Instant Pot Pork Tacos | Crispy Pork Carnitas

This Instant Pot pork tacos recipe is so delicious and you won’t believe how easy it is to make. It’s an easy entertaining idea that’s a crowd-pleaser. The pulled pork shoulder carnitas can also be used in pulled pork burritos, fajitas, nachos, or as part of a rice bowl.

Introduction

Carnitas cooked the traditional way can be an all-day effort. Making the carnitas in the Instant Pot, on the other hand, is so much quicker and easier!

Although easy enough to make on a busy weeknight, I often pressure cook the pork in the morning, let it sit in Keep Warm mode, and crisp it up right before I’m ready to serve dinner. The recipe also freezes well.

This recipe for pressure cooker carnitas is based on my Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas recipe, except that in this recipe I use orange juice instead of beer and increase the Mexican chili powder a bit.

I never use my slow cooker carnitas recipe anymore because the Instant Pot version is so much more convenient. You just dump in all the ingredients and pressure cook. There’s no sauteing to be done except at the end, to crisp up the pork.

There’s enough filling that you can easily feed 6 people and maybe even have some leftovers for the next day’s lunch or to freeze for later!

This Instant Pot Pork Tacos recipe is one of my favorite things to make when entertaining because it’s easy and a crowdpleaser. I lay out all the fillings and everyone makes their own Instant Pot pork tacos. If I happen to have leftovers, my family loves it when I make nachos with the leftover pork carnitas.

The pulled pork carnitas can be used to make tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas, nachos, a Mexican rice bowl or even a Mexican pulled pork sandwich.

Here are some other Instant Pot Latin and Mexican recipes:
– Instant Pot Chicken Tinga
– Instant Pot Carne Asada
– Instant Pot Arroz con Pollo

If you’re new to the Instant Pot and aren’t familiar with how to use it, you might find it helpful to first read one of the following guides and then come back here to learn how to make this recipe.

• Instant Pot DUO Beginner’s Manual
• Instant Pot ULTRA Beginner’s Manual
• Instant Pot DUO EVO PLUS Beginner’s Manual
• Instant Pot DUO NOVA Beginner’s Manual
• Instant Pot DUO GOURMET Beginner’s Manual
• Instant Pot DUO CRISP Beginner’s Manual

Instant Pot Pork Tacos Ingredients

How to Make Carnitas for Pork Tacos in the Instant Pot (Step by Step Instructions)

1. Rub spices and add all ingredients
2. Pressure cook
3. Natural release
4. Shred pork
5. Saute pork

Rub spices and add all ingredients

• Mix together oregano, cumin, coriander, salt, black pepper, and Mexican chili powder in a small bowl.
• Cut pork shoulder into 3 pieces and place in a large bowl.
• Rub the spice mix all over the pork shoulder and place in the Instant Pot.
• Stir together the onion, garlic, orange juice, chicken broth, lime juice and pour the mixture on top of the pork.

Instant Pot Duo Pressure Cook 90 minutes

• Close the lid and make sure the steam release handle is in the Sealing position.
• Press Manual (or Pressure Cook) and + or – until the display reads 90 (90 minutes).

Instant Pot Ultra Pressure Cook 1 hour 30 minutes

• Close the lid.
• Select Pressure Cook mode and adjust the time to 1 hour and 30 minutes (01:30).
• Press Start.

Pressure Cooking Process (Duo and Ultra)

• Instant Pot display will change to On.
• Once the Instant Pot is pressurized, the float valve will go up.
• The display will count down to 0; it will then switch to Keep Warm mode and display L0:00  or 00 00 and begin to count up the number of minutes since pressure cooking completed.

How to Naturally Release Pressure (NPR) on the DUO and ULTRA

• Allow the pressure to release naturally (NPR).  The float valve will be in the down position.  This may take 15 to 30 minutes. [Find out more about the pressure release methods and how and when to use them. ]
• Press Cancel and open the Instant Pot.

Shred Pork

• Transfer the meat to a large bowl.
• Use two forks to shred the pork into strips.

Saute Pork

• Heat oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat.
• Place desired amount of shredded pork in the frying pan and press down gently.
• Pour 2 to 3 Tbsp of the juices from the Instant Pot over the meat to moisten the pork while it’s cooking.
• Fry the pork mixture until it is crisp on the bottom. Don’t flip the meat over, just fry it on one side, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add more cooking liquid as needed.
• To serve, place pork carnitas in a heated corn tortilla and add your choice of fillings.

Instant Pot Pork Tacos | Crispy Pork Carnitas

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Servings: 8

Calories: 296 kcal

Author: Paint the Kitchen Red

This Instant Pot pork tacos recipe is so delicious and you won't believe how easy it is to make. It's an easy entertaining idea that's a crowd-pleaser. The pulled pork shoulder carnitas can also be used in burritos, fajitas, nachos, or as part of a rice bowl.

Print Pin Rate

Equipment

• Instant Pot
• Large Nonstick Frying Pan
• Medium Bowl
• Meat shredder
• Slotted Spoon

Ingredients

• 3 to 4 lbs boneless pork shoulder
• 1 Tbsp Mexican oregano
• 1 Tbsp cumin powder
• 1 Tbsp coriander powder
• 2 tsp salt or to taste 
• 1 tsp black pepper powder
• 1 Tbsp Mexican chili powder
• 1 cup onion chopped
• 2 Tbsp garlic chopped
• 3/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup chicken broth or beef broth
• 1 tsp  lime juice
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil

Instructions

• Cut pork into 3 pieces.
• Mix together oregano, cumin, coriander, salt, black pepper and Mexican chili powder. Rub spice mix all over pork shoulder and place it in the Instant Pot.
• Combine onion, garlic, orange juice, broth, and lime juice and pour this mixture over the pork.
• Close the lid and pressure cook on High Pressure for 90 minutes.
• Do a natural pressure release (NPR). [Read More: The Different Pressure Release Methods]
• Open the Instant Pot and carefully remove pork from the Instant Pot, place it in a bowl and let it cool for a few minutes.
• Using two forks or meat shredder claws, shred the pork. It should be very tender. Discard any large pieces of fat, if desired.
• Use a slotted spoon to remove the onion mixture from the liquid in the Instant Pot and add it to the cooked pork.
• Heat oil in a large nonstick frying pan over medium heat.
• Place desired amount of shredded pork in the frying pan and press down gently.
• Pour 2 to 3 Tbsp of the juices from the Instant Pot over the meat to moisten the pork while it’s cooking.
• Fry the pork mixture until it is browned and crisp on the bottom. Don’t flip the meat over, just fry it on one side, about 6 to 8 minutes.
• To serve, place pork carnitas in a heated corn tortilla and add your choice of fillings.

Notes

• Prep time does not include steps that are already accounted for in the ingredient list, e.g. chopped onions, minced garlic, etc.
• If you want to cook the pork for a shorter time, cut the pieces into smaller 2-inch chunks and pressure cook for 40 minutes.
• To serve, place a few tablespoons of the Instant Pot carnitas in a flour or corn tortilla. Add your choice of toppings: chopped onion, queso fresco (Mexican cheese), shredded cabbage, cilantro, guacamole, avocado, tomatoes, salsa, jalapenos. Adjust seasonings to taste. If you like your Instant Pot carnitas to be spicier, you could add chopped jalapenos or a chipotle pepper in adobo sauce.
• See the blog post for more detailed recipe tips.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/8 of quantity | Calories: 296kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 91mg | Sodium: 712mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g

Course Main Dishes

Cuisine Mexican/Latin

Main Ingredient pork

Have You Made This Recipe?I love seeing your Photos! Tag Me on Instagram @PaintTheKitchenRed or tag #paintthekitchenred.

Thank you for visiting Paint the Kitchen Red. All photos and content are copyright protected. Please don’t use any content without prior written permission. If you’ve made this recipe and would like to share it with your friends, please link back to this recipe. Thank you!