Instant Pot Carnitas

You guys! I made my practically world-famous carnitas recipe yesterday IN MY INSTANT POT and it came out INCREDIBLY good. My Instant Pot Carnitas were even more tender and delicious than the traditional recipe, which involves simmering the meat on the stove for several hours. 

I had to do a rewrite of my original recipe to share with you, because PEOPLE. This changes Taco Tuesday in a good way. Did you see this on my SnapChat? 

 

Here’s what you’ll need for Instant Pot Carnitas:

• 1 boneless pork roast, 2 1/2 to 3 pounds
• vegetable oil
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1 large onion, quartered
• 1 T. coriander
• 1 T. cumin
• 2 t. oregano
• 4 canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
• 2 T. sauce from canned chiles
• 2 bay leaves

Cut the roast up into about six large hunks, and brown them in about a tablespoon of oil in your Instant Pot on the Sauté setting. After browning the meat, add all the other ingredients to the Instant Pot. Hit “cancel” to get out of the Sauté setting, then hit the “manual” button, select the “meat” option, and set for 55 minutes. (I think the default is actually 50 minutes, but at my altitude it seems to take a smidge longer to get meat as tender as I like it, so I did 55.) Put the lid on, make sure the vent is closed, and let that baby cook! After the pressure cooking finishes, the Instant Pot will beep to let you know it’s done. Allow it to come to a natural release (about 20 more minutes) and you’re good to go. At this point, set your oven to 425 degrees for the final browning.

Remove the meat from the liquid with a large slotted spoon and place in a baking dish. The meat should shred easily with two forks, and look a lot like this:

Place the shredded meat in your 425 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes until it gets browned and crispy. While it’s in the oven, chop up some limes and cilantro. Make a little guacamole if that’s your thing! (It’s my thing.)

When your carnitas emerge from the oven, they will look a lot like this!

YUUUUUM. Heat up some corn tortillas and get ready to chow down! I put everything out on the table and let everybody make their own tacos. Grab a tortilla, add as much pork as you like, and whatever you like on top. My kids add cheese and guacamole. My husband likes pico and lime. I like lime, cilantro, guac, sour cream, cheese, and green Cholula. I like my tacos with a lot of action. 

I love to serve up Instant Pot Carnitas with Spanish Rice, Avocado Tomatillo Salsa, and Restaurant-Style Salsa – all of these recipes are longtime family favorites, tried and true! And if you need a blender, I can’t say enough good things about my trusty Ninja. It makes bomb ass salsa!

Here’s the full recipe:

 

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