Instant Pot Carnitas

Step 1

Cut Pork Shoulder: Remove rind and bone from pork shoulder. Cut pork shoulder into ~2 – 2¼ inches cubes as uniformly as possible. Keep the excess fat. Amy + Jacky's Tip: Don't trim off the fat from cubed pork shoulder.

Step 2

Marinate Pork Shoulder Cubes: Place pork shoulder cubes and excess fat in Instant Pot. Season very generously with kosher salt and ground black pepper. Add 4 crushed garlic cloves, chopped onion, 1 tsp (2g) ground cumin, ½ - 1 tsp (1g - 2g) cinnamon powder, 2 bay leaves, 1 tbsp (15ml) regular soy sauce, and 55ml orange juice (from 1 orange) in Instant Pot. Mix well, then let the pork marinate for 20 minutes.

Step 3

Pressure Cook Pork Shoulder Cubes: Pour ~⅘ cup (200ml) unsalted chicken stock in Instant Pot. Close the lid, then turn Venting Knob to Sealing Position. Pressure Cook at High Pressure for 30 minutes, then Natural Release for 15 minutes. Release the remaining pressure. Open the lid carefully.

Step 4

Crisp Pork Shoulder: Take a bite and see if the pork is salty enough. If the pork is not salty enough, add more kosher salt to the cooking liquid. Taste and adjust accordingly.Transfer the pork shoulder to a baking tray. Brush some of the cooking liquid on each piece of pork before crisping.Amy + Jacky's Basting Tip: The cooking liquid should be mostly fat. If not, mix ¼ cup (63ml) cooking liquid with 2 tbsp (30ml) vegetable oil, then drizzle over each piece of pork. The fat & oil will protect the pork from drying out and the surface will crisp faster.Place pork shoulder under a broiler or the top rack of a preheated 450°F toaster oven until the surface is crisped. Roughly 8 to 10 minutes. Flip the cubed pork, brush each piece with more cooking liquid, then place them in the oven again until the surface is crisped.

Step 5

(Optional) Heat Corn Tortillas: If you are serving the carnitas with corn tortillas, heat up the corn tortillas when the pork is browning in the oven.

Step 6

Serve & Enjoy: Place piping hot Carnitas on top of the warmed corn tortillas with a spoonful of salsa (Pico De Gallo). Serve immediately!