Name: Pressure Cooker Pork Carnitas Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 3 pounds pork butt, cut into 2" pieces; 1 cup chicken broth; 1/4 cup avocado oil; 6 tbsp lime juice ((the juice of 3 limes)); 1 whole jalapeño; 4 cloves garlic; 3 whole bay leaves; 2 tsp salt; 2 tsp cumin; 1 tsp oregano; 1 tsp onion powder; 1 tsp smoked paprika; 1 tsp black pepper; 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

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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.

cast iron skillet with carnitas, guacamole and fresh limes

Here’s What You Need For Pressure Cooker Pork Carnitas:

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

Seasoning Mix:

up close to crispy pork carnitas with a dollop of guacamole with cilantro

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 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!

Tools:

flatlay of prepped pressure cooker pork carnitas ingredients with borth limes jalapenos garlic seasonings and fat

Need Kitchen Supplies? We’ve linked our favorites above and right here in our Amazon Store! You don’t pay anything extra if you shop using our link, but we get a small percentage of the sale. We are apart of the Amazon Affiliate Program.

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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.

raw pork butt meat cut into chunks in a glass bowl with seasoning

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.

jalapenos and garlic in the bottom of a pressure cooker in oil

browned pieces of pork in a pressure cooker

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.

hand pouring broth into a pressure cooker with pork

hand squeezing lime into a pressure cooker

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 with some creamy guacamole, grilled vegetables, avocado lime crema, make low carb tacos and more!

vegetables cilantro and limes with cooked pork carnitas in cast iron cookware

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

If you love this recipe, please consider sharing it with a friend and also leaving a rating and comment so others can find this recipe. Thank you for your support!

Until next time,
Briana & Chamere