Garlic and Citrus Instant Pot Carnitas
I wanted a simple, yummy citrus and garlic Instant Pot Carnitas recipe for a smaller cut of pork. Being new to Instant Pot, I needed detailed instructions on exactly which buttons to push. Since I did not find what I wanted, I experimented and made up my own recipe.
For Easter, I bought a 4 pound bone in pork shoulder. I cut off a piece about 1.5 pounds with no bone and made ham from it (using my brining instructions here http://www.alifeinharmony.me/recipe/wiltshire-cure-for-ham/ and honey glaze here http://www.alifeinharmony.me/recipe/honey-glazed-gammon-cured-ham/). So now I had 2.5 pounds left and all the recipes I could find were for 4-5 pounds!
I made a guess on time (which turned out right) and made my own blend of flavoring. This came out so good, I’m sharing it here with you. Note at the end I crisp the carnitas in the oven. If you do not want to crisp them, you can skip this step.
Because you cut the pork into smaller pieces, the same cooking time will work with up to 5 pounds of pork shoulder. I put the servings based on a 2.5 pound bone in roast. You will obviously get more servings with a larger roast.
Instant Pot Carnitas
Ingredients
- 2.5-5 pound bone in pork shoulder roast
- Morton Nature's Seasons Seasoning Blend (or just salt and pepper if you prefer)
- 1 Tablespoon high heat oil such as avocado oil
Cooking Sauce
- 1 heaping Tablespoon chopped garlic
- 1 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
Instructions
- Cut the pork shoulder into pieces of about 1-1.5 pounds each (I cut a 2.5 pound roast into 2 pieces) Don't worry about the bone being in one or more pieces. It is fine. Sprinkle all sides with a light dusting of the seasoned salt (or just salt and pepper if you are not using seasoned salt).
- Mix the cooking sauce ingredients together. Set aside.
- Click Saute on the Instant Pot. When it is hot, add the oil and some pieces of pork (do not crowd the pot). Brown the pork on all sides, remove the pieces to a plate and add some more until all the pork is browned. Press Cancel to turn off the heat. If you prefer, you can do this in a skillet instead of the Instant Pot.
- Put all the pork back into the Instant Pot. Pour the sauce over the pork pieces. Close lid securely and set vent to Sealing.
- Press Meat, then press Pressure until the it shows High Pressure. Press the up arrow until the time reads 55 minutes. You can go away for a while until the pot has finished cooking.
- Important! Let the pressure release naturally. Wait about 15 minutes after cooking has finished. When the pressure valve drops down, then turn the vent to venting and carefully remove the pot lid. Turn off the pot and let the pork sit in the liquid for 15 minutes to absorb the juices. Remove the pork pieces to a clean plate.
- Turn the oven broiler to high.
- Shred the pork with 2 forks (or by hand if it is cool enough). Spread the pork onto a large baking pan. With the 2.5 pound roast, I was able to fit it all on one layer. Spoon about 1/3 of the juices from the Instant Pot over the pork. Broil for 4-5 minutes until the edges begin getting crispy and brown., Pour another 1/3 of the juices over the pork and mix well, spreading the pork back out evenly on the baking pan. Broil another 4-5 minutes, watching carefully to be sure the meat is not too crispy! Put the pork and juices from the baking pan into a bowl, add the remaining juice from the instant pot, and toss to combine.
- When dishing out the pork, you can sprinkle some fresh chopped cilantro on top if you like. Some people like it with a fruity salsa, such as a mango or pineapple salsa. I serve this with a mixed greens salad with a variety of vegetables mixed in such as avocado, radish, and bamboo shoots.
Notes
A lot of the cooking time is the instant pot coming up to pressure, cooking, naturally releasing the pressure, and letting the meat sit absorbing juice.
I had a lot of fat in the pan juices after cooking the pork, so I defatted the juices from the instant pot before pouring the juices over the pork on the baking sheet.
