Delicious Cinco De Mayo Instant Pot Carnitas!

*By: Megan Deppen*

In honor of Cinco De Mayo, I’m sharing this delicious Instant Pot crispy carnitas recipe. My husband found this recipe about a year ago and it’s one of our favorite go-to Taco Tuesday meals. Top off your meal with a refreshing margarita or a Corona and you’ll have the perfect Cinco De Mayo celebration! Enjoy!

Instant Pot Crispy Carnitas – Recipe courtesy of Gimme Some Oven.
Note: If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can also make these carnitas in a crockpot.

Ingredients

• 1 (4-5 pound) lean boneless pork roast, cut into 2-inch chunks (with excess fat trimmed off)
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Mojo sauce to put in with the pork (see below)
• For serving: You can top it with onion or fresh cilantro, but I would suggest the pineapple salsa recipe below.

Mojo Sauce Recipe

• 1 cup of beer or chicken stock
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Pineapple Salsa: Combine all of the ingredients below and use this as your topping for the carnitas.

• 2 cups finely-diced fresh pineapple
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro finely chopped
• 1/2 cup red onion finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 jalapeño, seeded and finely-diced (if you don’t like it spicy, then skip the jalapeño).
• Salt and pepper to taste
  
  Instructions

1. Mix the mojo sauce in a medium bowl and set aside.
2. Generously season the pork on all sides with salt and pepper.
3. On your Instant Pot, choose the “Saute” setting. Then add in the olive oil and half of the pork and sear until the pork is browned on all sides, about 45-60 seconds on each side. Then transfer the seared pork onto a clean plate and repeat the above steps with the remaining pork, searing until it has browned on all sides.  Press “Cancel” to turn off the heat.
4. Next, add in the mojo sauce, and mix it into the pork. Close lid and set vent to “Sealing”.
5. Cook the meat for 30 minutes on high pressure, followed by 15 minutes of natural release.
6. Then set oven broiler to high heat.
7. Once the meat is cooked, remove it from the Instant Pot and shred the pork with two forks. Then transfer the pork to a large baking sheet. For quicker clean-up, cover the baking sheet in foil. Next, spoon about a third of the leftover juices onto the pork.  Broil for about 4-5 minutes until the pork gets browned and crispy. Then remove the pork from the oven and add in half of the remaining juices to the meat and broil for an additional 5 minutes. Next, remove baking sheet from oven and add in the remaining leftover juices and mix to combine.
8. If you’re using tortilla shells and want to quickly warm them, place the shells on the oven rack when you’re broiling the pork, but make sure to check them often, so they don’t burn (about 2 minutes).
9. Top the tacos with the pineapple salsa or the toppings of your choice and serve over warm tortillas, a salad, a burrito or whatever you’d like!
10. Enjoy!
    
    
    What is your go-to taco recipe? Leave us your comments below!