Carnitas are one of the most delicious ways to serve pork shoulder, with their bright, citrusy flavor, fatty cuts of pork, and crispy edges. Sous vide is a great, hands off way to make sure they’re super tender and allows you to batch and freeze plenty of servings all at once. In order to make sure the meat is as tender as possible, these sous vide carnitas get a long cook time: 12-16 hours.
This recipe is from my cookbook Sous Vide Meal Prep. Here, you’ll find a delicious marinade, sous vide times and temperatures, a finishing method to make these carnitas crispy, and tips and tricks for the most flavorful carnitas you’ve ever had.
One of the things that I love most about it is it makes an excellent freezer meal. Get plenty of pork shoulder when it’s on sale, double or triple the marinade recipe, portion it all out and vacuum seal, then pop in your freezer. You can even go straight from the freezer to the water bath, no defrosting required!
Sous Vide Meal Prep
This cookbook outlines my entire method for keeping your freezer stocked with ready to sous vide meals (and some great recipes to boot!).
Once you’ve cooked this recipe and loved it, make sure to check out all my other sous vide recipes – I’ve even got some additional sous vide pork recipes like sous vide pork shoulder, sous vide pork chops, and more.
I’m so glad you found this recipe!
I can’t wait to be a part of your sous vide cooking today, and hopefully more to come!
I’ve been passionate about sous vide for almost a decade now. I take a different approach from other sous vide experts. While I love the science of sous vide, I want it to be an approachable cooking technique for everyone, and I don’t want you to sweat the details.
If you’re new to sous vide, make sure to read through this blog post or consider joining Sous Vide School.
I also have two sous vide cookbooks I think you’ll love: Everyday Sous Vide and Sous Vide Meal Prep.
Got questions?
Leave a comment and I’ll get right back to you!
Sous vide may not seem like the optimal way to cook carnitas, but it works so well. You can cook the carnitas low and slow without babysitting something on the stovetop or in the oven. Yes, this method does take longer than traditional methods, but it also is completely hands off!
You can also batch several meals at once and then freeze. These carnitas can go straight from the freezer to the water bath. Don’t worry, you’re not sacrificing crispiness! Once they’re done sous viding, the carnitas are transferred to a cast iron skillet and quick seared for plenty crispy carnitas.
Looking to learn more about sous vide cooking? Make sure to check out my Beginner’s Guide to Sous Vide Cooking.
The hardest part of making sous vide carnitas is preparing the marinade, which isn’t all that hard!
You might be wondering: how do I vacuum seal with liquid in the bag? I’ve got you! Position the bag so that the contents are hanging off the side of the counter, supported by your hand. Then vacuum seal as normal. Once liquid starts creeping up towards the seal line, hit “seal.” Using gravity to your advantage + hitting that seal button early make this totally doable!
Cook for 12-16 hours. It’s a long cook, I know! But it’s worth it.
That’s it! These will be some of the tastiest carnitas you’ve ever had!
Get the Recipe:
Sous Vide Crispy Carnitas
Ingredients
Marinade
- 3-4 lb pork shoulder, fat trimmed, diced into 2 inch cubes
- 3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice, about 2 oranges
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice, about 2 limes
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
For Serving
- Corn tortillas or cooked white rice
- Lime wedges
- 1/4 cup finely diced white onion
- 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Preheat water bath using an immersion circulator to 165 degrees F. Since this is a long cook, make sure to place a trivet underneath the water bath.
- Whisk together all the ingredients for the marinade. Add the cubed pork shoulder to a large vacuum seal bag and pour the marinade over the pork shoulder. Toss to coat. Vacuum seal or use another air removal method. To keep the liquid from being sucked into the machine during sealing, hang the bottom of the bag off the edge of your counter and support with your hands. Vacuum seal as normal, but hit the "Seal" button when you start to see liquid near the seal line.
- Add the bag to the water bath and cook for 12-16 hours. You may need to secure the bag with sous vide magnets or place a ceramic plate on top of the bag to keep it from floating. Since this is a long cook, cover the water bath with a lid or plastic wrap to prevent evaporation.
- After sous viding, preheat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Remove the pork from the bag using tongs and add to the skillet. Save the bag and juices. Sear, tossing every minute or so, until browned and crispy on the outside. Pour the contents of the bag over the pork and cook for another minute or two, until liquid has reduced by half.
- Serve carnitas with rice or corn tortillas and lime wedges, cilantro, and diced onion.
