We spent a week in Mexico City this summer and the food…y’all the food is amazing. Hand made tortillas and the best roasted chicken I’ve ever had! Street food is the most amazing in Mexico City….even better than my Mother-in-law’s but don’t tell her I said that! After getting home I had a craving for some of those flavors and so we made Carnitas!
Traditional Carnitas are slow simmered all day but this lady didn’t have the energy nor the patience to wait that day so i did it in the Insta Pot!
(p.s. Check out this Traditional Carnitas recipe by Mexico In My Kitchen because I am in no way an authentic carnita maker! This is the lazy way to get some carnita flavor if you (like me ) don’t have the time to do it the right way.
Thankfully I was able to get my mother in law’s recipe and switched it up for the pressure cooker.
- Pork Butt, approx 4 lbs
- 2 limes, juiced (about ¼ cup)
- ¾ cup orange juice
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 tsp pepper
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp. oregano
- Toppings; Corn Tortillas, chopped onion, cilantro, avocado, limes
- Chop the pork into large chunks, discard bone and place in Instant Pot
- Cover the pork with orange juice, lime juice, onion, garlic, and spices.
- Pressure cook in sealing position for at least 60 minutes.
- Allow to naturally release and remove pork from the Instant Pot and place on a parchment or foil lined baking sheet with a rim.
- Drizzle a SMALL amount of the flavorful juice over the meat but do NOT allow it to pool in the pan.
- Broil for 5-10 minutes until the edges brown and crisp.
- Serve in warmed tortillas topped with onion, cilantro and avocado or your favorite toppings.
TIP: if you want to freeze this – freeze the cooked pork BEFORE broiling so you can crisp it up fresh the next time you want carnitas!
TIP: Have some extra time and/or energy? You can sear the chunks of pork before pressure cooking. Add the spices to the meat and sear. THEN replace the pork into the pot and add the liquids. This will add an extra depth of flavor and crispy-ness!
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