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Chipotle Carnitas Recipe

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4.9 from 55 reviews

Tender and flavorful Chipotle Carnitas slow-cooked with aromatic spices and served on crispy tostada shells with optional toppings like refried beans, salsa, and avocado for a delicious Mexican-inspired meal.

Ingredients

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Main Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup chicken broth
  • 4 teaspoons ground chipotle pepper
  • 4 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 boneless pork shoulder roast (4 to 5 pounds), halved
  • 1 large onion, peeled and halved
  • 8 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 1 to 2 limes, halved
  • 16 tostada shells

Optional Toppings

  • Warmed refried beans
  • Salsa
  • Sour cream
  • Shredded lettuce
  • Sliced avocado
  • Crumbled queso fresco
  • Minced fresh cilantro
  • Lime wedges

Instructions

  1. Prepare Slow Cooker: Add the chicken broth to a 5-quart slow cooker and mix together ground chipotle pepper, ground cumin, and salt to form a seasoning blend.
  2. Season Pork: Rub the seasoning blend evenly over all sides of the halved pork shoulder roast. Place the seasoned pork into the slow cooker.
  3. Add Aromatics: Add the peeled and halved onion and peeled garlic cloves to the slow cooker with the pork.
  4. Cook Pork: Cover and cook on low heat for 10 hours, or until the pork is very tender and easy to shred.
  5. Shred Pork: Remove the pork from the slow cooker and let it cool slightly. Strain the cooking juices, reserving the garlic and discarding the onion. Skim fat from the cooking juices. Mash the reserved garlic cloves with a fork.
  6. Combine Pork and Juices: Return the shredded pork, mashed garlic, and cooking juices to the slow cooker. Squeeze the juice of 1 to 2 limes over the pork and heat through, stirring to combine flavors.
  7. Assemble Tostadas: Layer the pork mixture onto tostada shells. Add optional toppings such as warmed refried beans, salsa, sour cream, shredded lettuce, sliced avocado, crumbled queso fresco, and minced fresh cilantro as desired.
  8. Serve: Serve the prepared tostadas with lime wedges on the side for squeezing fresh juice over each serving.

Notes

  • For more heat, add extra ground chipotle pepper or fresh chiles to the seasoning mix.
  • The pork shoulder can be substituted with pork butt if preferred.
  • To reduce fat, skim the cooking juices carefully before returning to the pork.
  • If you don’t have a slow cooker, cooking the pork shoulder covered in a low oven at 275°F for 4-5 hours until tender is a viable alternative.
  • The lime juice brightens the rich flavors, so be generous with it for best taste.
  • Keep leftover carnitas refrigerated and use within 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Find it online: https://clovercuisine.com/chipotle-carnitas-recipe/