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Pork Carnitas in a bowl with fresh cilantro and lime

Instant Pot Pork Carnitas

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 1 review
  • Author: Joanie Simon
  • Prep Time: 20
  • Cook Time: 95
  • Total Time: 1 hour 55 minutes
  • Yield: 12-16 1x
  • Category: Main Dish
  • Method: Pressure Cooking
  • Cuisine: Mexican

Description

A super easy recipe for pork carnitas, a mouthwatering Mexican style shredded pork with orange and garlic. The Instant Pot makes this family favorite in a fraction of the time of traditional recipes.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 410 lb pork butt or pork shoulder, cut down into 1/2 lb to 1/4 lb hunks
  • 1 Tbs salt
  • 1 Tbs paprika
  • 1 Tbs dried organo
  • 8 cloves garlic, rough chopped
  • 1 medium white or yellow onion diced
  • 1/2 cup of orange juice from 3 oranges
  • 2 tsp fresh orange zest
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 cup water

Instructions

  • Add your cut up pieces of pork shoulder to the Instant Pot (no need for a rack or any accessories, just the pot). If there was a bone in your pork, discard it.
  • In a medium bowl, combine the salt, paprika oregano, garlic, onion, orange juice, orange zest, apple cider vinegar and water and stir to combine, then pour over the pork. Stir the pork around so the garlic and onion pieces are distributed throughout.
  • Place the lid on the Instant Pot and set to Manual pressure cooking for 65 minutes.  Allow approximately 15 minutes for the pot to heat up and seal.
  • Once the timer goes off, allow the pot to rest an additional 15 minutes for natural pressure release, to ensure super tender and juicy pork.
  • After 15 minutes, release any remaining pressure.
  • Remove the pork from the pressure cooker and place on a cutting board and shred with two forks.
  • Place pork in a serving dish and ladle some of the extra liquid left in the pot to add a little extra moisture if needed.
  • Serve as tacos or as a part of your favorite pork recipes!

Notes

  • Bone in pork butt is usually 6 – 10 lbs with the bone. Once you cut it up and remove the bone, it will leave you 8 – 4 lbs of meat, depending. Or, go with a boneless roast that’s 4 – 6 lbs. As long as you have 4 lbs of meat, the recipe will work the same.
  • For the fresh oranges, you can sub orange juice and omit the orange zest, but you know, fresh is better 😉