I love all things tacos. Taco Tuesday might be my favorite day of the week. One particular week I made these amazing beef carnitas that didn’t take as much time as my slow cooker pork carnitas, and were even better. I don’t remember having any leftovers and that’s saying a lot when we started out with a two pound hunk of meat and there’s only three of us.
This recipe alone is enough justification to run our and buy an Instant Pot. You really won’t regret it. There’s so much you can do with it and it’s not scary at all like those old-fashioned pressure cookers.
This recipe came from an Instant Pot magazine that I purchased when I first bought my Instant Pot. I really should try more of the recipes because none of them have ever failed. I made a few changes, but stuck to the recipe.
Gather your ingredients. Chop up an onion until you have a cup. Cut the meat into large 2-inch chunks. I used chuck instead of the stew meat that the recipe lists. Stew meat is a mixed bag, literally. Stew meat is whatever left over meat cuts the butcher has that are good for braising. Because the meat might not be all the same cut, you won’t get consistent results. Some cuts might be tougher than others all in the same package. It’s much better to just have one cut of meat, like chuck, and stick with that.
There are a lot of seasonings, but you probably already have most of them. If you don’t have ancho chili powder, use your standard chili powder. I actually had ancho chili powder so I’m sort of kicking myself. I couldn’t find it and thought I didn’t have any. Time to clean out that spice rack! Or, maybe I just need to make this recipe again. 🙂
Combine olive oil with your seasonings.
Add the beef and mix it until the beef is well coated. Also add your chopped onion, bay leaf, and broth in the pot.
Add the meat to the pot and cook on high pressure for 45 minutes. Plan on an extra 15-20 minutes for the pot to come up to pressure. Sounds long, but it’s worth it. Go watch some TV or something. When it’s done, natural release the pressure, which will take another 5-10 minutes.
Remove the beef with a slotted spoon. Transfer the beef to a baking pan, shred it a little, and let it crisp up in the broiler for about 5 minutes. You can certainly skip this step, which I did. It’s less authentic, but I like the juicy chunks of meat just on its own.
Warm up some tortillas, spoon the carnitas onto the tortillas, add your favorite toppings, and enjoy. I think I was a little heavy handed with the toppings, but I swear the meat is down there somewhere. The meat is super flavorful because of the spices and tender beyond belief. I really did not except these results. Another win for the Instant Pot!
Instant Pot Beef Carnitas
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons kocher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon ancho or red chili powder
- 2 pounds beef chuck cut into 2-inch cubes
- 1 cup onion coarsely chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 1/2 cups beef broth
- tortillas
- your favorite toppings
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, cumin, and chili powder. Cut up the beef into 2-inch cubes and mix until well coated. Place chopped onion, bay leaf, and broth in the pot. Add beef.
- Cook at high pressure for 45 minutes. When cooking is complete, natural release to depressurize.
- Remove the beef with a slotted spoon or large fine-mesh strainer to remove the liquid. Reserve some liquid if you are broiling the meat. Shred or leave in chunks. Serve on warm tortillas with your favorite toppings.
- Optional: Transfer the meat to a baking pan. Use two forks to shred the beef and spread into an even layer on the pan. Broil about 4 inches away for about 5 minutes or until it reaches the crispiness you like. If needed, add some of the cooking liquid to moisten.
