Instant Pot Carnitas
Have you hopped on the Instant Pot bandwagon yet? I’ve had mine for awhile now and I’m sold. It’s a pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, & steamer among other things. Did I mention you can make the most perfect Carnitas with it? It’s no wonder that they have a cult following.
The key to Carnitas is low & slow cooking followed by a quick sear in a hot skillet. There is nothing better than crispy pork and, by adding some of the juices from the Instant Pot, it won’t dry out.
It starts with a good chunk of meat. We picked up a 3lb, bone-in, pork shoulder from Pasture Provisions at the farmer’s market. Their piggies come from Colorado Pastured Pork where they get to roam around by the river all day in Hotchkiss, Colorado. Yay for local food!
Next, the aromatics. It’s just a handful (6!) garlic cloves, peeled & smashed with the side of your knife and one medium yellow onion, cut into strips (or half moons? you know what I mean).
Then, citrus & spices! The juice of one orange and two limes bring the perfect amount of acid while cumin, salt, pepper, and bay leaves round out the spices.
Seal it up & set your Instant Pot to slow cook on high for 8 hours. When it’s done, let the pressure release naturally. Shred the pork with a fork, making sure to stir in all the juices.
When you’re ready to eat, heat up a cast iron skillet and add the pork & some of it’s juices. Let the juices reduce & sear the meat until perfectly crispy!
Serve with greens or on top of a sweet potato (also cooked in the instant pot!) with a squeeze of lime and sprinkling of chopped cilantro.
- 3 lb bone in pork shoulder
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 1 orange
- 2 limes
- 3 tsp ground cumin
- 3 bay leaves
- 1.5 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp ghee
- Peel & smash the garlic cloves and slice the onion. Add them to your instant pot & cover with the pork shoulder.
- Add the juice of the orange & limes and sprinkle in the spices and ghee. Add more or less ghee, depending on the amount of fat on the pork shoulder.
- Close & seal the lid of the instant pot and set it to slow cook on medium heat for 8 hours.
- Once time has expired, allow the Instant Pot to release on it's own. Shred the meat with a fork and remove the bay leaves & bones.
- When you're ready to eat add some pork & the juices to a hot skillet. Cook over medium heat until the juices have reduced & the pork is crispy. Enjoy!
