Crispy Pressure Cooker Carnitas Tacos

Name: Crispy Pressure Cooker Carnitas Tacos
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 2-2 ½ lbs boneless pork shoulder, cut into 2 inch cubes; 3 tbsp olive oil or oil of choice, divided; 1 small white onion, chopped; 2 cloves garlic, minced; 1 tsp dried oregano; 1 tsp cumin; 1 bay leaf; 2, 3-inch orange peel strips; Juice from 1 orange; Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper; ½ medium red onion, thinly sliced; ½ cup sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar; 4 tsp sugar; 4 tsp kosher salt or 3 tsp fine salt; Mini corn tortillas, for serving; Lime wedges, for serving; Salsa verde (green salsa); Pickled or fresh jalapeños; Queso Fresco*; Cilantro

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Pressure Cooker Carnitas has to be one of the best meals you can serve your family for Taco Tuesdays. Using a pressure cooker or instant pot saves you so much time and energy!

Overhead zoomed out view of three carnitas tacos with toppings on a marble surface, surrounded by lime wedges and a beer.

This carnitas recipe is flavorful, crispy and moist, and you would never believe we took any short cuts. With only 30 minutes of prep, and an hour of pressure cooking, you can have a restaurant worthy meal any day of the week.

This is by no means an authentic recipe, but it’s incredibly delicious. Keep reading to learn my method and some of the toppings I recommend for these tasty tacos!

Ingredient Notes

Pork – Pork shoulder, aka pork butt, works best for this recipe. It has a higher fat content and stays very moist and flavorful when pressure cooked. Buy it without the bone so it’s easier to cut. I cube it into small pieces before cooking, so that it cooks through more quickly.
Herbs and spices – This recipe is fairly traditional in that I use oregano, bay leaf and cumin to flavor the pork. Feel free to omit any ingredients you don’t enjoy, or perhaps consider adding red pepper flakes or ground coriander as they would go well with the flavors in this dish.
Toppings– Salsa verde and raw, chopped white onion are popular toppings for carnitas. I don’t love plain raw onion, so I use pickled red onion. Sliced raw or pickled jalapeno, and cheese, such as queso fresco, queso blanco, cotija cheese, or even feta are great options too.

Individual ingredients for carnitas recipe, including pork shoulder, onions, spices and tortillas.

Step by Step Process

These Pressure Cooker Carnitas couldn’t be easier to make. First, cut the meat into 2 inch chunks and coat in oil, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper.

Place the pork in the pressure cooker with chopped onion, minced garlic, orange peel, bay leaf and orange juice (image 1). Pressure cook on high for one hour and natural release (image 2).

While the pork cooks, prepare all of the toppings. To make the quick pickled onions, add onions, vinegar, sugar and salt to a bowl and allow to pickle at room until ready to use.

Carnitas before and after cooking in pressure cooker.

After the meat is cooked, shred using two forks. You can eat the meat like this, but it’s even better crisped up.

Heat a small, nonstick pan and add in oil. Then, place some meat in the pan and allow it to crisp for several minutes on one side (see image below).

Warm the tortillas, and build your tacos any way you desire!

Overhead view of a saute pan of crispy carnitas on a marble surface.

Recipe FAQs and Tips

How long should you cook pork in a pressure cooker?

Cook pork shoulder or pork butt for 1 hour at high pressure. Cut the meat into 2 inch chunks before cooking, so it cooks through evenly.

How long does it take to depressurize a pressure cooker?

It takes approximately 15 minutes to naturally release pressure from a pressure cooker.

Crisp the meat– For an especially satisfying taco, crisp up the shredded pork in a pan with oil after it pressure cooks. Make sure to add some of the cooking juices from the pressure cooker into the pan so the meat doesn’t dry out too much when you crisp it up.
Re-purpose leftovers– If you have leftovers, you can serve this meat over rice, in a soup, in a burrito, in a salad or in a sandwich roll. The possibilities are endless.
Make extra and freeze- You can cook a large batch, and freeze the extra cooked meat in a sealed container for up to three months.

Overhead view of shredded pork tacos with various toppings, surrounded by limes on a marble surface.

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