Go Back
Slow Cooker Dump Chicken Taco Dinner
Andre Lewis

Crockpot Chicken Carnitas Tacos

Orange, onion and oregano season these chicken tacos without a jar of salsa verde, and a short broil puts browned edges on the slow-cooked thigh meat. Keep the shreds fairly coarse. Fine threads can dry before they color. Moisten the chicken with a measured portion of its juices before it goes under the broiler, then fill warm corn tortillas with the crisp-edged meat, onion and cilantro instead of letting it sit on the pan while you prepare the toppings.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 6 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 6 hours 50 minutes
Servings: 6
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 2 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
  • 1 large white onion half sliced and half finely diced
  • 4 garlic cloves crushed
  • 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
  • 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 3/4 tsp fine salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tbsp neutral oil
  • 12 small corn tortillas
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro

Method
 

  1. Place sliced onion and garlic in a 5-quart slow cooker. Add chicken, orange juice, lime juice, oregano, cumin, salt, pepper and bay leaf.
  2. Cover and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours until chicken reaches 165°F and pulls apart easily. Transfer meat to a board and discard the bay leaf.
  3. Heat the broiler. Shred chicken coarsely and spread on a rimmed sheet pan, then toss with oil and 1/3 cup of the defatted cooking juices.
  4. Broil 6 inches from the heat for 4 to 6 minutes, turn the meat in broad sections and broil for 2 to 3 minutes more until some edges brown without drying the centers.
  5. Warm tortillas in a dry skillet for about 30 seconds per side in batches. Fill each with chicken and divide diced onion and chopped cilantro evenly over the 12 tacos, serving 2 per person.