Pork · Slow cooker

Slow Cooker Carnitas (Simply Mamá Cooks)

Simply Mamá Cooks tips just over four pounds of boneless pork shoulder, a navel orange, four cloves of garlic, a few broken bay leaves, a cup of Coca-Cola and a tablespoon of coarse salt into the crock pot. Five and a half hours later the chunks come out tender, get a quick fry until the edges are golden and crispy, then go straight into warm corn tortillas with onion, coriander and a creamy avocado salsa.

R By Richard · Adapted from Simply Mamá Cooks · Published 23 June 2026
👁 538.9k source views ❤️ 11.8k source likes
⏱Prep 15 min
🍽Serves 6
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Simply Mamá Cooks builds this carnitas in the slow cooker from a short list of ingredients: boneless pork shoulder (Boston butt) cut into large chunks, a navel orange, garlic, bay leaves, Coca-Cola and coarse salt. Everything goes in cold, cooks on High for around 5 to 5.5 hours until the meat is tender but still holds its shape, then the chunks come out for a brief fry in hot oil to crisp the exterior. Serve in warmed corn tortillas with chopped onion, coriander and a creamy roasted green salsa. The chef notes evaporated milk is an optional addition she used in her earlier hob version and left out here.

Slow cooker notes: Source is already a native slow cooker recipe (crock pot). No adaptation needed.

Ingredients

Main
  • 1.8 kgboneless pork shoulder, cut into large chunks
  • 1large navel orange
  • 4garlic cloves
  • 3bay leaves
  • 300 mlCoca-Cola
  • 1 tbspcoarse salt
Optional
  • evaporated milk
For frying
  • cooking oil, enough to shallow fry the cooked chunks (add late)
To serve
  • corn tortillas, warmed (add late)
  • fresh onion, finely chopped (add late)
  • fresh coriander, chopped (add late)
  • roasted green salsa with avocado, blended with one small ripe avocado for a creamy finish (add late)

Method

  1. Cut the boneless pork shoulder into large chunks. The whole roast can also go in as one piece, but chunks fry up better at the end.

    ~10 min

  2. Put the pork chunks into the slow cooker. Add the navel orange, garlic cloves, bay leaves, 300 ml (about 1.25 cups) of Coca-Cola and 1 tablespoon of coarse salt.

    ~3 min

  3. Cover with the lid and cook on High for 5 to 5.5 hours, until the pork is tender on the inside but still holds its shape. A blunt chopstick should slide in with a little resistance. The meat should not yet be falling apart.

    ~330 min

  4. Lift the cooked pork chunks out of the slow cooker.

    ~2 min

  5. Preheat oil over medium heat in a frying pan. Fry the cooked pork chunks for 5 to 7 minutes, turning, until golden brown and crispy on the outside. They will start to shred when pressed.

    ~7 min

  6. Warm the corn tortillas. Pile the crispy carnitas onto each, then top with chopped onion, fresh coriander and the creamy green salsa.

    ~5 min

Frequently asked

Why fry the pork after slow cooking?
Slow cookers steam rather than brown, so the cooked carnitas come out tender but pale. A quick 5 to 7 minute fry over medium heat in hot oil gives them the golden, crispy edges that define carnitas. Skip the fry and they taste fine but look and chew like braised pork.
Can I cook this on Low instead of High?
The source only specifies High for 5 to 5.5 hours and does not give a Low setting. As a rough guide, Low for around 8 hours should produce the same tender but still holding pork, but check it earlier and stop the moment a blunt chopstick slides in with a little resistance.
Do I really need the Coca-Cola?
The cola adds sugar that helps the carnitas caramelise when fried, plus a little acidity from the orange and cola together that tenderises the pork. The chef uses around a cup to a cup and a half. The whole bottle works if you want it sweeter.
What if my pork falls apart in the slow cooker?
It will still taste good but will dry out when fried. Either skip the fry and just warm the shredded meat through, or fry it briefly and accept a slightly drier result. Next time, check the pork at the 4.5 hour mark with a blunt chopstick and pull it when there is still a little resistance.
Can I leave the orange out?
The chef calls everything except the pork, salt and cola 'aromatic flavours' that can be tweaked to taste. The orange adds a citrus background, but the recipe still reads as carnitas without it.
Extraction notes (transparency): Pork quantity given as 'a little over 4 pounds', taken as 1.8 kg / 4 lb. Coca-Cola given as a range of 1 to 1.5 cups, taken as 1.25 cups (300 ml) with the range in notes. Bay leaves given as 2 to 3 (broken), taken as 3. Prep time not stated, estimated at 15 minutes for cubing the pork and gathering ingredients. Default servings not stated, estimated at 6 from a 4 lb pork shoulder. Low setting time not stated by the source. Frying oil type and quantity not stated. Orange preparation (whole, halved, juiced) not shown. Evaporated milk noted as optional from the chef's previous hob version, not used in this video.