Instant Pot Crispy Carnitas (with Air Fryer Lid)

Step 1

Mix the onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, cinnamon, seasoned salt, black pepper and chili powder (if using) together until well blended. Rub the seasoning all over the pork strips.

Step 2

Pour the beer (or broth), orange juice, lime juice and garlic in the Instant Pot and stir. Then, place the quartered onions in, round side down as a foundation, and lay the pork strips on top of them (in a criss-cross fashion if the bottom layer reaches capacity and you’re using more pork).

Step 3

Secure the lid and press Manual or Pressure Cook at High Pressure for 60 minutes (same time no matter how much pork you’re cooking). When done, allow a 10 minute natural release (meaning you do nothing for 10 minutes until the display reads either “00:10” or “L0:10”) followed by a quick release.

Step 4

Remove the pork and onions with tongs and place in a bowl (the pork is going to fall apart, which is perfect). Reserve about 1/4 cup of the juices (reserve more if using more pork) that are in the pot and discard (or freeze) the rest. If your butt/shoulder had a bone in it before you cooked, remove the meat from it now and discard.

Step 5

You can now easily shred the pork and onion with a pair of forks. Pour the reserved broth over the shredded pork and use enough so it’s not drowning in it, but gives it enough moisture.

Step 6

Now it’s time to crisp those Carnitas up and this can be done in 2 ways (See yellow “Jeffrey Sez” section):

Step 7

Add the Carnitas back to the Instant Pot (make sure the pot is empty) and use the Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid on the Broil setting for 8 minutes. Then take the meat from the bottom of the pot and move it to the top and give it an additional 4 minutes on broil. The shredded pork should be about 50% roasted and 50% soft when done and mixed together.

Step 8

Transfer to a foil-lined baking sheet and pop in the oven for 5-10 minutes on broil, flipping once midway through (keep an eye on it as all ovens vary). Just be careful not to go for too long so you don’t dry it out.

Step 9

If using, stir in the taco sauce and salsa.

Step 10

Transfer to a serving dish and serve on its own, in a warm tortilla or taco with your favorite toppings, on a salad or over nachos!