Kick-Butt Carnitas

There are a million different sauces and glazes for carnitas, a Mexican staple. After a trip eating our way through Texas last year, we became enamored of the mix of lime and basil, a sort of nouveau Southwestern tweak on the classic. The lime marmalade will not only provide the essentially sour pop but offer some sugar which will be crucial in the next step: frying the pieces of cooked pork to render them irresistibly crunchy.

Cuisine

Modern

Course

Main Course

Difficulty

Easy

Duration

30-60 min

Cooking Technique

Max Pressure Cook, Pressure Cook

Keywords

30-60 min, 6 servings, boneless skinless pork butt, chicken broth, contributed, cook 35 min, corn, easy, garlic cloves, ground cumin, lime marmalade, main course, max pressure cook, modern, or canola oil; lard; or rendered bacon fat, packed fresh basil leaves, prep 10 min, pressure cook, table salt, vegetable

Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

35 min

Servings

6 servings

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup lime marmalade
1/4 cup packed fresh basil leaves
6 medium garlic cloves
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp table salt
3 lbs boneless skinless pork butt
2 tbsp vegetable, corn, or canola oil; lard; or rendered bacon fat

Instructions

Whisk the broth, marmalade, basil, garlic, cumin, and salt in the cooker until the marmalade dissolves. Add the pork pieces and stir until uniform. Lock the lid onto the pot.
Optional 1 Max Pressure Cooker
Press Pressure cook on Max pressure for 30 minutes with the Keep Warm setting off.
Optional 2 All Pressure Cookers
Press Meat/Stew or Pressure cook (Manual) on High pressure for 40 minutes with the Keep Warm setting off.
When the machine has finished cooking, turn it off and let its pressure return to normal naturally, about 20 minutes. Unlatch the lid and open the cooker. Use kitchen tongs to transfer the pieces of pork to a large cutting board. Use a flatware tablespoon to skim any excess surface fat from the sauce in the pot.
Press Saute, set time for 10 minutes.
Bring the sauce to a boil and cook, stirring very often, until reduced to the consistency of a barbecue sauce, 6 to 7 minutes. Turn off the SAUTÉ function and pour the sauce into a small, heat-safe serving bowl.
Heat the oil or melt the fat in a large skillet set over medium heat. Add about a third of the pork pieces (maybe more — but no crowding!) and cook, turning occasionally, until brown and crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter and continue browning more of the pork. When done, ladle the thickened sauce over the pieces to serve.

Notes

Beyond
• You must halve the recipe for a 3-quart cooker.
• You can fry the pork right in the Instant Pot, using the SAUTÉ function on HIGH or MORE. Because the surface area of the pot is smaller than that of a skillet, you’ll need to work with a greater number of batches.
• For a more savory dish, reduce the lime marmalade to 1/3 cup and add 1 tablespoon soy sauce.
• For a sweeter dish, substitute orange marmalade for the lime.
• Serve with lots of corn or flour tortillas, sour cream, and purchased pico de gallo.

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