Pressure Cooker Pork Carnitas are an easy recipe made in your Instant Pot. Use the meat in tacos, burritos or rice bowls for a hearty and delicious meal.
Pressure Cooker Pork Carnitas
These Pressure Cooker Pork Carnitas are loaded with so much good flavor and made so incredibly simple in your Instant Pot. Put a quick sear on your pork inside the pot and add all of the ingredients to the electric pressure cooker. Cook for 80 minutes on high while you get all sorts of other things done around the house. That is the great part about the Instant Pot. While some recipes like this or Pressure Cooker Pork Loin and Stuffing may still require a decent amount of time to cook, it doesn’t require much if any attention. Set it and forget it like a Crock Pot but you don’t have to wait all day for dinner to be on the table!
The depth of flavor in these Pressure Cooker Pork Carnitas is built with onion, jalapeno, garlic, orange and lime along with an array of spices. The Savory pork and spices paired with the sweet orange and lime juice gives it incredible flavors. The final step of searing it off in some of it’s excess juices in a skillet really puts it over the top with all the caramelized bits of meat!
My favorite part of this Pressure Cooker Pork Carnita recipe is that it makes a large batch that is great in a variety of recipes. Make it over the weekend and sear off the amount of meat you need for various meals throughout the week. Toss it in some tacos or enjoy it with some rice and beans for a heartier meal. No matter you enjoy this pork, it is sure to be a favorite recipe!
Pressure Cooker Pork Carnitas
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. black pepper
- 3-4 lb. bone-in skinless pork shoulder or butt
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 1 jalapeno diced
- 3 Tbsp. minced garlic
- juice of 1 orange
- juice of 2 limes
- 1/2 c. beef broth
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tsp. cumin
- 1 tsp. chili powder
- 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
Instructions
- Turn your electric pressure cooker to saute and heat the olive oil in the bottom of the pot. Add the pork shoulder or butt and sear on each side for 3 minutes.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the pot and give a quick stir. Turn the nob to sealing and cook on high pressure for 80 minutes. Allow the pressure to naturally release when the cook time is complete.
- When the pin drops and the pressure is all naturally released, open the pot. Remove the bay leaves and discard.
- Remove the pork from the pot and shred it using two forks. Reserve the liquid from the pot in a separate container.
- Turn the pressure cooker to saute and add a little oil to the bottom of the pot. Return 2 cups of the shredded pork to the pot along with 1/3 cup of the juices. Saute for 5 minutes or until the juices are evaporated and the bottom of the pork is browned. (If you are needing larger quantities in one serving, use a large skillet over the stove with the same proportions of meat to juice.)
- Serve the pork carnitas in tacos, quesadillas, etc.
More amazing Instant Pot recipes!
Pressure Cooker Stuffed Pepper Sausage Soup
Pressure Cooker Pork Loin, Stuffing & Gravy
This looks great!!! Cinco de Mayo recipe!!!! Thanks for sharing!
The instant pot makes cooking so easy!
Oooh! I love the addition of orange and lime! Sounds so tasty!
I’m plugging my crock pot up now!! Thanks for sharing!!!
Danielle,
We made this today and it is fantastic in a rice bowl! The citrus really makes the dish.
So happy you enjoyed it Brenda.! We clearly think alike because I have a rice bowl I made with it that I will be sharing soon. ?
I’m so late to the instant pot game. I need one!
LOVE this recipe and it’s perfect for Cinco de Mayo!!
Excellent!! I didn’t have a few of the ingredients (jalapeño, soy sauce, or brown sugar) and substituted lime juice (2 Tbls) and orange juice (4 Tbls) and added an extra 1/2 cup of beef broth. Also, I lined a broiler pan with aluminum foil and shredded the pork on there. Then placed in oven on broil for 3 minutes. Then added about 1/4 cup of broth liquid from instant pot and used tongs to flip the shredded pork. Then placed back in broiler for another 3 minutes. It was amazing! Next time I will try with all the ingredients!
I might have to steal your idea to use the broiler, that is fantastic!
YUM, we’ve made this multiple times and every time is a thumbs up!
Happy to hear you have enjoyed it so much!
I am making this right now and it smells so delicious! I can’t wait to taste it!
I am making this tonight! Happy Cinco de Mayo all!
This is definitely a keeper! Used my crockpot instead of pressure cooker, on high for 6-7 hours- pork just melted apart. Used them to make street tacos with pickled onions, queso blanco, and cilantro on corn tortillas- that’s all you needed. A hit with the adults but also 9, 11, and 14 year old kids, who kept having to go back for “just one more”. Thank you for a great recipe!
That combo sounds absolutely amazing!
I’ve tried several Instant Pot carnitas recipes, and yours is the MOST FLAVORFUL of all! I love the rich, citrusy, spicy juices. I only had pickled jalapenos, so I chopped up a few for a bit of heat. I also subbed in chicken broth because that’s what I had in the fridge. Otherwise, I made it exactly as directed, and it was amazing in warm flour tortillas with cilantro, fresh tomatoes from the garden, and a squirt of lime. Thank you, Danielle!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much Kim!