These Carnitas are great served with tortillas and all of the toppings, but lately I have been doing a bowl meal with them over salad, rice, or cauliflower rice, with all of my favorite Mexican toppings and sides.
To make this #dinnerdoneby9am I cook and shred the pork in the morning, refrigerate all day, then do the broiling step to warm and crisp just before serving.
-1 Tbsp olive oil
-1 (3-4) pork loin, shoulder or butt, cut into 2 inch chunks
-6 cloves garlic, minced
-1 Tbsp cumin
-1 Tbsp oregano
-1/2 Tbsp smoked paprika
-2 Tbsp brown sugar or honey
-2 tsp salt
-1 tsp pepper
-1/4 tsp cayenne
-zest and juice of 1 orange
-zest and juice of 1 lime
-4 Tbsp hot sauce
-1 c beer
-desired toppings: cilantro, banana peppers, red cabbage, cheese, sour cream, hot sauce, avocado, raw onion, radish, and/or the pickled onions below
Add oil to pressure cooker, press saute and start. Add half of pork, cooking for 3-5 minutes until browned, then set aside. Repeat with remaining half of pork. Return all of pork to the pressure cooker and add garlic, cumin, oregano, paprika, brown sugar, salt, pepper, orange juice, lime juice, hot sauce and beer. Stir well to combine. Seal pressure cooker, cook on manual, at high heat, for 30 minutes. Naturally release pressure and shred meat using 2 forks. At this point you can serve the meat, or you can broil to brown it and crisp the meat up.
To broil; place meat on a lined baking sheet. Broil for 5-10 minutes until meat gets a brown char. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of pan juices over the broiled meat. Serve with tortillas and toppings of your choice.
Pickled Red Onions
-1 1/2 cup white vinegar
-1/2 cup sugar
-1 tsp salt
-2 red onions, sliced
In a small pot, bring the vinegar, sugar and salt to a boil. Remove from heat. Pour over onions and allow them to marinate at least 30 minutes, but up to several days.
