry in a hot pan with a little lard or oil, until the edges crisp up.

    ~8 min

  8. For the optional salsa: simmer 5 tomatillos, 1 Roma tomato, 1 chile serrano or jalapeno and 8 chile de arbol in water until softened, then blend with a handful of coriander, 2 garlic cloves and salt. Stir in chopped onion, coriander and avocado.

    ~10 min

  9. Pile the crispy carnitas into warm tortillas and top with the salsa, extra onion and coriander.

    ~5 min

Frequently asked

Do I need to brown the pork before it goes in the slow cooker?
Not for this one. The orange, Coke and aromatics build the flavour during the braise, and you get colour back at the end when you crisp the shredded pork under the grill.
What cut of pork should I use?
Boneless pork shoulder butt, as Claudia uses. It has the fat and connective tissue that breaks down into pull-apart carnitas.
Can I use regular Coke instead of Mexican Coke?
You can. Mexican Coke is made with cane sugar so the caramelisation is a touch cleaner, but standard cola will give you the same caramel effect during the braise.
Why drop the lard from the original recipe?
Claudia's stove-top method confits the pork in 2 lb of melted lard, which is a frying technique a slow cooker cannot reproduce. Slow cooking renders enough fat from the shoulder itself, and a small amount of lard or oil at the finishing stage gives you the crispy edges.
How do I get the crispy edges that make carnitas carnitas?
Shred the cooked pork, spread it on a tray, and slide it under a hot grill for a few minutes, or fry it in a hot pan with a little lard. Either way you want the outside crisp and the inside still juicy.
Extraction notes (transparency): Source video is a stove-top lard-confit method, adapted for slow cooker (isAdapted=true). Quantities not given in the transcript and left null: onion, garlic, bay leaves (Claudia says 'add as much as you want'). Quantities given in source: 4 lb pork shoulder butt, 1 orange (juice plus peel), 5 tsp salt dissolved in 0.5 cup water, 1 cup Mexican Coke, 2 lb lard (lard dropped in adaptation). Salsa components (5 tomatillos, 1 Roma tomato, 1 chile serrano or jalapeno, 8 chile de arbol, garlic, coriander, onion, avocado, salt) are a side preparation, not the main recipe, so summarised in steps rather than itemised.