One of my most Slow Cooker Carnitas favorite recipes is the recipe I have here on the blog. It’s easy to make, doesn’t have any uncommon ingredients, and is SO DELICIOUS. I mean, honestly, every time I make that recipe I’m surprised at how good the carnitas taste! Since I love the recipe so much, I decided it would be worth figuring out a version for the Instant Pot. And so this pressure cooker carnitas recipe was born!

It’s essentially the same recipe but I figured out the right amount of liquid and cooking time for the pressure cooker for you. Also, total cooking time is about 1 hour with the pressure cooker, as opposed to 8 hours in the slow cooker. So, you know, if you forget to prep the carnitas in the morning, throwing it together in the afternoon is totally possible!

I’ve had people ask if the frying step is necessary. No, it’s not. But it makes the carnitas that much better. So, go ahead and choose your own adventure. I think it’s worth the extra step!

Enjoy this pressure cooker carnitas recipe! I know I do!

Pressure Cooker Carnitas Recipe

 

Print

Author: Jane Maynard

Ingredients

• 3 pounds boneless pork shoulder
• Salt (kosher preferred)
• Black pepper
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 4 cloves fresh garlic, minced or pushed through a garlic press
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, cut into quarters
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and ribs removed, roughly chopped
• 1 cup of liquid that includes the juice from 1 orange + water to fill to 1 cup total, save orange peels after juicing
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Instructions

1. Rinse and dry the pork shoulder. Salt and pepper liberally. Place pork shoulder in a pressure cooker (like an Instant Pot).
2. Mix together the oregano, cumin, garlic and olive oil. Spread half of the oil mixture on one side of the pork shoulder, flip over and then rub the rest of the oil mixture on the other side of the pork shoulder.
3. Place the onion, jalapeno, and orange peels in the slow cooker with the meat. I put some of the produce on top and some around the edges.
4. Pour the water-orange juice mixture over the meat.
5. Select High Pressure on the pressure cooker and set for 45 minutes. When it has cooked for 45 minutes and it beeps, let the pressure release naturally for 15 minutes, open the vent, then let it sit for 10 more minutes. Confirm the valve has dropped and then carefully remove the lid.
6. Note: if the meat is not fall-apart tender at this point, put the pressure cooker on for another 20-25 minutes and you should be good to go!
7. Carefully remove the meat from the pressure cooker and put in a bowl. Pull the meat apart with a fork.
8. Heat vegetable oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Sprinkle pan liberally with more salt. Evenly layer the carnitas in the pan once the pan is hot and cook just one side until you get a nice crispy edge on the meat touching the pan.
9. Remove from heat, stir together, do a little taste test and add a bit of salt if needed (probably not needed, but check anyway). Sometimes I pour over some of the juices from the cooker over the meat for extra flavor.
10. Serve with fresh cilantro, salsa, hot sauce and tortillas. You could also add other items to your taco (rice, beans, tomatoes, lettuce, guac, etc), but Nate and I found that the carnitas were just so good it was better to have a simply-dressed taco.

3.4.3177

Today on the podcast I get the chance to interview my friend and colleague Meagan Francis. Meagan is co-host of the podcast The Mom Hour, an author, and an all-around thoughtful, inspiring person. Meagan and I talk about all kinds of topics related to parenting, from how motherhood has evolved to offer new career opportunities for women, the impact of social media on parenting, food values, cooking tips and more. Meagan also describes her favorite go-to recipe, one that provides a base for at least four other dinners every time she makes it. I hope you enjoy getting to know Meagan and walk away with feeling ready to get in the kitchen and cook, no matter how busy you are!

Shownotes:

• The Mom Hour Podcast with Meagan Francis & Sarah Powers
• The Mom Hour Episode 113: Defining Your Food Values
• Meagan’s Food Manifesto
• 9 Genius Ways to Overcome the Weeknight Dinner Struggle
• The Mom Hour Episode 196: A Week of Real-Life Dinners
• How to Cook Without a Book by Pam Anderson
• Meagan’s Books: The Happiest Mom, One Year to An Organized Life with Baby, Beyond Baby, The Everything Health Guide to Postpartum Care, Table for Eight  
• How to use a garlic press so you don’t have to peel the clove
• Jane’s Fancy Garlic Press 

Multi-tasker Pork Shoulder

 

Print

This pork shoulder can be prepared on one day and used for several more meals! Ideas for modifications in the notes below.

Author: Meagan Francis

Ingredients

• Boneless or Bone-In Pork Shoulder
• A few swigs of your favorite oil
• Herbs and spices, your favorites (Meagan's suggestion: minced garlic, salt, Mexican spice blend, sometimes oregano/thyme/rosemary depending on what you'll be using the meat for; garlic/salt and whatever mix you like!)
• Liquid: Stock (beef, chicken, or vegetable), Beer, or Mix of water and orange juice
• Optional: Limes or oranges halved
• Optional: Sliced onions

Instructions

1. It's generally easiest to cut the shoulder up into fist-sized pieces, but not necessary.
2. Drizzle oil into the bottom of a dutch oven and heat over medium-high heat on the stove while preheating the oven to 250º F.
3. Rub the shoulder all over with your choice of herbs/spices This first go around can be mildly spiced because you can re-season the meat in all its incarnations.
4. Sear all sides of the meat in the oil for a few minutes on each side until golden brown
5. Add your choice of liquid to the pot. Meagan also likes to add oranges or limes, cut in half, to the bottom of the pot as well, and you can't go wrong adding some sliced onions either now or earlier, while the meat is searing.
6. Put in the oven for 6-7 hours. You want the meat to be falling apart. If you don't have quite this much time, you can increase the heat to 275 or 300, but if you have less than 4 hours I'd recommend using a pressure cooker.
7. When you pull the pork shoulder out it should pull across easily with two forks.

Notes

As Carnitas: Heat the shredded meat in hot oil on the stovetop or under the broiler in your oven until it's crispy-brown. Season with lime and cilantro. Serve with tortillas, onions, more lime and cilantro, queso fresco, pico, or whatever you like.
Shredded as-is: Serve with rice/potatoes and a vegetable
BBQ Pulled Pork: Mix meat with barbecue sauce and serve on buns as pulled-pork sandwiches.
Meagan's Magical Mix: Roughly chop 2 sweet potato (skins on, natch) and roast in the oven at 400º F until nearly soft. Add to a hot, oiled skillet with shredded pork, lime, and cilantro and stir until you have a golden-brown hash. Serve with eggs over easy or medium. This is the Day 3 version of the recipe, the one Meagan's son Owen called an "almost 10!"

3.4.3177

It’s easy to listen to the show!

• Via the web: Click the play button below!
• Via an app: Search “This Week for Dinner Podcast” on your favorite podcast app (iTunes, Overcast, Stitcher, Spotify, etc.).

Other Stuff!

• If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a rating and/or review on iTunes! It helps a lot!
• Big thank you to d&m for providing the music for the podcast!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Email | RSS

I love carnitas. Well, let me clarify, I love good carnitas. I’ve had bad carnitas and, well, not only do I not love bad carnitas, when I’ve had bad carnitas, the experience was traumatic. But good carnitas? Well, good carnitas are downright irresistible. It’s definitely one of my favorite meat dishes.

I live in Southern California where Mexican food is as common as a hamburger, so we’ve been eating carnitas for years, even pre-Chipotle. I think most people probably know about carnitas nowadays, but in case you are wondering what the heck I am talking about, carnitas (which translates as “little meats”) is a Mexican pork dish where the pork is cooked for a long time and comes out all tender and delicious like.

As you now know, I love these ‘little meats’ a lot, but for some reason I never thought of making carnitas myself. But last week I was like, “Self, why don’t you make your own carnitas already?” And I was like, “Self, you are totally right.” And then I did. And it was awesome.

Here’s the thing. The carnitas came out perfectly. So so so so good. And it was crazy easy to make. Also, pork shoulder is my new favorite cut of meat. I am for sure going to use it next time we do Korean BBQ beef tacos. Why was I so clueless about pork shoulder and the fact that homemade carnitas is basically the best thing EVER? And I call myself a food blogger!

I had googled carnitas recipes and read through a whole bunch of them and was leaning towards Melissa D’Arabian’s recipe. Then Sara commented on my menu a few weeks ago specifically saying to try that recipe, even though I hadn’t mentioned it, so I figured it was meant to be. The recipe was fabulous and is definitely the one I will use from here on out. Maybe I should do some experimenting but, honestly, when something is this good why mess with it?

Pork Carnitas

 

Print

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

8 hours

Total time

8 hours 10 mins

 

From Melissa D'Arabian, but I re-wrote the directions to incorporate my notes and changes.

Author: Jane Maynard

Serves: 6-8 people

Ingredients

• 2½ pounds bone-in pork shoulder (2 pounds boneless)
• Salt (I like kosher, especially for the final step, but it's not necessary)
• Black pepper (freshly ground if you have it, regular if you don't)
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 4 cloves of garlic, pushed through a garlic press or minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, cut into quarters
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and ribs removed, roughly chopped
• 1 orange
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Instructions

1. Rinse and dry the pork shoulder. Salt and pepper liberally. Place pork shoulder in a slow cooker.
2. Mix together the oregano, cumin, garlic and olive oil. Spread half of the oil mixture on one side of the pork shoulder, flip over and then rub the rest of the oil mixture on the other side of the pork shoulder.
3. Place the onion and jalapeno in the slow cooker with the meat. I put some of the veggies on top and some around the edges.
4. Cut the orange in half and then squeeze the juice into the slow cooker. Place the two orange halves in the slow cooker.
5. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4 hours (I cooked it on low for 8 hours). Flip the meat over halfway through cooking.
6. Once the meat is super tender, turn off the slow cooker and remove the meat. Pull the meat apart with a fork, discarding bone if using bone-in shoulder.
7. Heat vegetable oil in a large saute pan over high heat. Sprinkle pan liberally with more salt. Evenly layer the carnitas in the pan once the pan is hot and cook just one side until you get a nice crispy edge on the meat touching the pan.
8. Remove from heat, stir together, do a little taste test and add a bit of salt if needed (probably not needed, but check anyway).
9. Serve with fresh cilantro, salsa, hot sauce and tortillas. You could also add other items to your taco (rice, beans, tomatoes, lettuce, guac, etc), but Nate and I found that the carnitas were just so good it was better to have a simply-dressed taco.

3.2.2807

Today’s post is fraught with diversions and side notes. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Pork chops. There is such a fine line between good pork chops and terrible pork chops that I just usually avoid cooking them altogether. (On a related note, this recipe for pork loin is the best pork I’ve ever cooked or eaten. The recipe is super reliable and beyond delicious. Side note #1 is now complete.) The other day I was thinking about pork chops and thought to myself that the AMAZING technique I discovered from America’s Test Kitchen for cooking steak could perhaps be applied to pork chops. (Side note #2: If you haven’t yet made the perfect steak, what are you waiting for? Seriously, you’ll never cook a steak on the grill again.) The technique involves baking the meat before searing and using a thermoeter.  When you follow this technique, the steak cooks very evenly and comes out perfectly every time.

Okay, so back to pork chops. When I toured America’s Test Kitchen in Boston last summer, I got to meet a few of the chefs. As I was ruminating over pork chops this week, I pestered emailed Chef Dan to ask his opinion. He said he thought it would work and gave me some advice, including target temperatures for the pork chops when cooking.

SOOOOO…I tried it last night and…it worked! I used the garden variety 3/4″ – 1″ thick boneless pork chops at the grocery store because that’s all they had that day. The pork chops came out not dry (woohoo!) and had great flavor. It’s still pork, so, you know, it’s no filet mignon. But the pork chops were simple and yummy and Anna and Owen could not stop eating them!

I am going to try the technique again another time with a different kind of chop and see what happens. But for now, here’s what I did if you want to give it a try yourself! The recipe is nice and simple!

Thanks for the advice, Dan of the Test Kitchens! For the record, if anyone cooks this and something goes wrong, blame me and not Dan! Unlike ATK, where they test recipes literally hundreds of times, the recipe below has been tested ONCE by yours truly. That’s what I call thorough recipe development.

Pork Chop Experiment

 

Print

Author: Jane Maynard

Recipe type: Main Dish, Pork

Ingredients

• - ¾”³ – 1”³ thick pork chops
• - Rock salt (or a nice coarse salt if you don’t have the rock salt)
• - Pepper
• - A bit of olive oil

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.
2. Let pork chops sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes. Pat dry then sprinkle with rock salt and pepper on both sides, pushing the salt into the surface of the meat with your fingers.
3. Line a baking sheet with foil then place a wire rack on the lined cookie sheet (I also put a bit of foil over the wire rack for easier clean-up). Place the pork chops on the rack and insert an instant read, oven-proof thermometer into the center of one of the chops. Place in oven and cook until temperature reaches 115 degrees F (this took about 30 minutes).
4. When the temperature hits 110 degrees, begin preheating a skillet at medium heat. Drizzle 1-2 tablespoons of oil on the pan while heating and spread it around by tipping the pan. Sear the pork chops (that have reached 115 degrees), about 5 minutes per side, until they reach 135 degrees. Don’t cook them longer than that! Quickly sear the edges just to brown them up and make them look prettier.
5. Let meat sit for 5 minutes then serve.

3.2.2429