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Instant Pot Carnitas Tostadas

1 hour 20 minutes
8 servings

Savory, juicy, crispy pork carnitas made quick in the instant pot then finished off in the oven for perfectly crispy edges then layered on tostadas and topped with all the fixings!

Instant Pot Carnitas Tostadas
Savory, juicy, crispy pork carnitas made quick in the instant pot then finished off in the oven for perfectly crispy edges then layered on tostadas and topped with all the fixings!
Instant Pot Carnitas Tostadas

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that carnitas are my absolute favorite food. That decadent, juicy pork with a crispy edge just gets me every time.

Now, in all my years I’ve never actually tried to make carnitas for myself. Another of those things I thought I would screw up royally if I tried.

However, I was, again, wrong. And these carnitas are made extra tender and juicy in the Instant Pot then crisped up to perfection using the broiler in your oven.

Then we pile the crispy, juicy pork high on some tostadas and layer them with all the fixings – cilantro, red onion, avocado, crema, and anything else your heart desires.

Start by adding all the spices, lime juice, orange juice, and beer to the bowl of a pressure cooker. Whisk to fully combine.

Add your diced pork shoulder and season with salt and pepper. Close the lid and set to manual pressure, high, for 35 minutes.

Instant Pot Carnitas Tostadas

Let it do its thing, then when it’s done do a natural release for 15 minutes. If the pressure isn’t finished releasing after the 15 minutes, finish with a quick release.

Open the lid and let them rest for a couple minutes while you prepare a sheet pan. Line it with foil and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray.

Heat your oven to the broiler setting, or 500° F, whichever is hotter.

Remove the pork from the pressure cooker to the sheet pan and lightly shred. It should really fall apart at this point and not require mush effort on your part.

Make sure not to shred it too much, you want those larger chunks.

Baste the meat, very generously, with broth from the bowl of the pressure cooker. Place under the broiler and broil for 5 minutes.

Instant Pot Carnitas Tostadas

Remove from broiler, toss the meat, baste generously again, and broil for additional 5 minutes. You really want to make sure that you are getting those edges nice and crispy.

After basting and broiling twice, remove from the oven and let rest for about 5 minutes. Finish chopping your veggies and getting out all your fixings.

Serve layered over a tostada with added cilantro, jalapeno slices, red onions, avocado, crema, queso fresco cheese – basically anything that your heart desires.

You can also put this meat on regular hard taco shells or corn or flour tortillas, if you’d rather. Or just eat it plain on a plate, like you would find at your favorite Mexican restaurant, with some beans and rice.

Seriously the customizations and possibilities are endless with this delicious, succulent, juicy pork. Grab yourself a beer or some sangria and cheers!

Instant Pot Carnitas Tostadas

Instant Pot Carnitas Tostadas

5 from 1 vote
Savory, juicy, crispy pork carnitas made quick in the instant pot then finished off in the oven for perfectly crispy edges then layered on tostadas and topped with all the fixings!
Yield 8 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Tbsp dried oregano
  • 1 Tbsp ground cumin
  • 2 tsp dried thyme
  • 2 tsp dried rosemary
  • 1 large yellow onion diced
  • 8 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 limes juiced
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 12 oz light beer
  • 4 lbs pork shoulder cut into 2 inch chunks
Tostada Toppings
  • 16 tostadas
  • red onion sliced thin
  • avocado diced
  • jalapeño sliced
  • fresh cilantro chopped
  • lime wedges
  • queso fresco crumbled
  • Mexican crema

Instructions
 

  • In the bowl of the pressure cooker, add all ingredients except pork and whisk to combine.
  • Place diced pork shoulder in to the pressure cooker. Season with salt and pepper and close lid.
  • Set to manual pressure on high and let cook for 35 minutes. Then let natural release for 15 minutes.
  • Line a sheet pan with foil and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Heat broiler to high.
  • Remove pork from pressure cooker to sheet pan and lightly shred with two forks. Baste liberally with sauce from the pot.
  • Place in broiler for 5 minutes.
  • Remove from broiler, toss meat, baste liberally again and place back in broiler for additional 5 minutes – you should see the edges of the pork start to get crispy.
  • Remove from oven and baste again with more sauce. Let cool for about 5 minutes before serving.
Tostadas
  • Place generous amount of carnitas on the tostada and top with all your favorite toppings.

Equipment

Pressure Cooker
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