I really am going crazy with this pressure cooker. It makes my favourite, usually very time consuming, recipes into 1 hour meals. I was in the mood for some carnitas and didn’t want to pay for any, so here goes my version. I purchased pork shoulder because it has great flavour, and pork hock (not smoked) because it is super fatty and collagen-y, which gives that sticky feel that makes me think “now THAT’s a meal”.

This recipe has everything you want. Fattiness, crispiness, meatiness… it’s just a real feel-good dish. And great for serving to a group. Just accompany with some corn tortillas, chopped lettuce and tomatoes, black beans, guacamole, pico de gallo, salsa and let your guests build their own tacos to their taste. What? Are you going to make each one for them? You’re already hosting them. They can make their own damn tacos!

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg skinless pork shoulder
• 1 pork hock – chopped by butcher so it fits into the pressure cooker. You will NOT be able to do this yourself!
• 2 onions, chopped
• 8 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
• 2 tsp salt
• Oil for frying

Let’s do it!

1. Put everything in the pressure cooker.
2. Bring to high pressure and cook for 45 minutes over medium heat.
3. Turn off the heat and set the pressure cooker to quick release.
4. Strain out the meat, reserving the juices.
5. Put the juices back into the pressure cooker along with the bones and reduce, uncovered.
6. Using two forks, rip apart the fat and mix well with the meat. You’re going to love this. Unless you hate eating pieces of fat, in which case, I’m not sure we can be friends.
7. Heat a pan to high with oil. Fry the meat in batches until brown, crispy bits form.

Lunch it up!

It’s easy to wrap this up in a flour tortillas with some fixin’s, but I have recently been introduced to burrito bowls, so I made my own. I packed:

1. Carnitas with brown rice in a microwave-safe container
2. Lettuce, tomatoes and black bean salad (recipe below) in a leak-proof container
3. One whole avocado. Bring some cling wrap in case you don’t want to eat the whole avocado and want to save the rest for later.

When it’s time to eat, heat up the rice and meat. Dice half the avocado and mix it all together with some hot sauce. Then you’ll get this beautiful thing, where every bite is a different adventure!

Bonus recipe: black bean salad

Mix together:

• 1/2 can of black beans, drained
• 1/2 shallot, minced very very finely
• 1/4 coriander, chopped
• Juice of lime to taste
• Salt to taste