Easy Pork Carnitas Recipe

Looking for a quick, healthy and delicious dinner?  Look no further than this pressure cooker pork carnitas recipe! These pork carnitas will be on the table in less than an hour, and they’re tender, juicy and full of flavor. Having delicious and healthy dinners like pressure cooker pork carnitas will make everyone happy.

Ingredients:

• Pork butt or shoulder
• Chicken broth
• Avocado oil, or bacon fat divided - for browning the meat
• Lime juice
• Jalapeño
• Garlic
• Bay leaves

Seasoning Mix:

• Red pepper flakes
• Oregano
• Onion powder
• Smoked paprika
• Black pepper
• Cumin
• Pink Himalayan salt

Here's How To Make Pressure Cooker Pork Carnitas:

Cut pork into about 3 inch sections. Set aside. In a separate bowl, blend all of your spices together. Sprinkle your spice mixture over the pork and mix it so everything is covered.

Rough chop the garlic, and jalapeños. Leave the seeds in if you like things spicy, take them out if you don’t. Heat the cooking oil or bacon fat over medium heat, add the garlic. Cook for about 30 seconds, then add in the jalapeños. Cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Next, add in your pork. Cook the meat until browned, but not all the way cooked through.

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Next, add in your lime juice, chicken broth and bay leaves. Now, it's time to pressure cook. You will want your Instant pot to come to pressure and then pressure cook on high pressure for 30 minutes. After time is up, allow to natural release for 10 minutes, then carefully release pressure and add meat to a bowl to shred. Shred with two forks. Add in the juices that the meat was cooking in to keep the meat juicy, tender and flavorful.

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Now, add your shredded pork to a cast iron skillet. Drizzle some of the cooking liquid over the top to keep the meat from getting too dry.

Now, set your oven broiler setting to high, and let the meat crisp up under there. You will want to use some tongs to mix up the meat to be sure that all of it gets some nice crispy edges. Repeat until desired texture is reached!  Serve these pork carnitas with some creamy guacamole, grilled vegetables, avocado lime crema, make low carb tacos and more!

Recipe Notes:

We know that carnitas are one of the most famous dishes of Mexican cuisine, and we think it's worth noting that this recipe has been modified to fit a keto diet. There are tons of versions of this delicious dish floating around, and we don't claim that this recipe is super authentic. We just try our best to make things at home at are super delicious that we want to eat over and over again. 

The best carnitas are always found at your local family run taqueria! 😉 Let us be clear about that. Our simplified version is just that, simplified! If you're going to make these pork carnitas at home, get the ingredients from a local grocery store if you can.

We originally shot this recipe back in July of 2018, before we were proud owners of an Instant Pot or a heavy duty citrus squeezer! You can certainly just use your hands to squeeze the limes, and use a stovetop pressure cooker to prepare the carnitas, but we honestly swear by these tools now. We love the Instant Pot because it frees up space on your stove, and you can brown the meat in there before pressure cooking. So simple!

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Here's Some More Recipes You Will Love:

• Low Carb Burrito Bowl
• Avocado Lime Crema
• Chipotle Lime Shrimp

Please let us know if you guys give this recipe a try! We'll keep the recipes coming.

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Until next time,
Briana & Chamere