About
The ultimate pork carnitas recipe is one where you can place it in an Instant Pot and forget about it until dinner time. Deliciously tender, cumin-scented pork shoulder is layered into corn tortillas or Keto tortillas, topped with pico de gallo and fresh, cold sour cream. It is a crowd-pleasing weeknight meal.
Where are the macros for the corn shells and sour cream?
Some people do targeted Keto or cyclical Keto diets. The macros for the corn tortillas and sour cream are left out so you can calculate them into your daily macros flexibly. Feel free to use corn tortillas or the Keto tortillas from this site which are found here:
What do I do with the excess liquid in the recipe when it is finished cooking?
Drain off the excess liquid in the bottom of the pot until there is about ⅓-½ cup left and stir the shredded meat into the extra liquid to flavor it and moisten the meat.
Can I add other toppings?
Yes! These tacos are delicious with hot sauce for heat and spice. Guacamole would be another Keto-friendly option.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pound pork roast, shoulder, fresh, no visible fat eaten
- ½ teaspoon chipotle chili powder by morton & bassett
- ½ teaspoon dark chili powder by mccormick
- 1 teaspoon cumin seed ground or whole
- 4 clove garlic, fresh
- 1 tablespoon herbs dried bay leaves by melissa's
- 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt by morton
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 cup water
- 1 large – 3" diameter tomato
- 4 tablespoon cilantro
- 2 tablespoon, chopped red onion
- 2 tablespoon lime juice, fresh
- ¼ teaspoon coarse kosher salt by morton
- ½ each serrano peppers, raw
Instructions
- Place pork shoulder at the bottom of an Instant Pot. Add all the dry ingredients including the garlic cloves salt and black pepper.
- Add the water to the pot last.
- Place the pot into the Instant Pot and set on HIGH pressure for 1 hour.
- Once the hour has elapsed, release the steam manually and check to see if the meat is tender enough to fall apart when shredded with a fork.
- Drain out most of the water leaving about a ⅓-½ cup of water at the bottom. Shredded the meat and stir it into the residual juices. Season with ¼-½ tsp additional salt (to your taste).
- To prepare the pico, dice the tomato in a small dice, along with chopped cilantro, diced onions, fresh-squeezed lime juice, and ¼ tsp kosher salt.
- Stir the pico well adding ½ sliced serrano pepper if you like the heat. Taste adding more lime juice or salt to your preference.
- Add shredded carnitas to heated corn or Keto tortillas and top with pico de gallo and sour cream.
Nutrition Facts
- Servings: 16
- Calories: 112.3kcal/469.9kJ (per serving)
- Fat: 6.5g (per serving)
- Carbs: 1.1g (per serving)
- Protein: 11.7g (per serving)
