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With very little prep time, these Mexican-inspired Beef Carnitas are so incredibly tender, and extremely flavorful, with a touch of crispiness. They are perfect for tacos, burritos, quesadillas or even on top of nachos.
Beef Carnitas
Mexican dishes are immensely full of flavor, and these carnitas are no exception. The meat is so unbelievably tender and filled with wonderful Cajun seasoning, a sweet tart taste from an orange, and spiciness from the jalapeños. Are you getting hungry yet?
Typically, carnitas are made from pork, but If you don’t eat pork, you can still make fantastic beef ones, which I’ve done here. They are perfect for making tacos or burritos. Carnitas, which means “little meats” in Spanish is traditionally a Mexican pork dish using an inexpensive cut of pork.
Beef Carnitas Highlights
SUPER SIMPLE. What a simple recipe this is. You’re basically placing all the ingredients in a pot and cooking for several hours, shred, broil and eat.
CROWD PLEASER. This will serve about 12 people or easily double the recipe if you have a larger gathering.
VERSATILE. Beef carnitas can be served in so many different ways. Add extra toppings like avocado, guacamole, or pico de gallo to the dish and customize it to your liking.
What Ingredients You’ll Need
- Beef – Use either a boneless chuck or blade roast, cut into 2 inch cubes.
- Bell Peppers – I used both a red and green pepper, chopped.
- Onion – A plain yellow onion that is peeled and cut in half.
- Orange – I use a whole orange, juice and all.
- Seasoning – A couple of tablespoons of Cajun seasoning.
- Jalapeños – For some heat, I’ve used a can of pickled jalapeños including the juice.
How To Make Beef Carnitas
- Preheat the oven. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Cooking carnitas low and slow makes them the moist tender.
- Combine ingredients. Place the meat in a Dutch oven or oven safe pot, and add the beef, peppers, onion, juice from the orange and the remaining orange halves, Cajun seasoning, jalapeños and water. You should have enough water to cover everything in the pot. On the stove, bring everything to a boil over medium-high heat. Once it’s boiling, remove it from the heat.
- Cook. Cover the pot and place it in the oven and cook for 3 hours or until the meat falls apart when prodded with a fork. You can also cook this on the stovetop over low heat for 4 hours. Although both methods work, my preference is the oven.
- Remove the meat. Transfer the meat from the pot using a slotted spoon and place it on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Remove everything else from the pot except the liquid using a slotted spoon and discard. Cook the liquid over medium high heat for 20 minutes or until it reduces to about a cup. There will be a lot of great flavor in the liquid, which will be used to bring moisture in the meat.
- Shred the meat. Using 2 forks, shred the meat into smaller pieces. Pour the reduced liquid over the shredded meat.
- Broil meat. Place the baking sheet under the broiler for about 5 to 10 minutes or until browned and crispy. Watch it so that it doesn’t burn, each oven is different. Flip the meat and broil for another 5 minutes until brown and crispy.
- Serve. Serve on tacos or burritos.
What Do You Serve With Beef Carnitas?
Serve with beans, salsa, pico de gallo, guacamole, avocado, lime juice or wedges and warm flour or corn tortillas, tacos, burritos or quesadilla. They are very customizable so use whatever ingredients you like.
Why Are Carnitas Called Carnitas?
Carnitas is the Spanish word for Little Meat. Little pieces of meat are placed in tacos, burritos, or other wraps and typically topped with various ingredients.
What Kind Of Meat Is Used For Carnitas?
Carnitas are traditionally made from pork and you would use pork shoulder or butt. In this case, since our carnitas are beef, you can use chuck roast or blade roast. I like using chuck roast because it has a nice marbling of fat so when it’s slow cooked it gets nice and tender and incredibly flavorful.
What Is The Difference Between Pulled Pork And Carnitas?
Pulled pork is meat from a pig typically from the shoulder region that has been slow-cooked until it’s easy enough to shred, whereas carnitas, meaning “little meats” is a version of pulled pork that’s often fixed with Mexican spices.
Expert Tips
- Get adventurous using different spice mixtures like salt, black pepper, chili powder, cumin, onion powder or oregano.
- I totally recommend the broiling step to get the carnitas nice and crispy. If your oven doesn’t have a broiler, heat a skillet with a bit of oil over high heat, add some shredded beef and cook until crispy. This will totally amp up the flavor.
Leftovers
Carnitas can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Freezing
To freeze, place some of the meat in a freezer zip top bag or other airtight container. Place with a bit of the reserved cooking liquid, seal, and place in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Also Try Some Of These Great Recipes
Beef Carnitas
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 pound beef chuck or blade, boneless, cut into 2 inch cubes
- 1 medium green bell pepper chopped
- 1 medium red bell pepper chopped
- 1 medium onion peeled and cut in half
- 1 orange juice and all
- 2 tablespoons cajun seasoning
- 7 ounces pickled jalapenos with juice (1 can)
- 4 cups water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven: Preheat the oven to 300°F.
- Combine ingredients: Place the meat in a Dutch oven or oven safe pot, and add the beef, peppers, onion, juice from the orange and the remaining orange halves, Cajun seasoning, jalapeños and water. You should have enough water to cover everything in the pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Cook: Cover the pot and place it in the oven and cook for 3 hours or until the meat falls apart when prodded with a fork. You can also cook this on the stovetop over low heat for 4 hours.
- Remove the meat: Remove the meat from the pot using a slotted spoon and place it on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Remove everything else from the pot except the liquid using a slotted spoon and discard. Cook the liquid over medium high heat for 20 minutes or until it reduces to about a cup.
- Shred the meat: Using 2 forks, shred the meat into smaller pieces. Pour the reduced liquid over the shredded meat.
- Broil meat: Place the baking sheet under the broiler for about 5 to 10 minutes or until browned and crispy. Watch it so that it doesn't burn, each oven is different. Flip the meat and broil for another 5 minutes until brown and crispy.
- Serve: Serve on tacos or burritos.
Tips & Notes:
- Nutritional information is for beef carnitas only.
- Get adventurous using different spice mixtures like salt, black pepper, chili powder, cumin, onion powder or oregano.
- I totally recommend the broiling step to get the carnitas nice and crispy. If your oven doesn’t have a broiler, heat a skillet with a bit of oil over high heat, add some shredded beef and cook until crispy. This will totally amp up the flavor.
- Carnitas can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- To freeze, place some of the meat in a freezer zip top bag or other airtight container. Place with a bit of the reserved cooking liquid, seal, and place in the freezer for up to 3 months.
