Pernil (Pork, Carnitas) Pressure Cooked

Hello and thanks you for stopping by. Pernil is a staple the Puerto Rican foods. It’s pork butt/shoulder that is seasoned and slowly cooked for a few hours in the oven. Most of the time it’s made during the holidays, such as Christmas and perhaps thanksgiving (if you’re looking to serve an “army” and need lots of food and some variety). But some cultures cook the pork/picnic shoulder as carnitas and use them in tacos year round. During the warmer weather, when I get that craving for pernil, the last thing I want to do is use my oven and make an already hot house hotter, so thankfully, pressure cooking it is the best way to go to getting a quick pernil/carnitas and satisfy your craving anytime. Using weight, time and my own recipe, I’d like to share how I came up with Instant Pot/pressure cooked pork/pernil/carnitas that’s fairly quick and makes a great easy weeknight meal.

Ingredients

• 7.5 Pork Butt, bone in
• 7-8 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 dry thyme
• 1 1/12 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• 1 packet Sazon de color
• 1 packet Sazon regular
• 2 Tbsp. dry oregano
• 2 Tbsp. chopped rosemary (fresh, preferably)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 2 Tbsp. Mojo Criollo (optional)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 Tbsp. fresh chopped rosemary
• 1 cup of water or broth

Clean and cut up the pork. I cut mine into three pieces so that they can fit better in the pot. Cut out any excess fat you don’t want in your meat.

Combine all ingredients and marinate the meat for up at least four (4 hours) or overnight. I was in a hurry, so I marinated for four (4) hours. I do prefer recommend marinating longer, though.

After marinating, take out of fridge and let it climatize for about 20-30. Turn on sauté feature in the Instant pot and braise the pork on all sides for about 2-3 minutes per side to maximize it’s flavor. Remove meat and deglaze pot with water. Add pork, close and seal. Using the Meat/Stew setting for one hour and thirty minutes. (1:30) Natural release for 30 minutes. Internal temp should reach about 170 degrees. After it’s done, you can remove the pork and prepare as you like. There will be lots of juices from the meat. You can separate the fat from the broth by skimming some from the surface with a spoon while still hot, using a fat separator (my favorite) or allowing it cool down and then skim off the fat from the top, as fat will rise. Below I took some of the pork, shredded it and pan fried it in some of it’s juices to make some tacos.

That’s all there is to it. You can serve the pork with arroz con gandules (rice and pigeon peas; a Puerto Rican rice dish, later to come), as tacos (pictured below) in a sandwich or whatever you else you might like. The possibilities are endless. If you’re craving some festival pernil outside of it’s usual holiday use, I suggest you give this a try. You can bake it as well, in a 250 degree oven for 4 to 7 hours, and the internal temp should reach 170 degrees. The pressure cooker will be quicker and generates less heat, especially now in the summer when it’s just too hot to cook most times! I hope you give this a try. Thank you again for stopping by. Buen provecho!