This is absolutely one of my favourite meals to batch cook, it’s so versatile! In our household, our go-tos are a zesty Mexican bowl with beans and brown rice, loaded burritos or even a beautifully spiced soup – achieved by keeping all the beautiful cooking juices and adding more bits and pieces to take it to the next level.
I find that a pork shoulder of around 2kg (bone and fat cap removed) cooks beautifully in the pressure cooker in only an hour (plus 15 minutes for natural release), or will be perfect to pull apart in around 8 hours for a slow cooker. You can really use whatever vegetables you have on hand, I like to pop lots of finely diced things in there as they melt into nothing but give the cooking liquid such a great flavour (and perfect way to hide more veggies from the little people).
Freezes perfectly in freezer/oven proof glass containers (I love the Ikea 365 storage containers or even large upcycled jars) for 3-6 months, great for a meal drop or planning out a weekly mexican feast! We hope this one becomes part of your meal rotation in your household.
Mexican Pulled Pork
Ingredients
Pulled Pork
- 2 - 2.5 kg of boneless pork shoulder with the fat cap removed
- 2 large onions diced finely
- 4 cloves of garlic minced
- 2 carrots diced finely
- 1 stick of celery diced finely
- 1 large red capsicum diced finely
- 1 apple peeled and diced roughly
- 3 tablespoons smoky paprika
- 3 tablespoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Splash of apple cider vinegar
- 1 can chopped tomatoes
- 1 cup chicken or beef bone broth
Extra Toppings / Sides
- 1 cup red cabbage shredded
- 1/2 cup tasty cheese grated
- Handful fresh parsley chopped finely
- 1 cup smashed avocado
- 1 lime
- Corn chips or tortillas (optional - for nachos or tacos)
- 1 can red kidney beans or black beans (optional - for soup)
- 1 cup corn kernels (optional - for soup)
- 2 cups cooked brown rice (optional - for bowls)
Instructions
Pulled Pork
- Season the pork shoulder (with the fat cap layer removed) generously with salt, pepper and 1 tablespoon each of smokey paprika and ground cumin. Put aside on the bench to rest.
- Chop all of your vegetables and start browning the diced onion in either a saute-ready pressure cooker or in a pot over medium heat.
- Then add the garlic, carrot and celery to caramelise gently.
- Add the diced capsicum, apple and spices (paprika, cumin and fennel seeds) into the pot and stir to combine.
- If required, transfer ingredients over to the pressure/slow cooker. Then add the pork shoulder to the cooker alongside the other ingredients.
- Pour the bone broth, splash of apple cider vinegar and can of chopped tomatoes over the top season and generously with salt and pepper.
- If using a pressure cooker, set to 60 minutes on high and allow 15 minutes for the natural release at the end. If using a slow cooker, set to low for 8 hours.
- Once the cooker is done (and you've allowed time for the natural release of the pressure cooker), use a pair of large metal tongs to remove the meat and place onto a large plate/bowl. Use 2 forks to pull apart the meat, before returning back to the liquid in the cooker.
- If using for pulled pork standalone (i.e. for bowls or tacos), use tongs to remove your pork and vegetables from the cooker and divvy up between multiple freezer proof containers, making sure to add half a cup of the liquid on top for extra flavour.
- If opting for a pulled pork soup, stir the contents well before adding corn kernels, beans and the juice of half a lime.
- Serve your mexican pulled pork carnitas either with corn chips, brown rice, tortillas topped with smashed avocado, red cabbage, grated cheese and some fresh parsley.
Notes
