An authentic recipe for Chilorio, a flavorful Mexican shredded pork dish made with citrus and chiles, that can be cooked in a Slow Cooker.
Make Chilorio Tacos – the best! Or serve as nachos, flautas, enchiladas or big, generous rice bowls.
what is chilorio?
This slow-braised pork dish hails from the Mexican state of Sinaloa.
It is simmered with orange juice and a puree of chiles, onion, and spices.
It is similar to carnitas in that it is normally cooked until the sauce has mostly evaporated and it is left to fry a bit in its own fat.
This Chilorio recipe is a much easier version—simply cover and cook in the slow cooker!
If you do love those crispy bits however, you can stick the shredded meat under the broiler for a few minutes to fry up before serving it.
Chilorio was all but a mystery to me until a couple friends were regaling us with stories of bringing contraband canned Chilorio back from Mexico.
Aside from tuna I have not had much desire to eat canned meat so I thought this stuff must be some kind of magic to risk dealing with drug-sniffing dogs just to eat it on the other side of the border.
After some investigating I didn’t really see what the hubbub over the canned stuff was about when you could so easily make it yourself.
Maybe it’s like the craving for Kraft macaroni and cheese or some other packaged food.
They of course don’t taste better than the real thing but we crave them nonetheless, probably for nostalgia more than actual flavor.
I was told by my friend after he had a taste of my version that the canned is much fattier, by a lot, so I guess we can call this healthy Chilorio?
what are chilorio ingredients?
This dish is traditionally made with dried ancho chiles so if you want a truly authentic version you can use those.
I made it with a mixture of dried chiles and really enjoyed the different layers of flavor. I used dried chipotles, moritos, arbol, guajillo, and cascabel chiles; heavy on the guajillos.
Check out my Mexican Pantry Guide for more info on dried chiles.
Aside from the chiles you will need:
- boneless pork butt
- orange juice (fresh-squeezed is best)
- white onion
- garlic
- fresh herbs
- vinegar
- spices!!
tips for cooking the meat in a slow cooker
Because it is made in the slow cooker there will be a lot of sauce.
The easiest thing to do would be to remove the pork from the sauce when it is nice and tender, shred it and mix a cup or so of the sauce back in with the shredded pork.
A little more labor intensive would be to remove the pork and shred it. Transfer the sauce to a large pot and bring to a simmer over medium high heat.
Keep simmering until it is reduced and thick, then mix that in with the pork.
now make it into tacos!
In Sinaloa flour tortillas are king and Chilorio is most typically served with a thick stack of warm flour tortillas.
Use corn tortillas if you are gluten-free or serve with steamed rice some hunks of avocado, and a slaw or salad on top.
serve chilorio with any of the following:
- Mango-Cucumber Salad
- Crock Pot Borracho Beans
- Cucumber Mezcal Margaritas
- Sofrito Black Beans
- Red Lentil Picnic Salad with Cider Dressing
- Cilantro Lime Corn
- Super Simple Salsa Verde
you may also enjoy:
- Deep Dish Black Bean Enchilada Casserole
- 17 Chipotle Recipes To Make Right Now
- Beer Battered Fish Tacos with Radish Pico de Gallo
- Black Bean Pupusas with Home-Fermented Lime Curtido
- Easy Chicken Empanadas with Garlic Mojo Sauce
- Creamy Coconut Lime Paletas
- Chicharrones de Harina {Fried Mexican Wheat Crisps}
chilorio fans unite!
If you are a part of the cult Chilorio following I’d love to hear what you think of this recipe. Give it a try and let me know by tagging @holajalapeno or #holajalapeno on Instagram so I can see.
PrintSlow Cooker Chilorio Recipe {Pork Braised in Orange Juice and Chiles}
Recipe adapted from Pati’s Mexican Table by Pati Jinich This makes enough to feed a crowd. Cut the recipe in half if you are feeding less people or freeze half for a later meal. Ancho chiles are most authentic for this recipe but I like to use a combination. Dried chipotles add smokiness, guajillo a tinge of sweet, arbol a kick of spice. You can play around with the recipe and see which ones you like best. Freezer option: Chilorio freezes beautifully. Let cool completely then transfer to an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator then reheat on the stove or in the microwave. Make sure to freeze some sauce too; then pour the sauce over the meat when you reheat.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 8 hours
- Total Time: 8 hours 30 mins
- Yield: 10-12 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Slow Cook
- Cuisine: Mexican
- Diet: Low Lactose
Ingredients
- 6 pounds boneless pork butt, cut in 2-inch pieces
- 2 1/2 cups fresh squeezed orange juice (about 7 oranges)
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
- 4 ounces dried chiles (ancho, guajillo, arbol, morito, etc.), stemmed, seeded, and rinsed
- 1 cup chopped white onion (about 1/2 large onion)
- 8 cloves garlic
- 1 cup chopped Italian parsley
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- Warm tortillas or rice for serving
Instructions
- Combine pork, orange juice, and salt in the slow cooker. Set on low and cover.
- Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil. Remove from heat and add chiles. Press down to submerge in the water and let soak 15 minutes.
- Remove chiles from water and place in a blender along with the remaining ingredients and 1/2 cup of the chile soaking liquid. Remove the lid and hold a towel you don’t mind getting dirty over the top of the blender. Blend on high until smooth.
- Pour chile mixture into slow cooker and stir to combine. Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 or until pork is tender and falling apart.
- At this point you can remove pork from the sauce and shred then mix a bit of the sauce back into the pork. If you want to take an additional step you can turn the broiler to high and place the shredded meat onto a foil-lined baking sheet. Place under the broiler until the edges are crisp, about 2-3 minutes. Mix with about a cup or two of the sauce and serve.
Keywords: chilorio
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8 Comments
I love all your pics, they are amazing. I really like recipes from Sinaloa, my favourite dish is sopes estilo Sinaloa.
Thank you Karla! What are in the sopes? I want to make your Sinaloan beef tamales with the shredded beef and olives–YUM!!
I love this recipe! I use this as a base for my breakfast lunch and dinner I love how versatile it is and it is so good!
Thanks so much Micaiah! So glad I got to share it with you. 🙂
would the cook time be different for a bone in pork butt?
Hi Leta,
The slow cooker cooks everything pretty evenly. I think a same-sized bone-in pork butt would take the same amount of time. Let me know how it goes!
This is definitely a keeper. The pork comes out tender and flavorful and the sauce is rich, earthy and subtly spicy. I used guajillo, ancho and chipotle. In the future I’ll go with your suggestion of arbol for a little more heat.
This recipe also helped with the side dishes. The leftover chile-soaking water was added to vegetable stock for pinto beans and some of the chilorio sauce was used while cooking rice.
Big thanks for this site. I’m looking forward to trying more of your recipes.
★★★★★
Thank you so much Rick! I’m so happy you liked the recipe. Great idea for using up the leftover chile-soaking liquid!