These Crispy Baked Carnitas Tacos are sure to be your new favorite weeknight dinner. They come together with my Instant Pot Perfect Carnitas (which come together in less than an hour) that are coated in salsa and cheese and sandwiched between warm corn tortillas. Then, the tortillas are baked to perfection, for the classic crispy taco recipe... but made better. Plus, this recipe comes together in less than an hour, which makes it the perfect easy dinner recipe!
Equipment
- Instant Pot an Instant Pot is essential for making these juicy pork carnitas in a fraction of the time!
Ingredients
For the Pork Carnitas:
- 4 - 4 ½ Pounds Boneless Pork Shoulder with the excess fat trimmed and cut into 3-inch chunks
- 1 Tablespoon Avocado Oil
- 1 ½ Cups Chicken Broth or broth of choice
- ¾ Cup Orange Juice freshly squeezed
- ⅓ Cup Lime Juice freshly squeezed
- 6 Cloves Garlic minced
- 1 Tablespoon Dried Oregano
- 2 Teaspoon Chili Powder
- 2 Teaspoon Ground Cumin
- 2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
For the Tacos:
- 8 Corn Tortillas warmed
- 1 Cup Jack Cheese shredded
- ¾ Cup Salsa Verde
Instructions
For the Pork Carnitas:
- To make these Perfect Pork Carnitas, start by turning the Instant Pot on to the sauté setting.
- Add the avocado oil to the Instant Pot and allow it to heat.
- While the pot is heating, prepare the pork shoulder by trimming away the fat and cutting it into cubes, approximately 3-inches in size (tip: you can also ask your buter to do this for you and skip this step!)
- Once the pot is hot, add the pork shoulder to it and allow it to cook evenly, for 5-6 minutes. You may need to work in batches to ensure that the pork cooks evenly.
- Once the meat has browned, add in the chicken broth, orange juice, lime juice, garlic, dried oregano, chili powder, ground cumin, kosher salt, and ground black pepper. Stir until the meat is fully coated in the seasonings.
- Then, place the cover on the Instant Pot. Turn the settings on to "Manual Pressure," set to "high," and cook for 30 minutes with quick release.
- Once the pork has finished cooking, remove it from the Instant Pot and transfer it to a baking sheet.
- Shred the meat with two forks.
- Then, turn your oven on to broil high and transfer the meat to the oven.
- Allow the carnitas to broil for approximately 3 minutes, until the edges are browned and crispy.
- Once they're done, remove them from the oven and prepare the tacos.
For the Crispy Baked Tacos:
- To make the Crispy Baked Tacos, start by preparing the tortillas. Wrap the tortillas in a damp towel and place them in the microwave for 30 seconds, until they're nice and pliable.
- Once the tortillas have softened, add a scoop of the shredded jack cheese to one side of the tortilla, followed by a scoop of the carnitas.
- Then, add the salsa verde on top, followed by more cheese, and fold the tortilla close. Repeat until all of the tortillas have been used.
- Once the tacos have been prepared, line them up on a baking sheet.
- Take a second baking sheet and place it on top of the baking sheet with the tacos.
- Then, transfer the tray(s) into the oven and allow the tacos to bake for 18 minutes.
- Around the 15 minute mark, open the oven and remove the top tray.
- Then, turn on the broiler and allow the tacos to broil for the last 2-3 minutes. This will make the tacos nice and crispy!
- Once the tacos are done, remove them from the oven, serve, and enjoy!
Calories: 967kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 127g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 333mg | Sodium: 2283mg | Potassium: 2345mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 922IU | Vitamin C: 32mg | Calcium: 344mg | Iron: 7mg
Did you make this recipe?
I’d love to see what you made - tag @kalejunkie
in your posts and I’ll re-share!
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