Pork Carnitas (Instant Pot)

These pork carnitas, first pressure-cooked until tender and juicy and then crisped on the edges with their own rendered fat in a hot skillet, are rich, meaty, and succulent.  

Think tender pork butt cooked in flavorful spices, a little water, and its own rendered fat until it falls apart and is infused with flavor. It's perfect for tacos served with Mexican Red Rice and beans. 

While not necessary, for the most tender and flavor-infused pork, after you cook the meat, let it rest overnight in the refrigerator. This will further tenderize the meat and will allow the juices to separate from the fat. You'll need the fat for crisping the edges of the pork and the reduced juices for flavoring the meat. 

This time, I used these carnitas for a taco bar dinner. You can also use the meat in enchiladas, burritos, quesadillas, rice bowls, and even sliders. 

It's a great make-ahead recipe to make dinner for a crowd. The cooked meat can be frozen and reheated without any loss in quality too. 

Don't forget to make the quick-pickled onions and jalapeños. They provide a great balance to the fatty meat. I used white onions, but red onions are more traditional. 

Ingredients for Instant Pot Pork Carnitas: 

Herbs and Spices: Ground cumin, ground coriander, dried oregano (preferably Mexican), red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. 

Pork Butt: Cut the pork into chunks but do not trim the fat from the pork. The fat flavors the meat as it is cooking, and the rendered fat after cooking is essential for crisping the meat. 

Pantry Ingredients: Onion, lots of garlic, and neutral cooking oil. 

To Make These Carnitas:

First, sauté sliced onions in neutral oil (I used grapeseed) in the Instant Pot on the Sauté function until softened. Next, add the garlic. Add the pork, the rest of the herbs and spices, and a small amount of water. 

Next, pressure cook the mixture for 30 minutes and then let the pressure to naturally reduce. 

After that, transfer the meat and onions to a bowl, let it cool a bit, and then shred the pork into bite-sized pieces. At this point, you can either skim the fat from the liquid and set it aside, or refrigerate the meat and liquid to let the fat separate and harden on top, which is what I did. 

After removing the fat, boil the juices for about 15 minutes and then add the pork back to the pot. 

Finally, heat some of the rendered fat in a skilled over medium high heat and press in the meat to crisp the edges before serving. 

My Instant Pot is the 8-quart version. The 6-quart Instant Pot (or any multicooker brand) is fine too. In fact, a stove top pressure cooker is fine, and even more traditional.  

If you don't have an Instant Pot, you can also make this pork in a Crock Pot on high for 5 to 6 hours. 

Note: Do not trim any of the fat from the pork butt. It is essential to flavoring the meat. Actually, truly authentic carnitas are cooked completely in lard. 

Alphabet Challenge.... P is for....

We are cooking and baking our way through the alphabet this year, and this week's letter is P, as in parsley, puneri, piri piri, paneer, potato, pickles, peanut, panna cotta, and paratha:  

• Culinary Cam: A Parade of Pickles, Including Pickled Chard Stems 
• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Creamy Potato Salad with Crunchy Fennel 
• Blogghetti: Easy Peanut Butter Chocolate Swirl Bark 
• Food Lust People Love: Homemade Piri Piri Sauce 
• A Messy Kitchen: Layered Berry Panna Cotta
• Mayuri’s Jikoni: Palak Paneer Paratha 
• Jolene’s Recipe Journal: Parsley Pesto 
• Magical Ingredients: Peas and Poppyseed Paratha
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Pork Carnitas (Instant Pot) 
• Sneha’s Recipe: Puneri Batata Vada 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Southern Potato Salad 

Pork Carnitas (Instant Pot)

Yield: 8 servings

Author: Karen's Kitchen Stories

Prep time: 1 HourCook time: 45 MinTotal time: 1 H & 45 M

These pork carnitas, first pressure-cooked until tender and juicy and then crisped on the edges with their own rendered fat in a hot skillet, are rich, meaty, and succulent.

Ingredients

For the Pickled Onions

• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• 1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 jalapeño, stemmed, seeded, and thinly sliced

For the Carnitas

• 1 tablespoon neutral oil
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 10 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
• 3 pounds boneless pork butt, cut into 2 inch cubes
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup water

Instructions

To Make the Pickled Onions

1. Combine the vinegar, sugar, and salt, until dissolved. Add the onions and jalapeńos, stir, and refrigerate until you've made the carnitas.

To Make the Carnitas

1. Sauté the sliced onion in neutral oil in the Instant Pot on the Sauté function until softened. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the pork, cumin, coriander, oregano, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and water. Stir and press Cancel.
2. Lock the lid onto the Instant Pot and set the valve to Sealing. Set pressure cook on Manual/High. Set the time to 30 minutes and then let the pressure naturally reduce for 15 minutes. Change the valve to Venting to release the rest of the steam.
3. Remove the lid and transfer the meat and onions to a bowl. Let cool a bit and then shred the pork into bite-sized pieces.
4. At this point, you can either skim the fat from the liquid and set it aside, or refrigerate the meat and liquid in two separate bowls overnight to let the fat separate and harden on top. This is what I did.
5. The next day, remove the fat from the top of the liquid and place the remaining liquid into the Instant Pot and boil the juices for about 15 minutes to reduce to about 1/2 cup. Add the pork back to the pot and stir.
6. Finally, heat 1 tablespoon of the rendered fat in a 12-inch skillet over medium high heat until just smoking and add the meat in one layer. Cook, pressing down with a spatula but without stirring for 3 to 5 minutes, until the bottom is crisped.
7. Serve with the pickled onions and jalapeños.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

269

Fat (grams)

12 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

4 g

Carbs (grams)

6 g

Fiber (grams)

1 g

Net carbs

4 g

Sugar (grams)

2 g

Protein (grams)

33 g

Cholesterol (grams)

102 mg

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2024/07/pork-carnitas-instant-pot.html

Karen's Kitchen Stories

carnitas, pork

dinner

Mexican

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Recipe adapted from Milk Street Fast and Slow: Instant Pot Cooking at the Speed You Need.