Crispy Pork Carnitas with Corn Salsa – easy pork carnitas are made in a slow cooker or instant pot and then pan fried till crispy.
Serve them as tacos with fresh corn salsa, with the classic rice and black beans, or scrambled with eggs for an amazing breakfast!
Easy Pork Carnitas (Instant Pot or Crockpot!)
I have been making these Crispy Pork Carnitas this way for about a year now and am just getting around to blogging them. I am always making them for a party or late at night and never got around to sharing them with you.
It has taken me a while to nail the recipe, but trust me — it is beyond perfect now. You start by cooking your pork in a mixture of salsa verde and mojo marinade. You can do this in your slow cooker or in your instant pot.
I prefer to do it in the instant pot because it takes one hour vs eight hours…and I am terrible at planning ahead. However, it doesn’t make a difference which way you choose, the end result is the same!
Once the pork is nice and tender, grab a couple of forks and shred it. Then comes the secret step to adding so much flavor, you pan fry it and add big spoonfuls of the liquid the pork cooked in.
You let the liquid cook off and continue doing that process until the meat is infused with tons of flavor. Then we crank the heat up to high and we crisp up the pork so you get those perfect little burnt spots, that we all love, in traditional carnitas.
Serving Suggestions
We love these Crispy Pork Carnitas so much that I always make a giant batch of them. We usually have them the first night as tacos with a little cheese and fresh corn salsa.
Then we use the leftovers in multiple ways…like with rice and beans, in burritos, or my favorite way – scrambled with eggs for breakfast.
If you make the scrambled eggs with the crispy pork for breakfast, make sure and top it all off with some of that fresh corn salsa. Trust me, best savory breakfast ever,
I hope you enjoy these Crispy Pork Carnitas as much as we do!
Crispy Pork Carnitas with Corn Salsa
Ingredients
Pork
- 3 lb boneless pork roast
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 16 oz salsa verde
- 20 oz mojo marinade, I prefer the Badia brand mojo.
- 8 large cloves garlic, minced
Corn Salsa
- 3 cups fresh corn, or 14 oz frozen corn, thawed and drained
- 1 small red onion, diced
- 2 large jalapeños, seeded and diced
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- juice from 2 limes
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Instant Pot:
- Turn instant pot on to sauté. Once hot, add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Sear pork on all sides.
- Add salsa verde and mojo marinade on top of pork. Stir to combine.
- For a 3 lb pork roast, cook at pressure for 65 minutes (I used the meat/stew setting). For a 2 lb pork roast, cook at pressure for 50 minutes.
- Do a quick release of steam.
- Shred pork in a large bowl and reserve the liquid pork was cooked in.
Slow Cooker:
- Heat a large heavy bottomed pot to medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Sear pork on all sides.
- Add pork, salsa verde and mojo marinade to crock pot. Stir to combine.
- Cook for 8 hours on low.
- Shred pork in a large bowl and reserve the liquid pork was cooked in.
Crispy Pork Carnitas:
- In a large heavy bottomed pot, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add pork to pot and toss to coat in olive oil and garlic.
- Add 1.5 cups of liquid you saved that the pork cooked in. Cook, tossing often until liquid has cooked out. Repeat this step. (You can continue doing this as many times as you want until the meat has tons of flavor. I usually do this twice and taste to see.)
- Once your meat is flavored to your taste, spread pork out into an even layer. Cook over high heat, turning once or twice, until sizzling and crispy in spots.
- Serve immediately in tacos, with eggs for breakfast or with rice and beans.
Corn Salsa:
- In a large bowl, toss together all ingredients. Store in an airtight container until ready to serve.
Nutrition
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