There are a lot of Pulled Pork Carnitas recipes around, but I created the easiest Instant Pot Pulled Pork Carnitas recipe. It's based off this excellent one that my friend Prudence made and recommended. But since I can't follow a recipe to save my life, and her recipe had several ingredients high in sugars, I had to modify it quite a bit to keep these carnitas low carb.
Instant Pot Pulled Pork Carnitas | Easy Pork Carnitas
If you, unlike me, do not collect chile powders for fun, I'm sure you could use just regular red chile powder in these Pulled Pork Carnitas and it will taste great.
If you'd like to use orange juice or broth for the liquid, feel free. However, the orange juice will increase the carbs per serving. I was in a hurry (I was putting this together while on a work-related call, so I wasn't wanting to spend too much time on it).
Herein lies the difference between those who blog for a living vs people like me who cook to feed the family while trying to make a living. Short cuts abound in my world.
I also cut the meat up into large bite-size chunks because I wanted it to cook relatively quickly, and since it was going to be shredded anyway, I didn't think it would matter.
What Makes These Instant Pot Pulled Pork Carnitas So Amazing?
- Easy. Throw some veggies and a pork butt in your Instant Pot and cook.
- Low Carb. Only 4 carbs per serving (not including the tortillas)
- Delicious. Packed with flavor.
- Authentic. Seasoned with traditional Mexican spices for an authentic dish.
What To Serve With Instant Pot Pulled Pork Carnitas
Looking to kick the deliciousness up a notch? Whip up some of my Air Fried Tomatillo Salsa and put it on top of your pork carnitas! It'll add some great heat and flavor to really elevate the dish!
Another great way to dress your Instant Pot Pulled Pork Carnitas is with this creamy Avocado Tomatillo Salsa! It's easy, spicy, and delightfully low carb.
Tips And Tricks For This Carnita Recipe
Let me tell you something: DO NOT SKIP the browning step in this pork carnitas recipe. I know it sounds like a pain, but it's the difference between delicious boiled meat and carnitas. If they're not crispy, they're not carnitas. Just notice the difference between the boiled pork and the finished product. That's all due to the crisping.
By the way, this recipe freezes quite well in case you have leftovers or are the meal planning type.
Are Pulled Pork Carnitas Healthy?
This authentic carnitas recipe uses pork that is high in protein. I used low carb ingredients to keep it healthy for people watching their carb intake or living a Ketogenic lifestyle. If you add in delicious veggies to round out the recipe, you can bet it's a healthy carnitas recipe.
How To Make Instant Pot Pulled Pork Carnitas
Don't be intimidated by this Pulled Pork Carnitas recipe! Here are the simple steps to making them perfectly every time:
- Place sliced vegetables in the bottom of the pot to help them release water when the meat is cooking.
- Mix together the pork with all the spices and the lemon juice.
- Place pork on top of the onions and garlic.
- Put water into your bowl and rinse it out to get the last of the spices, and pour this water onto the pork.
- Set your Instant Pot to Meat setting or high pressure.
- When it's done use natural release.
- Remove the pork, take it out of the water.
- Leave the pot on Saute and reduce the remaining water/sauce in there while you finish the next steps.
- Put the coconut oil in a hot cast iron pan.
- Lay the shredded meat in a flat layer and let it brown undisturbed.
- When it's partially brown, stir it and keep cooking until it's crispy in parts.
- Once it's well crisped, put in a little of the concentrated broth. Your skillet should be hot enough that most of it just dissolves, leaving behind the flavor.
- Serve with guacamole, salsa, sour cream, or low carb tortillas, or eat plain.
Want More Pork Recipes?
- Pulled Pork- loaded with delicious Mexican flavor.
- Pork Carnitas- Make these in your Instant Pot.
- Instant Pot Pulled Pork- tacos seasoned with Indian spices.
- Smoked Mexican Pork Shoulder- lovely smoked flavors.
- Pressure Cooker Carne Adovada- a low carb delight.
- Schezuan Pork Soup- Sichuan cuisine made at home.
- Chile Verde- a quick and easy pork recipe.
- Instant Pot Pork Stew- a hearty low carb soup.
Ingredients
Vegetables
- 1 (1) Onion, sliced
- 4 cloves (4 cloves) Garlic, sliced
Mix Together
- 1 pound (453.59 g) pork butt, , cut into cubes and visible fat removed
- 1 (1) Lemon, juiced
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) Ancho Chile Powder
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) Chipotle Chile Powder
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) Smoked Paprika
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) Dried Oregano
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) Ground Cumin
- 1-2 teaspoons (1 teaspoons) Kosher Salt
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Ground Black Pepper
Add to Instant Pot
- ½ cup (125 g) Water
For Frying
- 1-2 tablespoons (1 tablespoons) Coconut Oil
Instructions
- Place sliced vegetables in the bottom of the pot to help them release water when the meat is cooking.
- In a bowl, mix together the pork with all the spices and the lemon juice.
- Place pork on top of the onions and garlic.
- Put ½ cup of water into your bowl and rinse it out to get the last of the spices, and pour this water onto the pork.
- Set your Instant Pot to Meat setting, or high pressure for 35 minutes.
- When it's done use natural release.
- Remove the pork, take it out of the water which may be somewhat salty.
- Leave the pot on Saute and reduce the remaining water/sauce in there while you finish the next steps.
- Put the coconut oil in a hot cast iron pan. If you wanted, you could also fish out the pork fat that is cooked, and set that to render. I did both and it was yummy.
- Lay the shredded meat in a flat layer and let it brown undisturbed.
- When it's partially brown, stir it and keep cooking until it's crispy in parts.
- Once it's well crisped, put in a little of the concentrated broth. Your skillet should be hot enough that most of it just dissolves, leaving behind the flavor. I used almost all of my broth, small portiojns at a time to flavor the meat.
- Serve with guacamole, salsa, sour cream or low carb tortillas, or eat plain.
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Nutrition
Originally Published March 29, 2017
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These are not carnitas, please, as a Mexican, don't call carnitas what are not carnitas. Carnitas are cooked in lard, in a big cooper pot for at least 4 hours. These is the reason in other countries people think that Tex Mex is authentic Mexican food, when is nothing close. For the real deal, people need to go to the state of Michoacán and mainly to a town called Quiroga.
Settle down. No one has time to cook for four hours. Try the recipe and show some grace.