My Instant Pot Crispy Pork Carnitas are fork tender and literally cook themselves. See my two techniques for getting them nice and crispy.
Note: Mealthy CrispLid provided the CrispLid product for a portion of this recipe.
I am so excited about this recipe I could just scream! Instant Pot Crispy Prok Carnitas have the slow-roasted flavors of a pork roast with the crispiness of deep barbequed burnt ends. If you’ve never had burnt ends, add them to your list of “must try”. They are full of flavor and are also crispy on the ends – just like my carnitas.
How to get crispy ends two ways
I used two different methods to get crispy ends for this recipe.
- The first method I used was to place the cooked pork under the broiler, in a cast iron pan, for 10 minutes.
- I used the amazing new CrispLid by Mealthy for the second version. This CrispLid is a real game-changer. It turns your Instant Pot into an air fryer – imagine that! It actually fits right on top of your Instant Pot and crisps the food in a matter of minues. As you can see from the photo below, it gets plenty hot and crisps food perfectly! It is the perfect appliance to use for this recipe. I love this new Mealthy CrispLid not only because of the convenience of setting it right on top of my Instant Pot but also becasue it takes up much less space that having an air fryer on the counter top.
What is a carnita?
The word Carnita means little meat that is braised or roasted. Carnitas are usually made with pork shoulder and served in small corn taco shells. Carnitas are also a version of Mexican Street Tacos. Pork Carnitas are the Mexican version of Pulled Pork. My Crispy Pork Carnitas are little pieces of mouth-watering tender pork that’s a little bit smokey from the cumin and chili powder.
How do you serve carnitas?
I like to serve the pork in warm flour tortillas with some crumbled cotija cheese, also called Mexican crumbling cheese, a couple of jalapeno slices, and a squeeze of fresh lime. That’s it – nothing fancy – keep it simple. You won’t believe the burst of flavor from just a few ingredients.
If you like this recipe, you’re also going to like these Instant Pot recipes:
PrintInstant Pot Crispy Pork Carnitas
My Instant Pot Crispy Pork Carnitas are fork tender and literally cook themselves. See my two techniques for getting them nice and crispy.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Meat
- Method: Instant Pot and Cast Iron
- Cuisine: Tex Mex
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. pork shoulder
- 1 cup orange juice
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
Instructions
Method 1 – Using the broiler for crispiness
- Cut pork shoulder into 8 pieces.
- Place orange juice, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, and paprika into the bottom of the Instant Pot.
- Place pork into the pot.
- Select Meat/Stew setting.
- Set for 50 minutes.
- When it is complete let it sit for natural release.
- Remove pork from Instant Pot and shred it using two forks to pull it apart.
- Transfer pork to a hot cast iron skillet and cook for 10 minutes until it is crispy.
Method 2 – Using the Mealthy CrispLid for quick and easy crispiness
- Cut pork shoulder into 8 pieces.
- Place orange juice, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, and paprika into the bottom of the Instant Pot.
- Place pork into the pot.
- Select Meat/Stew setting.
- Set for 50 minutes.
- When it is complete let it sit for natural release for 10 minutes.
- Remove pork from Instant Pot and shred it using two forks to pull it apart.
- Put the pork back into the Instant Pot and place the Mealthy CrispLid on to the Instant Pot.
- Lock the CrispLid into place.
- Set for 400° and cook for 4 minutes until crispy.
Notes
Serve these with warm flour tortillas, cotija cheese, sliced jalapenos, and a squeeze of fresh lime.
Another alternative we use instead of mixing ingredients and spices – most grocery chains sell a bottled Mojo sauce, which is the same type of orange/lime/garlic liquid perfect for slow cooking or instant pot pork.
★★★★★
That’s a great idea Dan! Thanks for sharing; I’ll give it a try next time.