easy carnitas

May 22nd, 2012 | Posted by Shelley Hurley

This dish is so delicious that no one can believe how easy it is! My family and friends all love this recipe. It has quickly become one of the Hurley family favorites! It’s great for potlucks or large get-togethers.

All you need is:

  • 1 3–4 pound pork tenderloin roast or pork shoulder
  • 1 large sweet onion
  • Olive oil
  • 16 ounces of your favorite green salsa
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 heavy 6–8 quart pan with lid

What you do is:

  1. On stovetop over medium heat, sauté sliced onions in about 4 tablespoons of olive oil until golden brown, and then remove. Add a little more oil and brown all sides of the roast, seasoning with salt and pepper.
  2. Add onions back in and pour your salsa over the top.
  3. Place pot with lid into 300 degree oven and cook until it falls apart (approximately 4 hours).
  4. Shred into small pieces.
  5. Serve with tropical salsa on a grilled flour tortilla with diced green onions, cilantro, and an avocado slice and enjoy!

Hint: you can also prepare this dish using chicken or beef. (I like to use a red salsa with the chicken.)




10 Comments

  1. Kari says:

    What kind of green salsa do you use? I’m looking for a good one!

  2. Sherry says:

    How sweet of you to share this recipe. I can’t wait to try it. Thank you and God bless you.

  3. Elizabeth says:

    I use the green canned salsa…and I call this Chile Verde. Same ingredients only I add white rice. Quick, easy and deeeelish!

  4. Melissa says:

    This recipe works well in the crockpot too.

  5. Jo Ann says:

    I made it tonight in the crock pot and my family loved it! Thank you Cathe and keep the great ideas coming :))
    God Bless!

  6. Sherylen says:

    Shelley, we made this this weekend while my parents are in town….we loved it…we’ve made tacos, nachos, sandwiches…it’s great and very easy. Thanks!

  7. Tiffany Jonker says:

    I am trying this recipe tomorrow night in the crockpot. So excited!

  8. Diane says:

    Tried it in the crockpot—tasty & easy! Very economical, too. Made enough shredded meat for many, many tacos/burritos/quesadillas, which would have cost a fortune at a restaurant. We’re going to get several meals out of this. I usually crockpot a batch of shredded chicken or roast beef each week. Now I can add carnitas for more variety. Thank you! Keep the recipes coming!

  9. Wendy says:

    Thanks for posting this recipe. I have made it twice and everyone has really enjoyed it! I added a few ingredients and thought I would share. I diced in a jalapeno, a few cloves of garlic, and a few tablespoons of liquid smoke. It gave it a really great smokey flavor. It’s an inexpensive way to make it seem like you put a lot of effort into the cooking process. The bottle goes a long way…so you can add it to bbq pulled pork or bbq chicken, etc.

    Please continue to share more recipes. Thanks!

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