I love homemade Mexican Food and slow cooked pork or Carnitas are usually my meat of choice. Pork shoulder or pork butt, as it is often called, is slow roasted until it falls off the bone and shreddable. However, there’s a much faster way to prepare it. If you don’t have an Instant Pot you don’t know how much time you are saving making slow roasted meats. You can cut your cooking time down by more than half and end up with the most succulent piece of meat.
I have made Carnitas in both my oven and Instant Pot and I must say, it is hard to say which is best. I think the big bonus in using an Instant Pot is time – so if it’s during the week, or if you are in a bit of a weekend time crunch, there’s no question which way you should go.
To start, simply rub the pork roast with dry herbs and cook for 1 hour, then shred and sear the meat on the outside in the same pot for an crispy texture. The savory strands of pork just melt in your mouth and roll up nicely inside a tortilla, or make an amazing taco salad when spooned over greens.
This recipe should make enough to have leftovers the next day, which heat up nicely in the microwave or can be tossed in chili for another delicious meal. Also, you can freeze the remaining cooked meat and enjoy it on another occasion.
Ingredients
2 1/2 pound boneless pork shoulder
2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 limes, sliced in half
fresh cilantro leaves
tortillas, optional
shredded jack cheese, optional
salsa, optional
shredded lettuce, optional
(Serves 6-8)
To Prepare:
1. Remove pork from packaging and rub with dry herbs, salt and pepper.
2. Drizzle 1 tablespoon oil in Instant Pot and place pork inside. Seal lid and place nozzle on Sealing setting.
3. Set to Manual 60 minutes and cook. After cooking, let pot depressurize for 5 minutes, then move nozzle to Venting to release steam. Wait 2 minutes, then turn lid to open.
4. Remove pork from pot and pour juices into a measuring cup. Set to Saute and add 1 tablespoon oil to Instant Pot.
5. Shred meat and add it to Instant Pot. Sear for 5 minutes and pour in 1/4 cup juices, scraping bits from bottom of pot and incorporating into meat.
6. Remove meat from Instant Pot and squeeze with juice of 1 lime. Serve Carnitas with lime wedges, tortillas, cheese, cilantro and salsa. Enjoy!
No Comments