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Instant Pot Pork Carnitas

Taco Tuesday shakeup! Pork Carnitas recipe in the Instant Pot. Simple ingredients & easy tips for a weeknight meal.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Servings: 4 -6

Ingredients

  • 1 3 - 4 lb Pork Butt/Shoulder
  • 1 Tbs. Olive Oil
  • 1 Large Onion, chopped into 1-inch pieces
  • 2-3 Cloves of Garlic, chopped
  • 1 tsp. Cumin
  • 1 ½ tsp. Dried Oregano
  • 2 Bay Leaves, fresh or dried
  • 1 Orange, Juiced
  • 1 Lime, Juiced
  • 2 Cups Water
  • Salt and Pepper

Instructions

  • Trim excess fat from pork butt and cut into 2-3 inch pieces.
  • Turn on the Instant Pot to sauté and add Olive Oil.
  • Working in batches, add the pork pieces to the Instant Pot, season with salt and pepper and brown on all sides.
  • Remove pork from the Instant Pot after you’ve browned it.
  • Leaving the Instant Pot on sauté, add the Onion to the Instant Pot and sauté for a couple of minutes to slightly soften.
  • Turn off the Instant Pot.
  • Add the Chopped Garlic, Cumin, Oregano, Bay Leaves, Orange and Lime Juices, Water and stir together.
  • Add the browned pork back to the instant pot.
  • Check that your sealing ring on the lid is in place, put on the lid and double check that your steam release knob is set to “sealing”.
  • Set the “manual” button for 40 minutes on high pressure.
  • While the pork is cooking cover a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
  • Once the 40 minutes is complete, allow the pressure to come down naturally for 15 minutes before releasing any remaining pressure using the quick release valve.
  • Transfer the pork from the instant pot to the prepared baking sheet.
  • Preheat Broiler.
  • Using two forks shred the pork on the baking sheet.
  • Place the shredded pork under the broiler for 3 or 4 minutes to brown and crisp up some.
  • Once out of the oven serve Pork Carnitas as tacos with all your taco fixings like tomatoes, lettuce, onion, cheese and jalapeno peppers. You can get my pickled pepper recipe HERE.

Notes

The pork doesn’t dry out and I don’t usually need to reserve any of the pork juices for reheating. You can certainly reserve some juices if you want.