These pork carnitas combine barbecue flavor with Mexican spices to create the perfect blend of sweetness, spice, and smoke.
Carnitas (or ‘little meats’ in Spanish) is a Mexican classic made from pork shoulder, slow cooked and then braised until fall-apart tender, and then shredded and pan-seared to give it a beautiful crispy finish. Best enjoyed as a taco, this versatile meat dish is always a party hit.
In this recipe, we use a smoker for the slow-cooking process to break down the connective tissues and tenderize the meat, all while infusing it with rich barbecue flavor. This BBQ taco filling is melt-in-your-mouth tender with the perfect blend of smoke, sweetness, and spice.
Carnitas Explained
Carnitas is a classic Mexican dish where pork is slow-cooked, then shredded and seared or fried to achieve a crispy, golden finish. Traditionally, this is done in a Dutch oven or slow cooker but, for the purposes of this recipe, we’re doing this barbecue-style by smoking it before we give it a high-heat finish in the skillet.
Technically this can be done with any pork cut featuring a good amount of fat, but pork shoulder (or ‘Boston Butt’) works best here. It features a good amount of fat and marbling, making it perfect for smoking and shredding. Smoking it helps break down all the collagen in it, making it tender enough for pulling apart before frying.
How to Make Smoked Pork Carnitas
1. Marinade
What makes carnitas stand out from any other smoked pork shoulder recipe is its marinade. The citrus in the marinade helps break down the pork’s proteins and turn it tender for shredding, while it provides an extra opportunity to work a bit more flavor in there.
Place the pork in a large ziplock bag or airtight container (I often just put in my Dutch oven for the sake of convenience), before adding in the olive oil, salt, chipotle pepper, and the squeezed orange and lime. Put in the refrigerator and leave it to do its magic overnight.
2. Season
With the pork marinated, remove it from the marinade and pat it dry with paper towels to remove excess moisture. Combine all the dry rub ingredients in a small bowl (you may find a fork helpful for breaking down any clumps that tend to form when combining spices). Then, coat the pork shoulder with the mix, making sure to cover the entire meat joint.
3. Smoke
Fire up your smoker to 225°F (107°C). If you’re smoking on a charcoal grill (such as a Weber Kettle), ensure you set up for 2-zone cooking by moving all the coals to one side for your direct zone, with the indirect zone on the other.
Once the smoker has warmed up, place the pork shoulder on the grates and smoke to an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C). The time will vary, but typically this takes somewhere between four and six hours.
4. Braise
Another step that sets this apart from other typical smoked pork shoulder recipes, it’s time for the braise. Combine the water, bay leaves, chopped onions, and chopped garlic in a bowl. Then, place the pork in a disposable aluminum tray. Pour the braise over the pork before wrapping tightly in foil.
Move the tray (this will help catch any juicy run-off from the pork and braise) and wrapped shoulder back to the smoker. Ramp up your smoker’s temperature to about 275-300°F (135-150°C) and continue to smoke the pork to an internal temperature of 200°F (93°C), about 2-3 hours.
5. Fry
Drain the pork shoulder and shred it with forks into smaller pulled pieces. Heat oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, and add the shredded pork to the pan (you might need to do this in batches). Fry until the edges of the pork start to crisp up, about 5-10 minutes.
6. Serve
Serve while hot in corn tortillas, topped with sliced red onion and chopped fresh cilantro.
Quick Tips
- Use a Water Pan: Fill a disposable aluminum foil tray with cold water and place it either underneath the smoker grates, or further along the grates to the meat. This will help maintain consistent smoker temperatures while also preventing the meat from going dry as it cooks.
- Don’t Skip the Rest: After pulling your pork from the smoker after the braise, leave the meat wrapped in foil and allow it to rest for 20 minutes before shredding it. This will help the meat fiber contract and retain its juices and flavors.
- Shredding: You can use meat claws to shred the meat, but I tend to just use a pair of forks. Use one fork to anchor into the meat, then use the other to pull away and into juicy strings of pork. The smoking process should make this fairly easy but you will find the odd bit of tougher meat.
- Crisp in Batches: To ensure that as much surface area of the pork can be crisped as possible, break the pulled pork down into smaller batches for frying in the skillet.
Smoked Carnitas
Ingredients
- 5 lb pork butt
Marinade
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 2 oranges squeezed
- 2 limes squeezed
- 1 chipotle pepper in adobo
Dry Rub
- 2 tbsp kosher salt
- 2 tbsp coarse black pepper
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp paprika powder
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
Braising Liquid
- 2 cups water
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 cloves garlic roughly chopped
- 1 red onion roughly chopped
To Serve
- 24 corn tortillas
- 2 red onions chopped
- 1 bunch fresh cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Place the pork shoulder in a large ziplock bag or airtight container. Add the olive oil, salt and chipotle pepper, and squeeze the orange and limes over the meat. Place in refrigerator and leave to marinate overnight.
- Fire up your smoker to 225°F (107°C). If you are using a charcoal grill, ensure you set up for 2-zone indirect cooking.
- In a small bowl, combine all the dry rub ingredients. Remove the pork shoulder from the marinade and pat dry with paper towels. Season with the dry rub, covering all sides.
- Once the smoker is at target temperature, place the seasoned pork shoulder on the smoker grates. Close the lid and smoke to an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C), about 4-6 hours.
- In a bowl, combine the braising liquid ingredients. Place pork butt in a disposable aluminum pan. Pour the braising liquid over the pork and then wrap in foil. Place back in the smoker and increase the temperature to 275-300°F (135-150°C). Smoke until internal temperature is 200°F (94°C), about 3 hours.
- Heat oil in a cast iron skillet over high heat. Drain the pork butt and break it up into smaller, pulled pieces. Finish the shredded pork on the cast iron skillet until the edges are golden brown and crispy, about 5 minutes.
- Warm your tortillas just before serving. You can do this by wrapping a stack in foil and heating in a 350°F (175°C) oven for about 15 minutes, or by quickly heating each tortilla in a dry skillet over medium-high heat for about 30 seconds per side.
- Serve the pork into the corn tortillas, and top with chopped red onion and cilantro
