Instant Pot Pork Carnitas
Hi friends, so over the weekend I worked on a new Instant Pot recipe for you. It is called Instant Pot Pork Carnitas. When you taste how juicy, tender, and flavorful this pork is, it will be an immediate favorite in your household!
So, todays post is going to be a step-by-step tutorial. I figure since we are in quarantine, why not mix it up. What it really means it, I didn’t have to put makeup on and get all cute to show you my face for a video! I just love you guys and hope you give me a little grace as we all navigate this complicated time together.
The first thing you need to do is gather your ingredients and make your marinade. Other than a lime you probably already have all of the ingredients in your refrigerator and pantry already. If not, add a lime, orange juice, and jalapenos to your next grocery order. You will not be sorry. AND DO NOT BE AFRAID OF 2 FRESH JALAPENOS. I PROMISE INSTANT POT PORK CARNITAS IS NOT HOT!
You will want to blend up your marinade to make it less chunky. I used our Kitchenaide Hand blender. I find it to be such an easy cleanup. And my husband uses it every morning to blend up his protein shake. So, it is a super helpful appliance at our house that doesn’t take up much space.
Then you will want to cut your pork butt into 4-5 pieces and pour your marinade over the meat to allow it time to GET HAPPY WITH ITSELF! It is best to let it marinate at least 1 hour up to 6 hours.
Cook Time
When it is time to cook your pork allow 3 1/2 hours before you want to eat. If you are new to cooking with an instant pot this is one of those points no one tells you. You have the time it takes to prep meal (browning meat for this recipe), the time it takes for the machine to come up to pressure, the actual cook time, and the pressure release. Now you will not be tied up babysitting it for 3 ½ hours it cooks for 80 minutes.
You will need to brown your meat before you cook it. This is essential for an added layer of flavor. You can do this in the instant pot itself or in a separate skillet. Either way shake the excess marinade off of the meat. Reserving the marinade for when we cook the meat in a moment. Brown the meat in batches on the sauté mode in the Instant pot or over medium-high heat in a skillet. Once all of the meat is brown deglaze the pan with water, scraping all of the yummy goodness off of the bottom of the pan. And add this liquid to your instant pot. Add your meat, pour your reserved marinade over the top and add your bay leaves. Set your instant pot for 80 minutes high pressure. Then allow the instant pot to natural release.
Once the meat is cooked remove it to a plate or bowl to shred. You will have juice or jus left in the pot of the instant pot. You will want to use a fat separator to remove the fat from the top of the jus. If you want to save this.
Your Instant Pot Pork Carnitas can be used for nachos, tacos, or burritos. Garnish them any way you like. We love guacamole, sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes, cilantro, green onions, and extra salsa here at our house!
Instant Pot Pork Carnitas
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 4-5 lb. Pork Butt
- ¾ cup orange juice
- Zest & juice of one lime
- 2 jalapenos chopped
- 1 large onions chopped
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tbsp oregano
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ cup water
Instructions
- In a large measuring cup or medium size bowl. Mix orange juice, lime zest, juice, jalapenos, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, and oregano together. Then blend with hand blender or pour into conventional blender and blend into a paste.
- Cut pork butt into 4-5 pieces. In a large bowl, pour marinade over meat. Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate for at least 1 hour. You can allow to marinate up to 6 hours.
- When you are ready to cook. Set Instant Pot to sauté or heat a skillet over medium high heat. Shake excess marinade off of meat and brown meat on all sides. Do this in batches and move meat to a plate to rest.
- Once you are finished browning meat. Add ½ a cup of water to instant pot to deglaze the pot. Scrape up all the brown bits from the bottom of the pot. If you used a skillet do the same and pour into instant pot.
- Add pork back to instant pot and pour remaining marinade over the meat. Add bay leaves.
- Set your instant pot for 80 minutes on high pressure. Then allow the pressure to release naturally. (mine took 28 minutes just for a reference).
- Once pressure is released, carefully remove lid from instant pot. Use tongs to remove the meat to a plate or a large bowl to shred.
- You can use a fat separator to remove any excess fat from the jus left in the pot. The meat is so tender and juicy you may decide you do not need the jus.
- Top your pork carnitas with whatever toppings your family likes. We use guacamole, tomatoes, lettuce, salsa, sour cream. This pork makes great tacos, nachos, and burritos!
