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    Home » Recipes

    Carnitas Street Tacos

    Published: Feb 22, 2023 · Modified: Mar 29, 2023 by Tabetha · This post may contain affiliate links ·

    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe

    Slow-cooked in a dutch oven with traditional Mexican spices and flavors, this is a family favorite at our house for sure! These carnitas street tacos are a popular Mexican dish consisting of small, soft corn tortillas filled with tender and juicy shredded pork.

    Pork Carnitas Street Tacos
    Pork Carnitas Street Tacos

    Whenever we make carnitas, we serve them in a variety of ways. Street Taco style, however, is my personal favorite. While the kids prefer theirs served over a rice bowl, my husband tries to stay low-carb and serves his over mixed greens. The moral of the story is you can enjoy carnitas in a variety of ways. This just happens to be the best one 😉.

    Jump to:
    • 🛒 Ingredients
    • 🌮 Toppings
    • 🥘 Equipment
    • 📖 Instructions
    • 🌮 Laying the Flavors
    • 👩🏼‍🍳 Chef Tip
    • 🥡 Leftovers
    • 📖 Recipe

    🛒 Ingredients

    Here is a quick recap of everything we are going to need just to make the carnitas side of this recipe. See the full recipe below for all the exact measurements. Garnishes and topping are in a separate category below so you can pick and choose what else you need!

    • Corn or Flour Tortillas
    • Pork Shoulder - Cubbed
    • Cumin
    • Red Onion - Quartered
    • Orange Juice
    • Garlic
    • Oregano
    • Bay Leaf

    🌮 Toppings

    While we typically serve ours with a variety of toppings such as fresh cilantro, diced onion, salsa, lime, and avocado, one of the best parts about this recipe is you can really make it your own. Add extra bursts of flavor and texture with pickled red onions, jalapenos, or a good squeeze of lime!

    Here are some of our favorites (plus some recipes included)...

    • Pickled Red Onions & Pickled Jalapenos
    • Fresh Cilantro
    • Fresh Squeeze of Lime 
    • Guacamole
    • Mexican Crema (think thin sour cream but better)

    🥘 Equipment

    We used a dutch oven to braise our carnitas low and slow. You can use a crockpot, but unless you sear off your pork beforehand, you lose the extra flavor punch browning the meat gives you.

    If you are nervous about the cost of buying a dutch oven, don't be! You can get a great quality one for around $40 nowadays, and they are incredibly versatile.

    📖 Instructions

    Let's get started making our dutch oven carnitas! Prep your onion by cutting it into ⅛ths, cutting through the root of the onion. This way the root will hold the onion together a bit. Set Aside.

    🔪 Prep

    Cube up the pork shoulder into chunks around 2-3" cubed. Buying a boneless pork shoulder makes this step 10 times easier! The more similar in size, the more evenly they will cook.

    pork shoulder cubbed
    pork shoulder, cubbed and seasoned with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

    Searing

    Put your dutch oven on high heat. Add olive oil to coat the bottom. Season the first batch (6-7 pieces) of pork liberally with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. We will only be adding small batches of the pork to the pan at a time.

    browning cubbed pork shoulder for carnitas

    If we overcrowd the pan we won't get the brown crust we are looking for. Add the pork to the pan and DON'T move it around. Let it sit for 3-4 minutes or until it releases from the pan by itself and has a nice golden brown color.

    Flip each piece, but don't stir/move them all around. Just a simple turnover. Once they have browned on the second side, remove them and set them aside. Repeat this process until all your pork has been browned.

    Once all your pork has finished browning, return it back to the dutch oven with the red onions and garlic.

    browned pork shoulder in a pot with red onions
    Pork shoulder seasoned with oregano, garlic, bay leaves and red onion simmering in a dutch oven

    ⏲ Braising

    Add orange juice, chicken stock, cumin, oregano, and bay leaves. Mix until distributed. Bring to a simmer and then cover with the lid. (I like to put foil on my lid so it doesn't get as dirty).

    Move to 350-degree oven for 3-4 hours or until fork tender.

    Pork shoulder simmering in a dutch oven

    Once fork tender, remove the pork and put it into a deep-sided pyrex style dish, and cover to keep warm.

    🔥 Reducing & Crisping

    Take the remaining liquid in the pot and put it back on the stove to reduce it by about 75% or as much as you can without burning. Once it's nice and thick, pour that delicious liquid back over the pork. Mixing together and breaking the pork into smaller pieces at the same time.

    Turn the oven on broil, and put the pork mixture back in the oven for just a minute or two. DO NOT TAKE YOUR EYES OFF IT. It will go from perfect to burnt in less than 1 minute. Note: this whole step is optional if it seems scary.

    🌮 Laying the Flavors

    • Start assembly by adding around ¼ cup of carnitas to each taco.
    • Next add your pickled red onion, jalapeno, guacamole, and freshly chopped cilantro as desired.
    • For garnish, lightly drizzle your Mexican crema and sprinkle with cojita cheese.
    • Finish with a squeeze of lime and take a big bite. You earned it!
    Carnitas Street Tacos

    Classically this dish would be served with corn tortillas that have been slightly charred. However, you do you. Both corn and flour will be delicious. Use what you have or what you like. 

    👩🏼‍🍳 Chef Tip

    Toasting or charring your tortilla adds a deep flavor that I highly recommend, however, it's not for everyone. If you have a gas stove, simply turn your burner on to medium heat and throw your tortilla on top. Flip every 5-10 seconds until you start to see a slight char. 

    Pork carnitas on toasted corn tortillas
    Pork Carnitas Street Tacos

    If you have an electric stove, throw them under the broiler for just a few seconds watching super carefully as you don't want them to dry out or burn. 

    Making your street taco your own is mission-critical. The carnitas themselves are deep in flavor and slightly sweet, so adding a bright pop of acidity or a creamy salsa makes a huge difference. Here are some of my favorite recommendations... 

    🥡 Leftovers

    This carnitas recipe makes a lot of food, so you very well might be leftovers. I've found that pork in general gets a "leftover" flavor and it isn't my favorite. However, if you freeze this immediately, you can preserve the fresh flavor better than leaving it in the fridge for a few days.

    Once cooled down, simply put it in a freezer-safe bag in small quantities so you can just pull out and thaw what you need!

    📖 Recipe

    Pork Carnitas Street Tacos

    Pork Carnitas Street Tacos

    Turning Pork Carnitas into Street Tacos at home is the dinner night everyone is waiting for. Level up taco night right now!
    1 rating (Click stars to rate)
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 30 mins
    Cook Time 4 hrs 15 mins
    Total Time 4 hrs 30 mins
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine Mexican
    Servings 10 people
    Calories 378 kcal

    Equipment

    • Dutch Oven
    • Tongs
    • Knife
    • Cutting Board

    Ingredients
      

    Pork Carnitas

    • 20 Corn Tortillas - or flour
    • 4 pounds Pork Shoulder - boneless is easier
    • 3 tablespoon Olive Oil
    • Kosher Salt
    • Fresh Ground Pepper
    • ½ cup Orange Juice
    • 1 quart Chicken Stock
    • 1 Red Onion
    • 2 Bay Leaves
    • 2 teaspoon Cumin
    • 2 teaspoon Oregano
    • 1 tablespoon Garlic

    Toppings & Garnish

    • Fresh Cilantro
    • Guacamole
    • Pickled Red Onion
    • Pickled Jalapeno
    • Mexican Crema
    • Cojita Cheese

    Instructions
     

    Making the Carnitas

    • Prep your onion by cutting it into ⅛ths, cutting through the root of the onion. This way the root will hold the onion together a bit. Set Aside.
    • Cube the pork shoulder into chunks around 2-3" cubed. The more similar in size, the more evenly they will cook.
      pork shoulder cubbed
    • Season the first batch (6-7 pieces) of pork liberally with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.
      pork shoulder, cubbed and seasoned with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
    • Put your dutch oven on high heat. Add olive oil to coat the bottom.
    • We will only be adding small batches of the pork to the pan at a time. If we overcrowd the pan we won't get the brown crust we are looking for.
      browning cubbed pork shoulder for carnitas
    • Add the pork to the pan and DON'T move it around. Let it sit for 3-4 minutes or until it releases from the pan by itself and has a nice golden brown color.
    • Flip each piece, but don't stir/move them all around. Just a simple turn over.
    • Once they have browned on the second side, remove and set aside.
    • Repeat this process until all your pork has been browned.
    • Once all your pork has finished browning, return it back to the dutch oven with the red onions and garlic.
      browned pork shoulder in a pot with red onions
    • Add orange juice, chicken stock, cumin, oregano, and bay leaves. Mix until distributed.
      Pork shoulder seasoned with oregano, garlic, bay leaves and red onion simmering in a dutch oven
    • Bring to a simmer and then cover with the lid. (I like to put foil on my lid so it doesn't get as dirty).
      Pork shoulder simmering in a dutch oven
    • Move to 350-degree oven for 3-4 hours or until fork tender.
    • Once fork tender, remove the pork and put it into a deep-sided pyrex style dish, and cover to keep warm.
    • Take the remaining liquid in the pot and put it back on the stove to reduce it by about 75% or as much as you can without burning.
    • Once thick, pour that delicious liquid back over the pork. Mixing together and breaking the pork into smaller pieces at the same time.
      Carnitas in a pan pulled into small pieces
    • Turn the oven on broil, and put the pork mixture back in the oven for just a minute or two. DO NOT TAKE YOUR EYES OFF IT. It will go from perfect to burnt in less than 1 minute. Note: this whole step is optional if it seems scary.

    Assembling Your Street Tacos

    • Over an open flame lightly toast your tortillas until the edges are slightly charred.
    • Start assembly by adding around ¼ cup of carnitas to each taco.
    • Next add your pickled red onion, jalapeno, guacamole, and freshly chopped cilantro as desired.
    • For garnish, lightly drizzle your Mexican crema and sprinkle with cojita cheese.
    • Finish with a squeeze of lime and take a big bite. You earned it!

    Video

    Notes

    • This can be crockpot friendly but only to a certain point. I 100% recommend still browning the pork in a pan, and then deglazing the pan (adding some chicken stock to get all the brown bits off the bottom). Reducing the liquid at the end is still an option, but you'd need to transfer that liquid back into a pot on the stove. 
    • If you don't have a dutch oven, I would recommend looking into one. You do NOT need to spend $300+ on a Le Creuset. I have a link to a dutch oven that's under $50 here. 
    • You don't have to broil the reduced liquid if you don't have time or are nervous, but it browns the remaining sugars in the sauce and gives it a little crispy texture at the same time. I recommend trying it at least once. 
    • Don't snack on the pork the whole time the sauce is reducing. It's a rookie mistake and you won't be hungry for dinner. I have learned this lesson many many times. 

    Nutrition

    Serving: 6gCalories: 378kcalCarbohydrates: 33gProtein: 28gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 77mgSodium: 245mgPotassium: 694mgFiber: 4gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 78IUVitamin C: 23mgCalcium: 80mgIron: 3mg
    Keyword Carnitas, pork, slow cook, tacos, tender
    Tried this recipe?Mention @tabethas.table!

    Handy Tools

    Want to take your cooking game to the next level? Here's a list of some of the tools I use every time I make this recipe that help make this a breeze!

    Dutch Oven
    Tongs
    Knife
    Cutting Board

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    My journey began at Le Cordon Bleu where my love of cooking & subsequently teaching really baked in. This is me pouring out what I've learned over the years & sharing it with the world. We are so glad you're here and hope you find something delicious while you're at it.

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