Pork · Slow cooker adaptation

Meat Church Carnitas (Slow Cooker)

Matt Pittman at Meat Church builds his carnitas by simmering big cubes of pork butt in lard over a live fire, then pulling the pot onto an offset smoker to braise with orange, Mexican Coke and bay. His wife reckons it makes the best tacos he cooks. The slow cooker takes care of the braise so you can keep the crisping for the end.

R By Richard · Adapted from Meat Church BBQ · Published 23 June 2026
👁 704.9k source views ❤️ 17.5k source likes
⏱Prep 25 min
🍲Slow cook 8 hr (Low) / 4 hr (High)
🍽Serves 6
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Matt Pittman at Meat Church cooks half an 8 lb pork butt (about 1.8 kg) in 2 inch cubes, seasoned with his Dia de la Fajita rub and a hit of comino. He simmers it in lard over a live fire, then moves the pot to an offset smoker with orange juice, two orange halves, Mexican Coke, quartered onion and bay leaves. After roughly 2 hours, he covers it to braise to tender, then crisps the meat close to the firebox. For the slow cooker, the lard simmer and the braise become one long, gentle cook, and the crisping happens at the end under a hot grill or in a cast iron frying pan.

Slow cooker notes: Matt's method leans on live fire and an offset smoker for both the lard simmer and the braise. Adapted to the slow cooker: brown the seasoned pork cubes in a little lard in a heavy pan to build the crust the simmer in lard would give (slow cookers do not brown), then transfer everything to the slow cooker with the orange juice, orange halves, Mexican Coke, onion and bay. Cook low and slow until fork tender, then drain and crisp the pork under a hot grill or in a cast iron frying pan so you get the crunchy edges Matt calls the key part of carnitas. The smoke element from the offset smoker is the trade off; if you want a hint of it, add a small pinch of smoked paprika to the rub.

Ingredients

Pork
  • 1.8 kgboneless pork butt, cut into 2 inch (5 cm) cubes, fat left on
  • lard (manteca), for browning the pork
Seasoning
  • Meat Church Dia de la Fajita seasoning, tossed over the cubes
  • ground cumin (comino)
Braise
  • 2oranges, juice squeezed in, then 2 orange halves dropped into the pot
  • 355 mlMexican Coke
  • 0.5onion, quartered
  • 2bay leaves, whole
To serve
  • fresh corn tortillas, dipped in warm lard, then heated on a hot dry pan or plancha (add late)
  • fresh coriander (coriander), leaves picked (add late)
  • white onion, finely diced (add late)
  • hot sauce or salsa (add late)

Method

  1. Cut the boneless pork butt into roughly 2 inch (5 cm) cubes, leaving the fat on so it renders during cooking.

    ~8 min

  2. Toss the cubes with the Dia de la Fajita seasoning and a sprinkle of ground cumin until evenly coated.

    ~3 min

  3. Heat a few tablespoons of lard in a heavy pan or cast iron frying pan over a medium high hob. Brown the seasoned pork cubes in batches on at least two sides until they take on colour, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Do not crowd the pan.

    ~12 min

  4. Transfer the browned pork to the slow cooker. Squeeze the juice of two oranges over the top, then drop in the two squeezed orange halves.

    ~3 min

  5. Pour over the bottle of Mexican Coke, tuck in the quartered half onion and the bay leaves.

    ~2 min

  6. Cover and slow cook on Low for 8 hours or High for 4 hours, until the pork is fork tender and pulls apart easily.

    ~480 min

  7. Lift the pork out with a slotted spoon, draining well, and discard the orange halves, onion and bay. Spread the chunks on a baking tray and pull each piece into 2 or 3 rough shards.

    ~5 min

  8. Set the oven grill to its hottest setting and crisp the pork for 5 to 10 minutes, turning once or twice, until the edges go crunchy. A cast iron frying pan over a hot hob with a little of the rendered lard works just as well.

    ~10 min

  9. Warm the corn tortillas: dip each one in a little warm lard, then heat on a dry hot pan or plancha for 30 seconds a side until just blistered.

    ~5 min

  10. Pile crisped carnitas onto each tortilla, top with chopped coriander and finely diced white onion. Add hot sauce or salsa if you like.

    ~5 min

Frequently asked

Do I really need to brown the pork first?
Yes. Slow cookers steam rather than fry, so the colour and depth of flavour Matt gets from simmering the cubes in lard has to come from a hob sear before everything goes in the pot.
Can I skip the Mexican Coke?
It is not structural, but Matt picked it up from friends in the Rio Grande Valley and it adds a real sweetness to the braise. If you skip it, top up with a splash of orange juice or water.
Why crisp the meat at the end?
Matt calls the crunchy edges a key part of carnitas. Slow cooked pork on its own is tender but soft, so a few minutes under a hot grill or in a cast iron frying pan gives you that crisp on outside, juicy inside contrast.
What about garlic?
Matt deliberately leaves garlic out in this video. If you want it in, add a few cloves crushed when the pork goes into the slow cooker. He says it will not hurt the dish.
Can I miss the smoke element?
Yes. The smoker is Matt's twist on a more traditional carnitas. If you want a hint of it without a smoker, add a small pinch of smoked paprika to the seasoning before browning.
Extraction notes (transparency): Source is a Texan BBQ adaptation of carnitas using live fire and an offset smoker, not a slow cooker recipe, so the braise is adapted and the crisping is moved to the grill or hob. Several quantities not stated in the transcript and left null: lard for the simmer (Matt only says halfway up the meat), Dia de la Fajita seasoning, comino. Mexican Coke stated as a full 12 oz bottle and translated to ml. Oranges: juice of 2 squeezed plus 2 orange halves dropped in. Onion: half, quartered. Bay leaves: a couple, taken as 2. Garlic deliberately omitted by Matt. Default servings (6) inferred from 4 lb pork feeding his family with leftovers; not stated explicitly. Confidence reduced for the adaptation distance from live fire to slow cooker and for the unstated lard and seasoning quantities.