Pork · Slow cooker adaptation

Slow Cooker Carnitas (Babish Method)

Babish's carnitas leans hard on tradition: pork shoulder confit-style in a vat of lard with orange, Mexican Coke and a splash of evaporated milk. We've moved the long braise out of the oven and into the slow cooker so you can wander off, then crisp the shredded pork under a hot grill before piling it into tacos.

R By Richard · Adapted from Binging with Babish · Published 23 June 2026
👁 843.6k source views ❤️ 24.7k source likes
⏱Prep 25 min
🍲Slow cook 8 hr (Low) / 5 hr (High)
🍽Serves 8
Easy Carnitas | Basics with Babish

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

Andrew Rea's Easy Carnitas on Binging with Babish is the lard-confit, Mexican Coke and cara cara orange version, finished with a splash of evaporated milk for tenderness. The original lives in a 300F oven for three hours; we've pushed that long braise into the slow cooker so the pork can render at its own pace while you get on with your day. After an overnight rest in its own fat, the shredded pork goes back into a hot grill or frying pan to crisp before serving with warm corn tortillas, diced onion, coriander and lime.

Slow cooker notes: Source is an uncovered Dutch oven braise at 300F (150C) for 3 hours, with evaporated milk added at the halfway mark. Adapted to slow cooker: everything goes into the pot together because slow cookers do not evaporate, and the evaporated milk is held back until the final hour so it does not split over a long cook. Lard quantity is unchanged; the pork should be submerged. Babish chills the cooked pork overnight before shredding and crisping, that rest is kept because it genuinely improves the texture and is part of the method. Salt is generous but unmeasured in the source, kept as 'to taste'.

Ingredients

Pork
  • 1.8 kgpork shoulder, cut into 5cm (2 inch) pieces
  • kosher salt
Braise
  • 900 glard
  • 1 wholeorange, juiced, then the squeezed halves added too
  • 0.5 wholeyellow onion, peeled and cut in half
  • 355 mlMexican Coca-Cola
  • 4 wholegarlic cloves, peeled, optionally crushed
  • 3 wholebay leaves
  • 1 tspcumin seeds, toasted
  • 1 tbspdried oregano
  • 150 mlevaporated milk (add late)
To serve
  • corn tortillas, warmed in a dry cast iron pan and kept in a clean tea towel (add late)
  • diced white or yellow onion, finely diced (add late)
  • fresh coriander, leaves picked (add late)
  • lime, cut into wedges (add late)

Method

  1. Cut the pork shoulder into 5cm (2 inch) pieces. Season generously with kosher salt, toss to coat and leave at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

    ~35 min

  2. Tip the lard into the slow cooker pot. Add the juice of the orange and drop the squeezed orange halves in too. Add the halved onion, the Mexican Coke, the peeled garlic cloves, the bay leaves, the toasted cumin seeds and the dried oregano.

    ~5 min

  3. Add the salted pork pieces and stir so everything is well coated in fat. Push the pork down so it is as submerged as possible.

    ~3 min

  4. Cover and cook on Low for 7 to 8 hours, or High for 4 to 5 hours, until the pork is completely tender and pulls apart easily with a fork.

    ~480 min

  5. About an hour before the end of cooking, stir in the evaporated milk so it is evenly distributed, then re-cover and let it finish.

    ~2 min

  6. Lift the pork pieces out onto a rimmed baking tray. Spoon a generous ladle of the cooking liquid over the pork to bathe it, then leave to cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Reserve some of the cooking fat for crisping later.

    ~60 min

  7. Cover the pork in cling film and refrigerate overnight. This rest lets the flavours meld and stops the pork bleeding juice and gelatin when shredded.

    ~5 min

  8. The next day, shred the pork with two forks onto a slightly larger tray. Pork tends to expand when shredded.

    ~10 min

  9. Crisp the shredded pork in batches in a hot frying pan with a spoon of the reserved cooking fat, or spread it on a tray and pop under a medium grill for about 10 minutes until browned and crisp. Season again with a little salt before serving.

    ~12 min

  10. Pile the crisp carnitas into warm corn tortillas. Top with finely diced onion, a few coriander leaves and a squeeze of lime.

    ~5 min

Frequently asked

Do I really need 2 pounds of lard?
For an authentic confit-style carnitas, yes. The pork is meant to cook submerged in fat so it stays moist and renders properly. You can scale down if you use a smaller cooker and less pork, but keep the pork close to covered. The fat is reusable, so you can strain and refrigerate the leftovers for future cooking.
Can I skip the Mexican Coca-Cola?
Standard Coca-Cola will work. Babish prefers Mexican Coke because it is made with cane sugar rather than corn syrup, which gives a cleaner caramel note, but the dish does not depend on it.
Why is there evaporated milk in carnitas?
It is a Babish addition for tenderness, stirred in late in the cook. The proteins in the milk help break the pork down further without adding a dairy flavour to the finished meat.
Do I have to chill the pork overnight before shredding?
No, but it is worth it. Resting cold lets the flavours meld and stops the meat losing its juice and gelatin when pulled apart, which keeps the shredded pork juicier when you crisp it the next day.
What else can I do with the leftovers?
Babish builds taquitos, nachos and cubano-style sliders from the same batch. Any sandwich, taco, burrito or rice bowl that suits crisp shredded pork is fair game.
Extraction notes (transparency): All measured quantities (pork, lard, orange, Coke, garlic, cumin, oregano, evaporated milk) are taken directly from Babish's narration. Salt quantity is not stated, kept as null and 'to taste'. Onion is '1/2 yellow onion'; tortilla, coriander, onion garnish and lime quantities for service are not given by Babish and are left null. Slow cooker timing is adapted, not in the source.