Juicy smoked pork carnitas slow and slow cooked over pecan wood. This tender pulled pork is served on your choice of tacos or quesadillas, or as a topping for nachos.
Smoked Pork Carnitas is a Mexican take on pulled pork, where the meat is simmered in juices and spices for an incredibly tender grilled pork dish. Making the most of the pork’s fat content and marbling, this slowly ground meat is succulent with tangy notes of citrus and spice.
Garnish with rice, beans, tortillas, sour cream and cilantro. Use the carnitas the next day to make tostadas, tacos, burritos, and other Mexican dishes.
From preparing the meat to choosing the right smoking chips, here ‘s how to smoke pork carnitas from scratch.
What is carnitas?
Carnitas are a traditional Mexican dish consisting of shredded pork that is slow cooked or braised for hours until completely tender and juicy. It is then quickly cooked over high heat to give it an original crispy finish. Pork carnitas are typically topped with chopped onion, chopped cilantro, and bean sauce before being served in tortillas to make tacos, tostadas, or quesadillas.
The best cut of meat for carnitas is the pork loin, taken off the top of the shoulder. This delicious cut of pork is rich in fat and marbled, giving carnitas their remarkable succulent flavor. Although it’s a fairly tough cut of pork, the slow smoking process on the grill breaks down the collagen in the meat, making it tender enough to separate.
Smoking wood
For these grilled carnitas, we recommend a smooth hardwood with a subtle fruit aroma. The key is to complement the pork’s natural flavors without overpowering them. Our top recommended wood for pork tenderloin is pecan or apple, and the same goes for this Carnitas recipe. You can also try maple, orange, or peach wood.
Avoid strong hardwoods like mesquite or hickory. While they’re fine in small amounts, they pose a huge risk of smothering your pulled pork in thick layers of smoke.
Quick tips
- Pork is best shredded with grating tongs . Simply dig your claws into the smoked pork loin and flip the slow-moving meat, dividing it into juicy strands. The long smoke time should make this effortless and over in just a few minutes.