Pork Carnitas Recipe

4.60 from 15 votes

Pork carnitas are easily made in an Instant Pot in just a little oven an hour and comes out so juicy, soft, and tender.

Prep Time10

Cook Time1 10

Total Time1 20

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Mexican

Diet: Gluten Free

Servings:

Calories: 193kcal

Cut pork shoulder in 3 pieces and place it in an Instant Pot.
Add diced onion, jalapenos, smashed garlic, and bay leaves.
In a mixing bowl, combine chicken broth, juice from limes, juice from oranges, oregano, cumin, chili powder, and salt.
Pour the mixture all over the pork and veggies.
Close the lid and make sure it’s latched. Turn the valve to “seal” and set the Instant Pot to cook on high pressure cook mode for 60 minutes.
Turn off the Instant Pot when it’s done and let it naturally release for 10 minutes. You can do manual release after that.
Take all the meat out into a mixing bowl. Gently shred the meat with two works. You can choose to discard large pieces of fat or keep it. (Save broth from cooking the pork.)

Preheat the skillet (or another cooking pan) over medium-high heat. Add a little bit of oil to grease the bottom of the pan.
(You can choose to brown a portion of pulled pork carnitas or all at the same time. Whichever amount you choose, select the pan accordingly because you don’t want to overcrowd the meat.)
Sauté for about a minute and then add some of the cooking broth into the pan, quickly stir and let the juice cook out as the bottom of the meat browns. Stir a couple of times and let a few more pieces get brown.
Take the pork out of the pan and serve whichever way you like.

STORING: Pork Carnitas are easily stored in the refrigerator, in an air-tight container with a lid. Store broth the pork was cooked in separately and add it to the pan when crisping the pork.
FREEZING: You can also freeze carnitas meat right after you pulled it. Portion meat into freezer bags, let all air out and seal. Label, date, and freeze them. Freeze the broth in a separate freezer bag or freezer container with a lid. When ready, let it thaw slowly in the refrigerator!
SLOW COOKER: To make them in the slow cooker, follow the same instructions as Instant Pot before cooking. Cover the Crock Pot with a lid and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or on HIGH for 4-6 hours.
Once it’s done, take meat out into a mixing bowl and gently shred it with two forks. (Save some broth from cooking pork in a separate container.)
SERVING: Pork carnitas are great in tacos or nachos. Roll them into tortillas and baked to make taquitos. Serve as a main dish with some rice and beans. Make them into enchiladas instead of chicken. For a fast and easy lunch, make a simple pork sandwich with carnitas in a soft bun, avocados, and onions.