Easy Carnitas Tacos

Alright everybody, it’s Cinco de Mayo! It’s Cinco de Mayo AND Taco Tuesday, but we are in quarantine (womp womp womp, sad music plays). I’m now only mildly upset about this after coming to terms with it. There was a grieving period. I saw this on the calendar back in January and was really excited about it, but I’m compensating by making ALL the yummy food and drinks at home. The menu tonight was these easy carnitas tacos, some Spanish rice, and of course, my favorite easy, no squeeze margaritas!

These carnitas tacos march to the same beat as these crispy barbacoa tacos. They’re cooked either in the slow cooker or the instant pot for some tender, flavorful, meat, then they are crisped up in the oven under the broiler for some awesome crispy texture. YES PLEASE!! Use the Sloth Shortcuts to have them ready for dinner in an hour.

Today I did these in the Instant Pot – two reasons. One- last week the crockpot broke in the sink into a million pieces soooo Instant Pot it is! And Two- I didn’t take the meat out of the freezer early enough for the slow cooker, and this is where the Instant Pot shines!! You can throw meat into the Instant Pot frozen, but I let it defrost in the fridge all day, and then into the Instant Pot it went. It cooks at a high pressure in the Instant Pot, so it’s able to quickly accomplish that slow cooked, fall apart, tender meat that takes all day in the slow cooker. It doesn’t get dry, and it has so much flavor!

If you don’t have an Instant Pot yet, it really is worth its weight in gold, or that space in your kitchen cabinet! (that’s really the same equivalent, isn’t it?) I was scared of pressure cooking for a while – you hear scary stories from the 80’s? 90’s? 2000’s? about these things exploding. Those, my friends, are the pressure cookers of yore (yore – it’s a time period, ask Rachel and Phoebe – who remembers that Friends episode?). These electronic, automatic pressure cookers – the most popular is the Instant Pot – are so easy to use, and they get the job done FAST. They’re a life saver, if only for the single problem they solve of me not remembering to take meat out of the freezer, ever, ever, ever.

Also, we broke out slow cooker bowl. So… there’s that.

These easy carnitas tacos need a few simple flavors, whether you cook them in the slow cooker or the instant pot:

Citrus – for pork, I like using orange juice the best. It brings so much freshness, and it helps tenderize the meat too.

Onion powder and Garlic powder – I don’t like using chopped onion for this – you could, definitely, but hello, lazy. I like to use a good onion powder and garlic powder and call it a day.

Chili powder, Cumin, Oregano, Salt, and Pepper – more salt than you think you need, and as much spice as you like!

Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce – these little peppers are so rich and smoky. So good– use 1 or 2 for a mild spice, or more for a little spicier! Just don’t dump in the whole can unless you’re going for REALLY spicy… I may have done this one time. Proceed with caution.

Because I only use a few of these peppers at a time, I always freeze the remaining peppers in little individual zip lock bags for the freezer. I usually use 2 peppers in a recipe, so I put 2 peppers and a few tablespoons of that delicious, smoky adobo sauce in the bag. Then when I need some, I pull out a bag and throw it in the Instant Pot or Slow Cooker. This way, I never run out!

To get the party started, brown your pork and spices in some oil in the Instant Pot, and then add your chipotle peppers and liquids – orange juice and water. The only rule for Instant Pot cooking is to make sure you’ve got at least 1 cup of water- this is to make the steam that will generate enough pressure to cook your food. Set the valve to sealing (very important – otherwise it will just steam and never come to pressure). When it’s done cooking, let it naturally release. This is Pressure Cook speak for DO NOTHING. Turn it off and let it come down from the pressure naturally. It takes maybe 20 minutes. Then you can carefully remove the lid, letting the steam escape.

In the slow cooker- same process, but let it cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours.

It smells AMAZING now. Try some because you love yourself.

After the meat is done cooking, shred it with two forks and transfer it to a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Spread it out and broil it for 5 minutes to get that CRISPY CRISPY texture. This last step is worth the extra pan and few minutes it takes – it is SO GOOD to have a little crisp on the meat.

My favorite way to serve these is on a corn tortilla with some diced white onion, radish, cilantro, lime wedges, and salsa.

I never used to buy radishes until we found a little tiny local Taqueria by our house – the best street tacos! They have the best toppings and salsas for their tacos, and they always have radishes! Now I always have radishes for topping ALL of our tacos- they are a little peppery, super crisp, and add some freshness. They’re also a nice topping if you’re dairy free and looking for something fun to replace your beloved cheese for tacos. These tacos don’t need any cheese!

Sloth Shortcuts

For amazing, crispy, EASY carnitas – perfect for tacos, nachos, salads, or burritos, follow these sloth shortcuts:

Sloth Shortcut #1: Use your Instant Pot – so fast! Now, sometimes Instant Pot recipe sort of lie to you… a 30 minute Instant Pot time does not really mean a 30 minute total cook time. It takes about 15-20 minutes to get up to high pressure + a 30 minute actual cook time + 15-20 minutes natural release. Still, 1 hour for juicy, flavorful, tender meat is WAY shorter than cooking it all day in the slow cooker! (Which will also work, wonderfully, by the way) but if it’s 3pm and you forgot to put it in the slow cooker and/or defrost the meat…. the Instant Pot is your best friend.

Sloth Shortcut #2: Use a few canned chipotle peppers for amazing flavor, and make sure to freeze the rest in ready to go packets! Then, the next time you need some, you can pull them out of the freezer ready to use.

Sloth Shortcut #3: If you somehow don’t devour all of these carnitas immediately, freeze the leftovers. They heat up AMAZINGLY, and are so exciting to find in your freezer for a Taco Tuesday at 5pm when you don’t have anything made yet. DAY = SAVED. By you. Look at how amazing you are!

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