Pork butt is braised for hours in a combination of beer, onions, citrus, and spices until it’s fall-apart tender. Then, it’s crisped up in a skillet so you have a perfect mix of crispy and tender pieces.
These crispy Carnitas Tacos are perfect topped with the pickled onions, fresh salsa verde, and cotija. I honestly can’t think of a taco recipe that I love more!
“If I had known sooner that making tacos this delicious was this easy then I would have done it a long time ago. The recipe is simple as easy to follow and the carnitas had a ton of flavor.” – Tyler, So Much Food reader
Table of contents
The Braised Pork Tacos I Make Again and Again
Braising is a combination cooking technique that features both wet and dry heat. First, you sear the pork in the pan for flavor and color and then you add liquid to the pot and transfer the covered pot to the oven. In the oven, the pork cooks slowly at a lower temperature.
The resulting pork is exceedingly tender. Braising is particularly effective for tough cuts of meat because the low and slow cook time allows the muscle tissue and collagen to gradually break down. Any liquid can be used to braise (wine, stock, water, etc), but I love beer for this braised pork carnitas recipe!
You can use the crispy pork to make burrito bowls, enchiladas, and tostadas, but I love piling it onto warm corn tortillas with a sprinkling of cotija, a squeeze of lime, and a few pickled onions to make restaurant-quality carnitas tacos.
If you’re craving pork tacos but don’t have time to braise the meat for 3+ hours, try making these 30-minute caramelized pork tacos instead!
Required Equipment
Ingredient Notes (+ Substitutions)
You can find the full list of ingredients, quantities, and method in the recipe card at the end of the page.
- Pork butt. I’m using pork butt in this recipe, specifically Boston butt. Pork shoulder and pork butt both come from the shoulder area, but the butt is higher up on the foreleg. It’s heavily marbled with fat (we want that, it’s flavor!) and tough. We are cooking it low and slow to achieve a very tender consistency!
- Dried chilies. The carnitas braising liquid is made with ancho chiles and guajillo chiles. Ancho chilies are poblano chiles that have been dried, while guajillo chilies are the dried version of the Mirasol chiles (they add a fruity flavor with a little heat). Both can be found in the Mexican aisle of most supermarkets or at your local Mexican market.
- Orange. This probably seems like an odd addition, but the citrus helps tenderize the pork and the flavor is so, so good.
- Beer. Opt for a beer with very little hop flavor. I typically choose a Mexican lager, like Modelo. If you’d rather omit the alcohol, replace with chicken broth.
- Lard. Traditionally the pork butt is braised in broth or fat, and since cooking 4 pounds of pork in just lard seemed excessive I opted for both lard and beer.
- Seasonings + aromatics. To create layers of flavor, the pork is braised with fresh garlic and onion as well as bay leaves and cumin seeds (which are much more aromatic than ground cumin!). And, of course, there’s plenty of salt!
- Toppings. My favorite toppings for carnitas tacos are salsa verde (homemade or store-bought), pickled red onions (ditto), crumbled cotija cheese, and a squeeze of lime.
How to Make Restaurant-Quality Carnitas Tacos at Home
- Sear the pork in lard. I suggest cutting the pork butt into large chunks for easy searing. Season each piece liberally with salt and pepper before browning in the lard.
- Make the Mexican braised pork. To the seared pork, add the seasonings, aromatics, and braising liquid. Bring the mixture to a boil, then pop the lid onto the Dutch oven and transfer to a 350ºF oven and cook for 2 1/2 hours. Then, remove the lid and cook for another 30 minutes.
Jenny’s Tip: If your pork isn’t fork tender after 3 hours, continue cooking it in 30-minute increments until it shreds very easily.
- Let cool, then chill overnight. This gives the pork time to absorb even more flavor from the braising liquid and also solidifies the fat. When you remove the chunks of pork the next day, there will be just enough fat clinging to the meat to get it nice and crispy in the skillet without making it greasy or mushy.
- Shred and crisp the pork. Remove the pork from the Dutch oven and shred with two forks. Then, place it in a hot skillet and let it cook undisturbed until super crispy on one side.
- Assemble your tacos. I suggest warming the corn tortillas in a dry skillet before loading them up with the pork carnitas, salsa verde, and toppings. This will prevent them from crumbling and cracking when you fold them up to eat your tacos!
Jenny’s Tips for Making the Best Pork Tacos
Bone-in pork is the move here. Bone-in pork really adds so much flavor to the meat while it cooks. Pork on the bone contains collagen and marrow that slowly breaks down as you braise the meat. I personally find that bone-in pork is cheaper than boneless, too. Just be careful to cut around the bone when you cut the meat into chunks.
Avoid beers with a strong hoppy flavor. This means IPAs and Pale Ales are definitely out. The longer you cook beer with a heavy hop character, the more bitter it becomes. I tend to opt for lagers or amber ales/lagers or Mexican beers like Modelo, negro Modelo, Pacifico, etc.
A Dutch oven will braise the pork more evenly. I used my favorite Lodge Dutch oven, but any heavy-bottomed pot with a lid will work. I would opt for cast iron or enamel-coated cast iron because it holds and distributes heat really evenly. You want a pot that has a wide bottom versus being tall like a stock pot.
Sides to Serve with These Tacos
Make it a Mexican-inspired feast by serving your braised pork tacos with one or more of the following sides:
If you do give this recipe a try, I love hearing about it! Leave a comment with a star rating below. Be sure to subscribe to my weekly newsletter and never miss a new recipe! You can also snap a photo & tag @JENNYGOYCOCHEA on Instagram.
More Taco Recipes to Make
- Crispy Potato Tacos
- Migas Breakfast Tacos
- Beer Battered Shrimp Tacos
- Chicken Tinga Tacos
- Carne Asada Street Tacos
- Crispy Baked Chicken Tacos
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Authentic Beer Braised Carnitas Tacos Recipe
Ingredients
For the Carnitas
- 4 lbs boneless Boston pork butt, cut into large chunks (or 5 lbs bone-in pork, cut into 2-3 pieces)
- kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 cup lard
- 1 orange, sliced
- 8 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 yellow onion, sliced
- 4 dried ancho chilies, whole
- 2 dried guajillo chilies, whole
- 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
- 3 bay leaves
- 24 oz lager or amber beer (let it go flat)
- 1 tablespoon salt
For the Tacos
- Corn tortillas, warmed
- Cotija cheese, crumbled
- Lime wedges, for serving
- Pickled onions, for serving
- Raw salsa verde, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 350ºF. Heat a large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium heat and add the lard to the pot. Season the pork chunks liberally with salt and pepper.
- Sear the pork. Place pieces of pork in the pan and brown on all sides.
- Add the carnitas ingredients. Add the sliced onion, oranges, and garlic cloves to the pot and arrange around the pieces of pork. Then, add cumin, bay leaf, and dried chilies. Pour in the beer and sprinkle the salt all over. If there is not enough liquid to come 3/4 of the way up the pork (we don't want to cover it), add a little water. Bring to a simmer and then remove from the heat and cover.
- Braise. Place in the oven and cook for 2 1/2 hours, until almost fork tender. Remove lid and cook for 30 minutes to 1 hour more, or until tender enough to be pulled apart with a fork.
- Let cool, then refrigerate overnight. Remove pot from oven and let the pork cool to room temperature. Re-cover, place in the fridge and allow to chill overnight.
- Make the salsa verde. Combine all the ingredients in a high-powered blender and blend until smooth. Season to taste with salt.
- Crisp up the pork. Before serving, pull the pork from the liquid and roughly shred it into pieces, discarding large pieces of fat. Heat a cast-iron pan over medium-high heat and add the pork to the pan until crispy on one side and golden brown. Season with extra salt as needed.
- Assemble the tacos. Serve the carnitas on warm corn tortillas with pickled onions, salsa verde, and cilantro with some lime wedges on the side.
Notes
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Braising Pork Chile Verde
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Game Day Oven-Baked Pork Ribs
Rate & Review This Recipe
If I had known sooner that making tacos this delicious was this easy then I would have done it a long time ago.
The recipe is simple as easy to follow and the carnitas had a ton of flavor.