Pork Carnitas with Spicy Pineapple BBQ Sauce

Sponsored post by me on behalf of FARMER JOHN®, MISSION®, and TABASCO® Sauce. The opinions and text are all mine.

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And that’s not all – take advantage of that medley of ingredients and enjoy these amazing carnitas! It’s time to shake it up with FARMER JOHN!

Pork Carnitas with Spicy Pineapple BBQ Sauce

OK, these carnitas aren’t exactly traditional, but I think you’ll thank me for that! I took some culinary license and transformed regular pork carnitas into something sweet, tangy, fiery, crispy, and downright awesome. Traditional pork carnitas (Mexican pulled pork) feature cumin, oregano, garlic, lime, bay leaves, and oranges. Since that recipe is tried and true – I didn’t mess with it. I simply added to its splendor by introducing a sweet and savory BBQ sauce with pineapple juice, warming spices, a little smoke, and TABASCO® brand Chipotle Pepper Sauce. I also chose FARMER JOHN California Natural® Pork Shoulder Butt Roasts to use in my recipe! Choosing the right pork was important to me and FARMER JOHN has great quality. The contrasting flavors of sweet heat and fresh fruit complement each other beautifully, creating a symphony of tender, juicy pork in every bite. Just add a few crunchy garnishes and warm, MISSION Super Soft tortillas and you have the ultimate hand-held treat.

These are unlike ANY pork carnitas you’ve ever had; and I’m pretty sure this will be your go-to recipe moving forward. Don’t forget to shop Smart & Final and enter the sweepstakes! Shake it up with FARMER JOHN.

Pork Carnitas with Spicy Pineapple BBQ Sauce

Slow cooker friendly! If you want to cook the pork in a slow cooker, simply combine all the ingredients in your slow cooker (as directed below using a Dutch oven). Skip the step of bringing the sauce to a boil. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours or on HIGH for 4 hours, until the pork is very tender. Transfer the pork to a large shallow bowl to shred. Remove and discard the orange halves, onion halves and bay leaves and transfer the sauce to a saucepan to simmer and reduce to 2 cups. Shred the pork and add it to the simmering sauce in the saucepan. Transfer the pork to a large rimmed baking sheet and broil until browned and crisp, as instructed below.

2 cups water

1 cup ketchup

3/4 cup 100% pineapple juice (6-ounce can)

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons TABASCO® brand Chipotle Pepper Sauce, plus more for serving

1 teaspoon liquid smoke

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder

Salt and ground black pepper

1 FARMER JOHN California Natural® Bone-In or Boneless Pork Shoulder Butt Roast 1 yellow onion, peeled and halved

2 bay leaves

2 oranges, halved

Serve with:

16-20 (6 inch/fajita-size) MISSION Super Soft Flour Tortillas

Suggested garnishes:

Lime wedges

Chopped scallions

Fresh cilantro leaves

Thinly sliced radishes

Diced avocado

TABASCO® brand Chipotle Pepper Sauce

Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

In a large Dutch oven, combine the water, ketchup, pineapple juice, brown sugar, lime juice, Worcestershire sauce, TABASCO® brand Chipotle Pepper Sauce, liquid smoke, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and garlic. Whisk until blended. Add the FARMER JOHN pork to the pot and season the top with salt and pepper. Add the onion and bay leaves to the pot. Squeeze the oranges over the pork and add the orange halves to the pot (we’ll remove them later). The pork should be partially submerged in the sauce, with some of the meat remaining above the surface.

Set the pot over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Spoon some of the liquid over the pork, cover the pot and transfer it to the oven.

Cook 3 to 5 hours (3 to 4 hours for boneless and 4 to 5 hours for bone-in), until the pork is very fork-tender and shred-able. For perfectly shredded pork, cook until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 185-190 degrees F. At lower temperatures, the pork won’t melt into perfect shreds as easily. 

Remove the pot from oven. Transfer the pork to a large shallow bowl to shred. Remove and discard the orange halves, onion halves and bay leaves, reserving the sauce. Set the pot over medium-high heat and simmer until the liquid reduces to about 2 cups.

Use two forks to shred the pork. Add the shreds to the simmering sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Preheat the broiler.

Transfer the pork to a rimmed baking sheet and spread out in an even layer. Place the baking sheet under the broiler and broil until the pork is browned and crispy (keep a close eye so the pork doesn’t char).

Warm the MISSION tortillas according to the package directions.

Serve the pork with your choice of garnishes, warm tortillas and additional TABASCO® brand Chipotle Pepper Sauce on the side.

Serves 8-10