Easy Pork Carnitas
Juicy, tender pork carnitas made in 30 min, start to finish! No fuss, no hassle. Serve as tacos or burrito bowls. So easy, so so good.
We are just about to enter week 3 of our quarantine/stay-at-home order here in Chicago. We’re playing trivia via Zoom, going on all the FaceTimes with friends, and doing taco night with all the fix-ins here.
And I know we all have a bit more time to cook as we’re locked insides our home but hey, I am always down for quick carnitas. Specifically 30 minutes start to finish. No fuss, no hassle.
Now you can serve these in warm tortillas or as burrito bowls – there’s no right or wrong, and it is ALL GOOD. I also know it is hard to find some ingredients right now so please feel free to use any kind of toppings/fix-ins you have on hand – black beans, corn kernels, cherry tomatoes, and/or romaine lettuce (or other types of greens you have handy) will also work beautifully here.
And if you have some ice cold beers on standby, that will also work perfectly as a side.
Easy Pork Carnitas
Ingredients
- 1 pound pork tenderloin, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- ½ medium sweet onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
Instructions
- Season pork with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
- Heat canola oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add pork, onion, garlic, chili powder and cumin. Cook, stirring often, until pork has browned, about 8-10 minutes.
- Stir in orange juice and lime juice, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Cook until reduced, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
Love this Carnitas recipe! Very easy Ok here is the recipes
Carnitas; 3-4 lb pork butt or shoulder
1 orange cut in half
1 large white onion (I use whatever i have on hand)
4-6 cloves of garlic smashed
Juice of one lime
1/4c. Of red wine vinegar
3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon dry oregano
1 teaspoon cumin (more if you like)
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes ( if you like a little heat)
1 teaspoon black pepper
1teaspoon sal
I like to cut my roast into about 3 chunks to help it fit into my pot add all ingredients except salt to pot add enough water to cover meat bring to a boil on stovetop cover pot and place in oven till meat is tender about 2 hours
Once meat is tender remove meat from juices place on a sheet pan. Place pot over high heat and cook juices down till it thickens into a glaze(about halfway down I remove the orange halves and bay) you’ll probably have about 1cup left sprinkle meat with salt to your own taste pour reduced sauce over meat toss a little and place under broiler till nice and crispy what a delicious meal.
My husband and I loved this EASY and Delicious Carnitas recipe. Due to the Coronavirus quarantine, I was only missing the cilantro. Which I love immensely. Also it was a little difficult to cut the loin into 1/2″ pieces. Slippery to handle. Maybe put the meat in the freezer for 30 minutes to firm up? Then proceed to cutting? Any way it was an awesome, easy, yummy meal. I have loved making so many of your recipes and look forward to your next one.
As one person already commented, I’m not sure what is pictured here but the actual recipe looks nothing like the picture. Still tasty, but don’t expect it to look like the picture. Looks like an entirely different recipe??
My family really loved these, but mine did not look anything like the pic! I did end up cooking two tenderloins (so probably 1 pound and 1/2) because they were small. Maybe I should have used more spices? Anyway, very yummy and love that I now have another way to cook pork tenderloin. As my youngest says, “I like this kind of chicken.” 🙂 🙂 🙂
This recipe is a really interesting way to use a pork tenderloin cut. I really enjoyed this recipe. I added a little cayenne just because we like it spicier. Thanks!
These are SOO good!! So easy and ! My family loved it! A definite keeper!! We had them with rice and my kids had it in tortillas with guacamole and salsa!!
So good and easy!
Easy, tasty, yummy ! Keeper ! 🙂
Made this last night and guess what? It was Damn Delicious. Thanks for posting it, we’ll save this to our favorites. Be well!
I only have lemon. Would it be okay to sub lemon juice for lime juice?
I made this for lunch today & it was FANTASTIC! Easy and yummy.
I had defrosted a pork tenderloin yesterday and came across this recipe today. I had all of the accouterments on hand so thought, “Why not?” I have made carnitas the long, slow way and was afraid this quick method would result in dry, tough meat trying to obtain the nice dark coloring. Boy, was I wrong! These were juicy and tender. I roasted a poblano chili and added some freshly chopped jalapeño to the final wrap and a squeeze of fresh lime. Awesome!
Wow.. It was damn delicious as usual.. It was so good. Thanks again!