Pork, Pulled Pork, Carnitas in the pressure cooker

Shove it in a taco with lettuce and aioli *weep*

Well, are we surprised? We all know I'm a pressure cooker fan, so anything I pull out to cook for dinner my first thought is [lately] can I pressure cook this? I made pork carnitas with black beans and steamed rice the other day my usual pressure cooker way. When I took it's picture, I wondered if the picture on the blog was as good as the new one I took and realized, to my horror, that I hadn't blogged the pulled pork, pork shoulder, pork carnitas!! Watch me remedy that fact immediately: 

it's such a beautiful thing... so tender and delicious

TRACYS CARNITAS or PULLED PORK

4 lb pork shoulder cut into 3 inch chunks (or as much as you can get!)
water
spices (I use a combination of cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, smoked paprika)

Season the pork heavily, fry in hot fat to brown, drop into pressure cooker.  Use water to cover pan by 1 inch to remove the tasty fried up bits that stuck to the pan. Pour over pork. 

LOCK AND LOAD, pressure cooker for 35 minutes, leave to release naturally (because I'm never ready when it is!)

Transfer to a foil lined tray, mop the pork with the cooking water and broil until dark and crispy around the edges, 5 minutes?.  Flip the pork, mop and broil the other side.  Toss around with more cooking liquid and serve in tacos, on rice, with a fork, on bread, on or in or with ANY thing. 

Here's the play by play: 

Mmmm, hunks of pork shoulder and an empty pressure cooker...  I take the best pictures.  Ok, there's a little bacon fat in the cooker to fry off the meat that I seasoned with all the spices.  
 

Here's the spice blend, plus salt and pepper

 
Fry until brown,
  

I got impatient and fried the rest in a fry pan which is how I usually do it but was trying to use the cooker only... my bad.  When all the meat is brown, shush it all around in the pressure cooker. 

  
Scrape up any bits with water to about an inch deep and pour it onto the pork.
 
LOCK AND LOAD 35 minutes on high pressure.  When the pressure comes down, LOOK!!!  Oh it's so tender and yummy and look at that delicious fat!  all seasoned and dying to be dunked into with a hunk of bread, freshly made of course... you know I did!

When we want to eat, spread the sad looking (but crazy tender!) meat on a foil liked sheet pan.  Boil down the liquid if you want, I generally do for a few minutes but it's not necessary.  Transfer some to your Pyrex measuring cup.  I have NO idea why I always use this for my liquid but I do... I'm a funny duck.  IF you are so inclined, feel free to add a little barbeque sauce to the liquid if you want a thicker sauce or that sort of flavor.  I am a purist most times but have been known to squirt a little Heinz BBQ sauce in there. Cover your meat rather generously
   
Shove it under the broiler, flip it a couple of times, mop it a couple of times.  OH LOOK!!  *weep*  I love this!
  

on a complete and total aside... as only I do it...  THIS is a picture of my puppy, Alice, she'd just come home from being spayed and was stoned and very sad and would only sit and stare at me, it was unnerving ..

  



OK, back to the pork... just look...

 

We eat this one of two ways...  on the side with steamed rice and tarted up black beans 

or in a taco, corn preferably, with lettuce, cheese and aioli (homemade!) yeah, I only took one picture, we ate it too fast


here you go, just one more look...

Off to the store with you to get some pork and a pressure cooker...I will put this up against any slow smoked pork.  This is so tender and flavorful and the little crispy bits on the corners the broil gives it.  C'mon, you know you wanna.

/enjoy