“Positive and Present” is something Sam and I say to one another a lot. We strive to be present when we’re together and to unplug. I wish it was easy for me to just stop looking at my phone, but it takes real willpower. So in 2018, I’m trying to be present as much as possible. To foster real relationships and spend more time with family and less time on my phone. So when I got an Instant Pot, I realized that this was an easy way to spend less time in the kitchen and more time doing more important things. People, if you only knew just how much time I spent in the kitchen, you’d die. It is unbelievable. Cooking Thanksgiving dinner was nothing to me.
I am not big on fancy kitchen equipment. I lived in a house with no kitchen for two years and cooked everything on a hot plate. I’m a minimalist to the extreme, and I’m always testing myself to see if I can get by with less. I was skeptical of the Instant Pot at first, but I was shocked at how quickly it can make what a slow cooker would take all day to cook, with the same amount of flavor.
These Green Chile Pork Carnitas took just over an hour to make and were perfect with corn tortillas and a little lime juice. You basically throw everything in to the Instant Pot and let it work it’s magic. I did char the tomatillos a bit first to give it a little extra flavor, but it was so easy! It could easily be thrown together after work. So throw it all in, leave it, and go do something else. Go for a run! Read a book! Spend time with your family!
So here’s the down low on the how to work the Instant Pot. It makes some weird noises. Steam comes out. The toggle on the top wobbles around and makes you wonder if it’s normal. It is. But it’s pretty simple once you get the hang of it. But heed my warning! Make sure you wait until the float valve is in the down position before you open the lid. It took about 25 minutes for mine to go down, so be patient or you will have a huge explosion.
Let’s get started on this recipe! First you char the tomatillos under the broiler. You’ll want to remove the husks first, and the outer skin of the tomatillos will be sticky. That’s ok! No need to rinse it off. Let them broil until the top is blackened and blistered and then remove from the oven and cut them into quarters.
Next you’ll add everything to the Instant Pot. Just throw it all in and top it off with that lovely Mexican beer. Then pressure cook it for one hour and let the pressure release before opening.
Once you’re ready to serve, char up some corn tortillas over a gas stove or in a hot pan. Serve with limes and avocados and some yummy beer!
Such an easy dinner! If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can cook this in a slow cooker over low for 6-8 hours instead.
What other Instant Pot recipes have you tried? I’m thinking about trying risotto in mine! See the full recipe for Instnat Pot Green Chile Pork Carnitas below.
- 1.5 lb pork loin, unseasoned
- 6-8 tomatillos
- two 4 oz cans of mild green chiles
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- juice of 1 lime
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 12 ounces of Pacifico or other Mexican beer
- lime slices for serving
- corn tortillas or rice for serving
- Turn on your oven broiler to high. Remove the husks of the tomatillos. Place them on a baking sheet on the top rack of the oven. Broil until one side is blackened. Remove from oven. Quarter the tomatillos. Set aside.
- Add the whole pork loin to the instant pot. Add the tomatillos, chiles, cumin, coriander, salt, black pepper, lime, onion, and beer. Place the lid on the instant pot and lock to "closed." Turn the valve to "sealing." Press "pressure cook" making sure it's on normal and the "high" setting. Set it to one hour. It will take a bit of time to create enough pressure and release steam before the one hour timer begins. Once the timer goes off, wait until the float valve sinks down, so that you know all pressure has been released. Then remove the lid carefully.
- Shred the pork with two forks. Using a slotted spoon, spoon the pork and chiles into a serving bowl, draining off some of the juices. Serve with corn tortillas or over rice with lime slices.
Made this earlier this week and we loved it! We don’t have an instant pot but I did it in a crock pot and it turned out great! Crowd pleaser for the family!
Yay! So glad you loved it <3