These Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Pork Carnitas {Crispy Mexican Pulled Pork} are crispy, yet deliciously moist and full of deep and complex flavors.
Instant Pot Cooker Carnitas Mexican Pulled Pork
There are very few things in life that are more delicious than Pork Carnitas {Mexican Pulled Pork}.
My Instant Pot Pork Carniatas are one of those recipes that are so incredible, you almost cannot believe that you are so lucky to get yet another bite! I do a few things differently for my Pork Carnitas recipes. I’m really picky with my Mexican food. These Pressure Cooker Pork Carnitas {Mexican Pulled Pork} are definitely one of my favorite meals. The flavors are complex and deep and my recipe is easy to make.
Cast of Ingredients for Pressure Cooker Pork Carnitas {Mexican Pulled Pork}
My recipe has developed over the years and to me this is the perfect Carnitas recipe. Using the Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker, they are quicker and just as fabulous. It only takes 40 minutes to cook a Pork Shoulder in the Pressure Cooker!
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Ingredients to Instant Pot Carnitas
- Pork Shoulder – butt or picnic
- Oranges and Lemons
- Cumin and Cinnamon
- Oregano – Yeah, I know it is not normally used in Carnitas, but, my husband (Latino ancestors, remember), had me add o to my Jewish Chicken Soup and oh my gosh, it was goooooood.
- Garlic, Salt and Pepper
Season the Chunks of Meat
Another trick and which adds an extra layer of flavor, is after removing the bone, cut the Pork Shoulder into big chunks and place them into a Medium Mixing Bowl and massage the spice really well into the meat.
Not only will it cook faster, but there will be more surface spots to absorb all the goodness. Don’t forget to save your bone, so you can make a nice Pressure Cooker Stock/Bone Broth.
Tidbit: My dad introduced me to all kinds of food and made me the foodie I am today. The seasonings and spices, layers of complex flavors and interesting cooking techniques, grabbed a hold of me at an early age.
This recipe is fantastic cooked on the grill, but equally as good cooked under pressure. I do love to grill and if you do, please check out my Grilled Steak or Tri-Tip.
Squeeze Orange Juice into Cooking Pot
Another fantastic pulled pork recipe to make in your pressure cooker is my Pressure Cooker Chinese BBQ Char Siu Pulled Pork, My Southern Style Carolina Pulled Pork recipe is found in my cookbook called This Old Gal’s Pressure Cooker Cookbook. The rub I use for it can be found here – Carolina All Purpose Barbecue Rub.
Pro Tip: If your pork shoulder has skin on it, place the skin in the Air Fryer for a few minutes and crisp it up to make crackling skin. Some people love the fried skin (pork rinds)
Why Render the Fat Cap?
Flavor baby, flavor. This step can be skipped and if you have prepped this for a freezer meal, don’t worry about it and just toss all the ingredients into the pot.
- The fat cap of the pork shoulder adds an additional layer of flavor to the Instant Pot Carnitas.
- Allowing it to melt in the pot and then cooking the pork in the fat, adds another layer of flavor without have to first sear the pork. I then deglaze the pot with orange juice. (See Recipe Instructions below for details.)
When Pork Shoulder is on sale, this is one of the recipes that I do prep and freeze. For more prep and freeze meals, check out my Freezer Recipe Archives.
Pro Tip: Grab a FoodSaver Vacuum Sealing System and prepare several batches of Pressure Cooker Pork Carnitas, so that you are all ready to cook in an instant.
Add the Seasoned Pork, Veggies and Orange Juice
Add in the Seasoned Pork, all the chopped veggies, the Cinnamon Sticks and the Bay Leaves. If you don’t have Fresh Oranges, Orange Juice or Frozen Concentrate Orange Juice is fine. You want to make sure not to add a whole lot of liquid, as the pork will release its own juice and you want the liquid to stay very concentrated and salty.
Another Secret Ingredient
Another of my little tricks which you won’t find in many on-line recipes (remember, I live two hours from Mexico; Tijuana is one of my playgrounds) is the addition of Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice. Just one lime is good. You don’t want to overpower the flavor, plus, upon serving, you can squeeze on some more Fresh Lime Juice.
As always, if you don’t have Fresh Limes, try using this wonderful crystallized miracle . It tastes every bit as good and fresh as Fresh Limes. The Lime that I cut to squeeze, was all dried out, so luckily, I just pulled out my True Lime and sprinkled on a bit. You need to have some True Lime Crystallized Granules in your pantry, really you do!
Remove Meat, Cook Down Sauce and Shred
The cooking time is greatly reduced using a Pressure Cooker. You can literally prep everything, cook and get a meal on the table in under 1.5 hours!
Use a slotted strainer to remove the Pork. I recommend this Bamboo Strainer as it is very efficient.
Why Remove the Pork?
- The pork needs to have the liquid strained out, so that it is prepared to crisp.
- The liquid will cook down and become a rich broth, which is later added back to the pork, so that as the pork crisps, it remains very juicy, but crisp.
The recipe card will have the exact directions, so please make sure to scroll to the bottom. You will also see my trick for making the pork crisp, yet juicy.
Use Two Forks to Shred the Pork
I have a set of Bear Claw Shredders, but I think I like using two forks. You can see that the excess liquid was drained from the Pork and the Pork is nicely shredded.
We will add back in some juice, after removing some of the fat off the top. The Carnitas will be crispy, but also remain moist and juicy.
You are ready to crisp up the Carnitas and I will show you two different methods. Please, however, do me a favor, don’t use your Broiler/Oven or your Air Fryer. They are both dry cooking environments and your Carnitas will dry out a bit. While they will still taste good, they won’t be as delicious as they can be with the following method(s). Let’s make some super delicious, crispy and JUICY Carnitas!!!
Ways for Crisping Carnitas
Cast Iron Pan Method
Heat a Cast Iron until Very Hot
Get your Cast Iron Skillet very hot. Let it heat up for 10 minutes before adding in the oil. You can see how dry the center looks because of allowing it to really heat up.
Why Use Cast Iron to Crisp?
- Cast iron skillets are great for higher heat temperatures. They distribute the heat nicely around the skillet.
- With a very high heat, the meat will caramelize and crisp up much quicker. This allows one side of the meat to be crisp, while the top part of the meat will remain nice and juicy. The condensed juice keeps the meat moist during the searing of the meat.
Pro Tip: It is best to just fry up what you will use for your meal. If planning on serving the next day, wait and fry up the carnitas right before serving.
Instant Pot Carnitas are so great for making in advance, because you can have them everything prepared and then fry up what you need.
Look Closely at the Caramelized Pork
Come close. Really. Look at those crispy bits of Pork. I flipped some over in the Skillet, so you could take a close look. You can see the moistness of the Pork too. When you are ready to serve, pour a little more juice over the Pork. I have not done so in this photo, as I like you to see what is cooking in real honest time.
Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid or Mealthy Crisplid Method
Use Crisping Lid to Crisp Up the Carnitas
This is really fantastic, as now you can make Instant Pot Carnitas completely in your Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker.
After draining, simmering the liquid and then removing from the cooking pot, we will use a crisping lid to crisp up the pulled pork.
There are two types of crisping lids to use
They both work the same way, so whichever brand you prefer will work for wonderful Instant Pot Carnitas.
- Mealthy CrispLid (buy from Mealthy) / Mealthy CrispLid (buy from Amazon)
- Instant Pot Crisping Lid (buy from Instant Pot) / Instant Pot Crisping Lid (buy from Amazon)
I can’t wait for you to try this recipe. It is perfect for Cinco de Mayo parties, as the Carnitas can be made in advance and fried right before serving.
Tips for Pressure Cooker Pork Carnitas.
- Don’t forget to make a batch of my super simple Homemade Classic Pico de Gallo as Carnitas as not the same without some Fresh Pico de Gallo
- Instead of Sour Cream, choose some Homemade Thick Greek Yogurt, instead.
- I like to pile the Carnitas over shredded cabbage for a nice little crunch surprise.
Pressure Cooker Pork Carnitas (Mexican Pulled Pork)
See Recipe Notes for how to heat up tortillas
Garnish with lots of Fresh Cilantro and Lime Wedges. My husband will not eat Cilantro, so I had to put it to the side, so that he would be able to eat dinner. Remember about the trick in my Pressure Cooker Thai Coconut Chicken Recipe? Well, it won’t work here. Therefore, Fresh Cilantro is pushed off to the side. 🙂
Pro Tip: If you want cheese, I recommend crumbling some Cotija. It’s the only cheese, I feel pairs well. Feta has a similar taste to Cotija so I’m lumping it in with Cotija. Cheddar Cheese does not pair well with Pork Carnitas.
More Instant Pot Mexican Recipes to Make:
- Pressure Cooker Creamy Mexican Macaroni and Cheese
- Instant Pot Mexican Hot Chocolate Frozen Yogurt Bars
- Pressure Cooker Drive Thru Tacos [Instant Pot]
- Mexican Elote Corn on the Cob [Oven/Air Fryer]
I’d love it if you would leave me some comments down below and let me know how you enjoyed this recipe.
Kitchen Equipment and Essentials
- Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker
- J.A. Henckels Classic 8 inch Chef’s Knife
- Amco Advanced Performance 18/10 Stainless Steel Measuring Spoons
- Simply Gourmet (Dry) Stainless Steel Measuring Cups
- Anchor Hocking Glass (Liquid) Measuring Cups
- di Oro Living Silicone Spatulas Set
- Alton Brown Salt Box
- Gravity Electric Salt and Pepper Grinder
- My FANTASTIC Teak Cutting & Charcuterie Board & Compartments
- Salbree Steamer Basket
- OXO Stainless Steel Tongs
- Lodge 10.25″ Cast Iron Skillet
- Bamboo Strainer
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Here is the handy printable recipe:
Pressure Cooker Pork Carnitas {Crispy Mexican Pulled Pork}
Print Pin Save RateIngredients
- 5 lbs/2.27 kg Pork Shoulder/Butt bone and skin removed/cut into pieces
- 4 large Oranges
- 1 Lime
- 1 large Yellow/Brown Onion chopped
- 10 cloves Fresh Garlic minced
- 1 large Jalapeño Pepper stems/seeds removed/chopped
- 2 Cinnamon Sticks
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 1-2 TBL Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Pork Rub
- 2 TBL Kosher Salt (or 1.5 tsp Sea Salt)
- 1 TBL Ground Cumin
- 2 tsp Dried Oregano
- 1/4 tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Garnish
- Limes
- Homemade Pico de Gallo
- Fresh Cilantro Leaves
- Avocados
Recommended Products
Instructions
- Cut pork into 8-10 pieces and place into bowl.
- Mix together salt, cumin, oregano and black pepper.
- Pour seasoning mix over pork and massage into pork so that all pieces are completely coated.
- Optional Step - heat the fat cap from the pork in the Instant Pot and let the fat render. After the fat has rendered, remove the chunk of fat and leave the beautiful liquid flavorful fat. Deglaze the pot once you have squeezed in the orange juice and added the onions.
- Add half the chopped onions and squeeze the juice of one orange (about 1/2 cup) into cooking pot.
- Place seasoned pork chunks into cooking pot on top of orange juice and onions.
- Add the rest of the onions, garlic, jalapeño, cinnamon sticks and Bay leaves to cooking pot.
- Squeeze in the juice of three oranges and two limes.
- Lock on Lid and close Pressure Valve. Cook at High Pressure (most machines default to high pressure) for 40 minutes.
- When beep sounds, wait 20 minutes and then remove the rest of the pressure.
Prepare Pork and Liquid
- Remove pork from cooking pot and place into a strainer basket to drain off excess liquid.
- Select Sauté/Browning on the pressure cooker and adjust to "low heat." simmer about 10 minutes to reduce the liquid.
- While cooking liquid is simmering, place drained pork into a bowl and with two forks, shred the pork.
- Carefully pour liquid from cooking pot into a fat separator and get ready to crisp the pork.
Crisp the Carnitas (two methods)
- In Cast Iron SkilletHeat cast iron skillet on medium high for 10 minutes. Add olive oil to skillet. Add shredded pork to skillet in a flat layer. Wait one minute and then add in 1/2 cup of the hot liquid. Fry on just one side, until liquid has evaporated and then place on serving platter. Repeat each batch until done.
- Using Mealthy Crisplid or Instant Pot Crisping LidAdd 1/2 cup hot cooking liquid to pressure cooker cooking pot. Place about half the shredded pork into cooking pot in a flat layer. Drizzle a little olive oil over the pork. Place crisping lid over pot. Set temperature on lid to 400 degrees and time to 8 minutes. When crisping lid beeps, remove lid and stir pork. (If more liquid is needed, add 1/4. Pork should not be drenched.) Remove lid and stir pork. Place crisping lid back onto pressure cooker and set temperature to 400 degrees and time to 4 minutes.
Garnish
- Place crisped Carnitas onto serving platter.
- Drizzle about 1/4 cup of hot liquid over Carnitas.
- Squeeze one lime over Carnitas and sprinkle chopped cilantro over pork.
- Serve in tortillas, topped with various garnishes.
Notes
For Crisping Carnitas
Any of the following tools are great for crisping up the Carnitas:- Lodge 10.25" Cast Iron Skillet
- Mealthy CrispLid (buy from Mealthy) / Mealthy CrispLid (buy from Amazon) or
- Instant Pot Crisping Lid (buy from Instant Pot) / Instant Pot Crisping Lid (buy from Amazon)
To Heat Tortillas
- Heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat and allow the skillet to get nice and hot.
- Place a drop of oil into the skillet and swirl.
- Place one tortilla into the skillet and let sit for 30 seconds, then flip over and heat the other side.
Nutrition
PIN this Pressure Cooker Pork Carnitas!
Pressure Cooker Instant Pot Pork Carnitas {Crispy Mexican Pulled Pork}
What a fantastic recipe. I made this with the Pico de Gallo, fresh cabbage slaw and my own home-made corn Tortilla’s and the family went crazy for it. My daughter even said it was her most favourite dish I’ve ever made.
Such lovely traditional and fresh Mexican food. Will definitely be making it again…. I don’t think I’d have a choice! 😄
Hi John. Thank you so much. What a lovely review. I am so thrilled at your daughter’s comment. Jill
Amazing!! This tasted even better than carnitas that are all the rave at our favorite local Mexican restaurant in Athens, GA. So happy to learn these techniques for this authentic meal. There is nothing like fresh food made with love! :))
Thank you, Stacy. So glad you enjoyed my recipe! Jill
This is the best Carnitas recipe I ever tasted. Thank you so much for the recipe. It is even better than my Mexican mama.
I just got my Nuwave Duet and hubby wanted carnitas.
What a small world when I got to the bottom and saw who the author was.
I’m making the recipe now.
OMG, Kymber. So funny, the other day I was thinking about you. How are you doing? Jill
Made these in my Instant Pot. Absolutely delicious! Followed the recipe exactly except forgot to add the lime juice. Super easy and will definitely be made again. Thank you!
Thank you so much, Mary. The lime can be added after too. Jill
I’ve never made carnitas THIS FAST, and THIS YUMMY. Your directions were so good, that even I could make it! Thanks so much for taking the time.?
www, thank you so much, Brenda. I am thrilled you enjoyed my recipe. Jill
This is amazing. Seriously easy and delicious. What a treat to share with a large group.
Thank you so much, James. Thrilled you like this so much. It is one of our favs. Jill
Hi! I want to double this recipe. Do you know if I cook it for the same amount of time or longer?
OMG! I made this last night for our group of foodie friends and I officially made “rock star chef” status. And honestly one of the easiest meals I’ve ever made. Also made a quick red onion pickle, an easy slaw and radishes / avocado / Cotija cheese sides.
I added a PBR beer for a little more liquid.
Just an amazing recipe. Thanks so much!!!!
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe and glad you are a rock star. It is one of our favs. Your sides sound wonderful. Jill
I grew up in LA and there are TONS of great Mexican restaurants with amazing carnitas. I’ve never been able to make them just right at home….until NOW!
This is the most flavorful recipe I’ve tried in 10 years!!!
Followed recipe exactly as is and it had amazing flavor!
Kristin, this is the best comment!!! I am so flattered. Thank you so much. I am thrilled that you enjoyed my recipe. Jill
Was curious as to if I don’t have cinnamon sticks could I use ground cinnamon?
Yes, Rebecca. Jill
Just made this for a shower. It was absolutely fantastic!! THank you for the recipe!
Hi Jean. I am so glad the Carnitas were a success. Jill
This is the best carnitas I have ever had. I only use your recipes and they are always really good. I will be back again and again for sure.
I’d like to cook 15 lbs of this in a 12 Quart regular pressure cooker. It looks like its 2 lbs per quart from what I researched. Will it work?
This recipe is delicious! Do you have any ideas on what to do with the sauce that is left over? It’s to good to toss it away.
Great Recipe! I was in the commissary buying ingredients at 3 pm and walking out the door at 5:55 pm for our Friday night group with a delicious pot full of shredded Carnitas meat. Everyone raved that it was amazing and there was none left. I used an 8 pound pork shoulder and just did 1.5 times the seasonings but left everything else the same. Thank you!
Hi Tamara. I am so glad the Carnitas was enjoyed by all. Thank you so much for sharing! Jill
I cooked the pork carnitas for dinner tonight. I followed your recipe exactly as written, halving all ingredients to fit into my 3 quart instant pot. It was absolutely fabulous! I will definitely be making this recipe again and sharing it with friends. I appreciate all of your detailed instructions for each step. Thank you so much for sharing.
Hi Marsha~ I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe. Jill
Made this on Saturday. Everybody loved it with one caveat…it was way too salty. Recommend cutting the amount of salt in half if not more.
So glad it was loved by all. Jill
Hi! I only have a boneless pork leg roast, will this recipe still work with this cut? I’m dying to try this recipe!
Hi Jacquie. It should work well. Jill
Hi! I recently made this and it was fabulous! I want to make it again, but this time my pork pieces are frozen. Will the cook time change? Or, would it just be better to defrost the frozen pork? Thanks so much!
Hi Stephanie. Frozen is fine. Glad you enjoy this recipe. Jill
These were fantastic! I omitted the jalapenos so my children wouldn’t be turned off by the spice. The heat was not missed. We wound up with juicy, succulent, fragrant meat, and enjoyed delicious tacos on fresh homemade corn tortillas.
I didn’t know what you meant by “3 inches” of raw pork fat. Was that supposed to be a three inch strip? Or three inches deep? (I wound up rendering all the fat i could trim from the shoulder, and then added some vegetable oil on top of it. In hindsight, the oil was unnecessary.
After 45 minutes in the pressure cooker (plus nearly 30 minutes to cool down), the chunks of pork shoulder just fell apart. We hardly needed to shred it any further.
Lastly, repeatedly crisping the meat in batches led to a nasty buildup on the bottom of the pan. I had to deglaze a few times to get it off. We didn’t lose much meat in the process, but it was frustrating.
Will definitely make this again (once all the leftovers are gone… It made a LOT of food)
Hi Aaron. I am so glad you enjoyed the meal. My preference is to crisp just the amount to be used, in a hot cast iron pan. Jill
Hello. In step 2 you mention to add 3 inches of pork fat and to deglaze w orange juice. Are we meant to brown off the pork chunks or is it simply the fat in order to get a bit of fond on the bottom of the pot to deglaze?
I think that what you call “cojita” cheese is actually cotija.
Oh.my.gosh! These are AMAZING! I usually use a slow cooker, and a pre-made marinade, but decided to make carnitas last minute while visiting my folks, so used my grandmother’s 70 year old stove-top pressure cooker, and your recipe. I’ll always make carnitas this way going forward. So fast and easy, and DELICIOUS. I omitted the jalapeno because I was a bit nervous it would be too spicy for my 11 year old. My guess is that the cinnamon put this over the top delish.
Thank you for the detailed and thoughtful step-by-step directions such as to heat the cast iron up for 10 minutes before putting the carnitas in. They are super helpful.
I can’t wait to check out your other recipes. Thank you!
Hi Jenn~
Thanks for your kind words. I am glad you enjoyed this recipe.
Jill
This was outstanding. I was worried it was going to be dry. But it was moist and delicious!!! The flavor was outstanding. We will be making this again and again!!
Hi Pamela~
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe. With this method, the Carnitas are crisp, but moist, every time! Jill
This is very tasty but sooo salty. Any ideas how I can cut the saltiness a bit?
Hi Susan~
Thanks for trying this recipe. Did you use Kosher Salt or Sea Salt? Seal Salt is double the saltiness of Kosher Salt.
Jill
Jill, this looks wonderful!!! Is there a big difference in using kosher salt vs pink Hymalian sea salt?
Hi Tracy~
There is a difference in taste. You can’t sub teaspoon to teaspoon between Table Salt and Kosher Salt, for instance, as Kosher Salt is twice as potent as Kosher Salt. Himalayan Salt is similar to Table Salt, but comes from a specific region. It is said to have certain benefits, but I don’t believe it is completely proven. One Tablespoon of Kosher Salt would be equal to about 1.5 teaspoons of Table or Sea Salt.
Jill
“Kosher salt is twice as potent as kosher salt?” I guess one should be table salt, but I don’t know which one. I rhink you mean that kosher salt is stronger, right?
Thank you for this wonderful recipe! I needed a good recipe to cook in my electric pressure cooker. I just got it and this will be perfect. As we are from Texas, we love all kinds of Mexican foods, especially the Carnitas. I like to eat them with some good pickled onions I make form a recipe given to me years ago form a good friend who was from Mexico City. Thanks again for sharing your recipe.
Hi Claudine~
I am so glad you are excited about this recipe. It’s a yummy meal! Pickled onions sound great with Carnitas. Do you pickle in sugar and vinegar?
Jill
Can you send me the pickled onion recipe? I’ve tried a couple and haven’t found a good one yet!