Instant Pot Carnitas with Pickled Onions

Name: Instant Pot Carnitas with Pickled Onions
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 90 min
Total time: 110 min
Yield: 5 servings
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 3 lb pork shoulder (cut into chunks, fat untrimmed); 0.25 cup water (small amount to facilitate pressure cooking); spices and aromatics (such as garlic, cumin, or oregano as preferred); 1 tsp pork fat (reserved from cooking liquid for crisping); 1 red onion (for pickling); vinegar (for pickling onions)

Recipe by Elizabeth Mindreau

Elizabeth Mindreau published this recipe on 177milkstreet.com. SeeMeCook added ingredient weights and nutrition.

Read the original recipe

Imported by Anonymous on SeeMeCook

A streamlined Mexican carnitas recipe using an Instant Pot to pressure-cook or slow-cook pork shoulder until fork-tender. The meat is finished by crisping in its own rendered fat and served with sharp pickled red onions to balance the richness.

Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
Equipment: Stovetop and pressure cooker
Good for: Lunch or dinner
Cuisine: Mexican

Ingredients

5 servings

OriginalUSMetric

3 lb pork shoulderCut into chunks, fat untrimmed
¼ cup waterSmall amount to facilitate pressure cooking60 g
Spices and aromaticsSuch as garlic, cumin, or oregano as preferred20 g
1 tsp pork fatReserved from cooking liquid for crisping5 g
1 red onionFor pickling110 g
VinegarFor pickling onions30 g

Weights are estimates. Together, the ingredients weigh about 1.53 kg before cooking, which is about 305 g per serving.

Steps

Place the pork shoulder chunks, spices, aromatics, and a small amount of water into the Instant Pot.
Secure the lid and pressure-cook for approximately 1.5 hours (or slow-cook for 6 to 7 hours) until the meat is fork-tender.
Once cooking is complete, remove the pork from the pot and break it into bite-size pieces.
Skim the fat from the surface of the cooking liquid and reserve it.
Simmer the remaining cooking liquid in the pot for a few minutes to reduce and concentrate the flavors.
Toss the shredded pork with the reduced liquid to moisten.
To crisp the meat, heat 1 teaspoon of the reserved pork fat in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until barely smoking.
Add the pork in an even layer and cook without stirring, pressing the meat against the skillet with a spatula, until the bottom is browned and crisp, about 3 to 5 minutes.
Serve the carnitas with rice and beans or in warmed tortillas, topped with pickled red onions.

Notes

Do not trim the fat from the pork before cooking; it is essential for flavor and provides the fat needed for crisping the meat later. The pickled onions are highly recommended to provide acidity against the rich pork.

Nutrition

These are estimates per serving, worked out from the ingredients.

Calories: 687
Protein: 48 g
Carbs: 4 g
Fat: 51 g
Fiber: 1 g

Where the calories come from

Pork shoulder96%
Pork fat1%
Red onion1%
Spices and aromatics1%
VinegarUnder 1%

main
pork
instant pot
slow cooker
pressure cooker
tacos
dinner

Keep this recipe

Save it to your SeeMeCook library, add it to your grocery list, and cook it hands-free with each step read aloud.

Open in SeeMeCook

Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play