The best of both worlds here friends. It’s a combination of my mother-in-law’s Cuban pork and our favorite Mexican dish. This meal starts off with a few of our favorite seasonings all rubbed on a massive pork shoulder (also known as pork Butt – my kids get a kick out of that) The meat is seared to perfection and then it’s pressure cooked until it completely falls apart and it’s ready for its closeup.
Although our favorite way to enjoy this dish is in a freshly cooked flour tortilla with all the fixings, It’s the Cuban spices that bring this dish to life.
The best cut for this dish is a pork shoulder that is skinless with some of the fat trimmed off and my favorite way of making it is in the instant pot. It also stores in the fridge really well and as if that isn’t enough, the flavors just get better with time. This is also a whole 30 recipe that is perfect to go along a sweet potato or any kind of veggie.
CUBAN STYLE PORK CARNITAS
Ingredients
- 6 lb pork shoulder (pork butt) , skinless, boneless with the fat trimmed off, cut into 6-8 pieces
- 2 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 onions , sliced
- 8 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
- 1/2 cup chopped red pepper
- 2 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 cup of beef broth
- 1/2 cup orange juice
Instructions
- Dry the pork completely and rub all of the pieces with salt, pepper, oregano, cumin and paprika.
- Set the instant pot to sautee. When the pot is on high, add the olive oil and sear the pork until browned on all sides.
- Pull the pork out and set aside
- Add the tomatoes, onions, pepper and garlic, 2 tbs of broth and saute on high for 3-5 minutes with a wooden spoon, scraping up the bits at the bottom of the pot.
- Place the pork back in the instant pot and add the rest of the broth and orage juice and set on high for 40 minutes.
- Let all of the pressure out. Pork should be tender enough to shred. Remove from instantpot and let cool slightly. Then shred using two forks.
- If you have a lot more than 1 cup of juice, reduce it down to about 1 cup. The liquid will be salty, it is the seasoning for the pork. Set liquid aside – don’t bother straining onion etc, it’s super soft.
- To crisp – set the oven to broil and set the pork 1/2 cup of the juice to a sheetpan. Broil CAREFULLY until the tops of the pieces are crispy.
Serve as a taco (my favorite way to eat them) topped with guacamole, pico de Gallo, cotija cheese, sour cream, pickled onions, and all the hot sauce!
The leftovers are my absolute favorite to serve the kids over rice. This makes for a fun day 2 dinner. Carnitas also elevate my salads to another level.
