Best Instant Pot Carnitas Recipe

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Why this is the best Instant Pot Carnitas recipe

Like all great recipes, this Instant Pot Carnitas recipe rules for two reasons: it's easy enough to do over and over again and it tastes like the taco truck. Once you make this, you might think twice about ever getting takeout carnitas ever again.

The first step is crucial

You must sear the chunks of pork before you place the meat in the Instant Pot. But that's not all. You also must sear it in a hot cast iron pan. I suppose any pan you can sear meats in will work. But whatever you do, don't use the sear function in the Instant Pot. Why? It just doesn't get hot enough. Also the surface area is small so it is tedious when working with any amount over a pound. And finally, searing in a pot means you will collect steam which is the enemy of searing. I know some people will skip this step but you will end up with a less impressive final dish.

Keep the ingredients simple

Salt. Pork. Garlic, Bay leaves(I skipped them on this occasion). And some oranges, halved, squeezed with the remaining rind tossed in. Oh and just enough water to not trigger the burn function. Sometimes I'll use homemade chicken stock(also made in the Instant Pot). That is it. I've seen recipes that needlessly add chili powder, cumin, oregano. Now look, I'm not Mexican and I've never made carnitas the traditional way with lard. That being said, I've had a ton carnitas tacos and I've never said "damn I'm really tasting the cumin right now". Just remember the punch of flavor beyond the rich meat comes from salsa and the other toppings(more on that soon).

Broiler for the finish

This step is as important as searing or even turning the Instant Pot on. Once the meat is made tender in the Instant Pot, remove it with tongs and put it back in the same pan you seared it in. Shred the meat with two forks to your desired texture and broil it up for about 5-10 minutes. Be careful to not let it burn and mix it up so you can render more fat and brown up the meat more evenly. Repeat the broiling process as needed. At this point, you should have enough fat from the searing to keep the meat moist and be able to brown it up. You can always add a little lard too or a little oil but you shouldn't have to if you picked up a well marbled pork shoulder. Carnitas is traditionally cooked in lard so if you want to recreate the flavor experience at home, make sure you are using a fatty pork shoulder.

The right toppings

Choose your salsas wisely and don't forget the toppings. Chopped onion and cilantro are always great in tacos but in the case of this rich pork, become even more crucial for textural contrast and flavor balance. I like a green salsa to go with my carnitas so either tomatillo salsa or one with some avocado in there too. Finally a quick pickle red onion and habanero mix really sets the taco off.

The next best thing to a trip to Mexico

Is making great Mexican food at home. By the way . . .this is CHEAP TO MAKE. Pork shoulder at the supermarket is pretty affordable even these days. Heck you can even splurge and get pork from a local farm and it will still be a steal compared to going out to eat. Finally I do want to give some props to the following recipe creators who helped guide me here. Honeysuckle started my journey with this great YouTube video documenting her method.  When I wanted to hone in a more traditional flavor profile I discovered Leite's Culinaria version here. Feel free to go down the Instant Pot Carnitas rabbit hole and definitely try this version too!  

Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 pounds fatty pork shoulder, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons Kosher salt
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 bay leaves
• two oranges
• 1 cup water or chicken stock

Steps

• Season pork with Kosher salt
• Sear chunks of pork in a very hot Cast Iron pan will brown on most sides, reserve pan
• Juice two oranges into Instant Pot and add the leftover rind along with garlic, bay leaves and water/chicken stock
• Add the pork to Instant Pot and cook under high pressure for 35 minutes, then natural release
• Remove pork and place back into same cast iron pan used to sear with and shreds with forks or tongs to desired texture
• Broil for 5-10 minutes, being careful not to burn the meat. Use tongs to mix up the meat and crisp evenly. Add fat(lard or oil if needed)
• Grab a tortilla and some salsa and enjoy!

PS: here is the recipe for the quick pickle red onion Habanero topping

The Best Food in Austin Texas: March 2025

The Vitals: the spot: Bloody Mary Festival Fair Market, 1100 E 5th St., Austin, TX 78702 the eats: Bloody Marys. Micheladas and a few nibbles the bucks: $72.95 VIP, $54.95 General Admission the full nelson: The Best Brunch cocktail for a good cause 

Spice, Vodka, and Madness all for a good cause

If you are on the hunt for the best food in Austin, chances are a cocktail might be up your alley. When it comes to cocktails for breakfast, we all know that the Almighty Blood Mary is the king(or Queen) of the mountain top. But who serves up the Best Bloody Mary in Austin TX?

The best Bloody Mary in Austin

Turns out it was Industry and Day Maker Half Day Cafe for the categories of traditional and original respectively. But the real winners were the young women of Austin. Proceeds from the event went to a local organization called the Girls Empowerment Network whose mission is support young women a variety of challenges ranging from anorexia/bulimia, teen pregnancy or drug abuse among many other obstacles. The Vitals: the spot: Granny's Tacos 1401 E 7th St, Austin, TX 78702 the eats: Breakfast Tacos  the bucks: $15 the full nelson: Breakfast Tacos with a full bar upgrade

Bang for your Buck Breakfast Taco.

Granny's Tacos is a taco trailer that has been holding it down in East Austin for almost 10 years. The fact that you can get two large, like 6" flour tortilla sized tacos stuffed with scrambled eggs and chorizo or bean/cheese/bacon/avocado for $5 each easily qualifies for the Best Food in Austin category. But the recent game changer is the addition of a full bar.

Taco recommendation: bean+bacon+cheese+avocado

Hangover not required here. And keep in mind, this custom taco, loaded with four ingredients, including avocado is $5. That's winning in the inflation game in 2025. And how you stay in the hunt for the best food in Austin for the rest of the year. The Vitals: the spot: La Plancha + Cuantos Tacos collab at 701 E Martin Luther King Jr Blvd Unit 101, Austin, TX 78702 the eats: Collab Torta with Cuantos Tacos's Mexico City style tripe(tripas) the bucks: $15 the full nelson: The elite taco & torta collab you have been dreaming about for one day only: Saturday March 29th 

The Best Torta in Austin is for one day only

Cuantos Tacos has received national acclaim for their Mexico City style tacos in the NY Times and on the PBS series Taco Mafia. La Plancha has been a low key gem in East Austin serving Tortas, the unofficial sandwich of Mexico from a chef who trained at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park. Now these two forces of Mexican gastronomy are teaming up this coming Saturday for a collab that is sure to be some of the best food in Austin.

Mexico City style taco meets a elevated Torta(sandwich)

Full disclosure this torta shown above is what one could call an artists conception of what the collab could be. The torta above is a similar idea. Refried beans, bacon, a fried egg and arugula combine for an unconventional yet elevated version of a Torta. This is what I made during peak pandemic cooking days. I can only imagine what Chefs Luis "Beto" Robledo and Mariha Hinojosa come up with. But I can taste it and it is bound to be some the best food in Austin. The Vitals: the spot: Tare + Sana Sana Taqueria at 12414 Alderbrook Dr, Austin, TX 78727 the eats: tasting menu from a James Beard Finalist and Michelin Guide recognized chef the bucks: $$$$ the full nelson: 8-Course Tasting Menu by Chef Joseph Gomez | Cocktails & Beverages by @tareaustin 

A fine dining Mexican tasting menu

This Sana Sana Taqueria will pop up on weekdays when Tare is closed, continuing to tell the story of Chef Joseph Gomez’s roots in the Rio Grande Valley. The son of migrant workers, Gomez reimagines food traditions from the Rio Grande Valley and Northeastern Mexico through the lens of Chicano futurism—exploring what cuisine in these regions might look like if borders didn’t exist. The originality of the concept alone might qualify it for some of the best food in Austin.

It has been selling out. Make reservations now.

The pop-up features two seatings at 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. and will also showcase cocktails from Tare’s forthcoming bar, Bare, set to open beneath Tare at the end of the year. Expect drinks like the No Mames Whey, crafted with tequila, sake, and edamame syrup. The experience is priced at $150 a person + an optional beverage pairing or alternatively beer and wine are available. Reservations available through Tock.

And that's some of the Best Food in Austin

That you will find this Spring. I for one will absolutely be at the Torta pop this Saturday. Maybe I will see you there!!  

How to make Big Mac Sauce: A Big Mac Sauce Copycat Recipe

Everything you need to make Big Mac Sauce at home

And it's probably already in your fridge and pantry. Big Mac Sauce at it's core is mayo spiked with yellow mustard and relish. What gives it the signature "taste" is everything that comes next.

The most important ingredient for making Big Mac Sauce at home

Is plain old white sugar. My version also includes stuff like onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, and vinegar(distilled or white wine) but the sugar is clutch. It's what makes it a fast food experience: the addictive quality.

How to make Big Mac Sauce ingredients and directions

Ingredients:

• 1/3rd cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
• 1 tablespoon pickle relish(sweet is best but I made do with regular, just added more sugar)
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar or more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon white wine vinegar
• pinch of garlic powder
• pinch of onion powder
• pinch of paprika

Directions

Place 1/3 cup mayonnaise,1 teaspoon yellow mustard, 1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish, 1 teaspoons granulated sugar, 1/4 teaspoon white wine vinegar, pinch of paprika, pinch of garlic powder, and pinch of onion powder in a small bowl. Whisk to combine.

If you like Big Mac Sauce, I'd check out this post on how good it is with Tater Tots . . . on the burger!!

Watch this video to see how I make Big Mac Sauce(and a smashed burger)

 

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How to make Raising Cane's Sauce

A few weeks back I tried Raising Cane's for the first time. Oddly enough I had already tried the sauce because apparently it's delicious on Smashed Burgers like the one served at Dayne's Craft BBQ in Fort Worth TX. The sauce is the main draw at Raising Cane's and the best part about it is that you can easily make Raising Cane's Sauce at home.

What you need to make Raising Cane's Sauce

The most crucial elements to making Raising Cane's Sauce is probably already in your fridge. Mayonnaise and Ketchup are the two most important elements in the recipe. After that, most people have to speculate how to make Raising Cane's Sauce because the recipe is a secret.

The best Raising Cane's Sauce Copycat recipes according to Google

I did a search for the Raising Cane's Sauce recipes that topped Google's rankings. The Kitchn has been a long time resource for me so trying that recipe out was a no brainer. I enjoy Sonny Hurrell's cooking videos so I was happy to try his version. Finally I found a Raising Cane's recipe by Alpha Foodie, a recipe blogger.

Which Raising Cane's Sauce recipe was the best?

I tried all three versions of Raising Cane's sauce and compared them a sample of Raising Cane's sauce from an actual Raising Cane's location. Watch the video below to see which one was my favorite:

The winner:

The Raising Cane's Sauce copycat recipe that came the closest was Sonny Hurrell's aka That Dude Can Cook. In his video he struck me as being nonchalant about the key ingredient but trust me, make sure you add the lemon juice. And now for the recipe

How to make Raising Cane's sauce at home, step by step recipe

Recipe

Ingredients: Steps

• 1/2 cup mayo
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp lemon juice

Steps:

• in a mixing bowl, add mayonnaise and ketchup, whisk vigorously(ok maybe not super vigorously)
• add garlic salt, Worcestershire, black pepper and lemon juice, whisk as vigorous as before
• Or just dump everything at once, then whisk vigorously
• voila - you just made Raising Cane's sauce at home, serve at once or keep it in fridge till it's ready because it's mayo for Christ's sake

PS: if you like copycat recipes check out my hack for making Herdez Salsa at home

   

The best burgers of Fort Worth TX

One year ago I decided to drive up to Fort Worth Texas and eat 10 burgers in like 30 hours. Why? Well if I'm going to do a list of the Best Burgers of Fort Worth, I should put in the work. But the real work was shared on this Reddit thread which served as my dining guide. So a shoutout to net neutrality for shattering the gatekeepers put knowledge back into the hands of the people. Ok, now back to this list of the Best Burgers in Fort Worth, ranked in order:

#6 Pearl Snap Kolaches (closed)

The Vitals: the spot: Pearl Snap Kolaches the eats: Jalapeno Popper Burger the bucks: $ the full nelson: Kolache bun burgers

Sadly Pearl Snap Kolaches has since closed in the year since I traveled in search of the best burgers in Fort Worth. What drew me to Pearl Snap was the Kolache dough used to make a hamburger bun. Picture something close to a King's Hawaiian bun. The patties weren't too impressive, hence the ranking but the Jalapeño popper burger is a genius idea. And that's why I decided to make my own version on the grill. Check out that recipe here.

#5 Fuego Burger

The Vitals: the spot: Fuego Burger  4400 Benbrook Blvd #108, Fort Worth, TX 76116 the eats: Fuego Burger(cheese skirt burger) the bucks: $$ the full nelson: All about the crisp ring of cheese

 If you’re looking to get your TexMex Burger Fix, listen to Reddit and get yourself to Fuego. The signature to this burger is the copious amounts of cheese, a mix of Monterrey Jack and Cheddar, that drapes the burger and fries to crisp on the grill, forming a halo of cheese.

The meat is cooked medium which throws some ppl off but not yours truly. The bun is a little sweet for me, even with the roasted green chilis that are imported from Mexico. And it's a little pricey which is why Fuego Burger isn't an inferno and sits at #5 on the list of Best Burgers of Fort Worth.

#4 Charley's Old Fashioned Hamburgers

The Vitals: the spot:Charley's Old Fashioned Hamburgers 4616 Granbury Rd, Fort Worth, TX 76133 the eats: Fwhatever burger you feel like  the bucks: $ the full nelson: A basic hamburger stand you don't see too often any more Charley's Old Fashioned Hamburgers is a simple burger stand you just don't see that much anymore. The burgers are a step above fast food but that's not to say they don't scratch the itch. So why did I include this place in a list of Best Burgers of Fort Worth? The owners. Deborah Hill started this burger joint in 1991 and over the years her whole family, all the way down to her grandkids have all worked here. The prices and the portions are fair. It's an honest burger stand and you gotta remember that a burger is a cherished food of the working class. The Hill family knows this. They are the salt of the earth, and that's why Charley's Old Fashioned Hamburgers is one of the best burgers in Fort Worth.

#3 Dayne's Craft BBQ

The Vitals: the spot: Dayne's Craft Barbecue 100 S Front St, Aledo, TX 76008 the eats: the smashed burger the bucks: $$ the full nelson: A smashed burger gem at a top Texas BBQ joint Dayne Weaver is one of the coolest friendliest dudes in the Texas BBQ scene and that's saying something. His BBQ joint blew up and took him to a fancy brick and mortar just outside of Fort Worth to Aledo TX. Dayne' told me his customers would turn his BBQ joint into a burger joint which is why he only serves it on Thursdays. I'll just say this: yes, it tastes as good as it looks.

#2 M&O Station Grille

The Vitals: the spot: M&O Station Grill 200 Carroll St Ste 110, Fort Worth, TX 76107 the eats: the Greek Feta Burger the bucks: $$ the full nelson: A Greek Feta Burger??? Yes, and you have to try it! Chef Daniel Badillo is exactly that, a chef. And he has decades of experience working the restaurant industry including fine dining. His command of various culinary styles was probably how I ended up trying the Greek Feta Burger. On paper, it's unusual but here I am a year later . . . still craving it. I tried four burgers here and they were all great. Excellent quality beef patties, a generous serving and killer buns make for a great canvas for the many burger iterations they come up with. You can't go wrong coming to M&O. Just make sure you bring a friend and try more than one burger.

#1 Kincaid's Hamburgers

The Vitals: the spot: Kincaid's Hamburgers multiple locations in Fort Worth, tested at the Camp Bowie location the eats: Cheeseburger the bucks: $7 the full nelson: The most quintessential Texas Burger I have ever tried I love the burger at Kincaid's. So much so that I dedicated a whole post to what I strongly believe is the best burger in Fort Worth and the most quintessential Texas style burger. Anchored in simplicity, quality and value, the half pound patty seasoned only with salt, cooked to a juicy medium/medium well is why this burger joint has been going strong nor nearly 70 years. For anyone who thinks Whataburger is the last word on burgers in Texas clearly hasn't come here. And PS - you dont even need cheese. I went with lettuce, tomato and onion cut thin from a deli slicer, some Best Maid Pickles(available nationwide but from Fort Worth) and some straight up yellow mustard. I never get my burgers this way but it's a Texas style topping move and it works when the beef is as good as it is at Kincaid's. When it comes to looking for the best burgers in Fort Worth, Kincaid's is the G.O.A.T.