Instant Pot Garlicky Cuban Pork
This Cuban pulled pork is made with tender shredded pork, marinated in garlic, cumin and citrus and cooked in the pressure cooker or Instant Pot.
Instant Pot Garlicky Cuban Pork
Instant Pot Garlicky Cuban PorkI love Cuban food, and this garlicky pork dish, made in the Instant Pot doesn’t disappoint. It’s perfect to serve over a bed of rice with rice and beans, or with tortillas and salsa and avocados for taco night. Leftovers are great in cuban sandwiches! More pulled pork recipes I love are Italian Pulled Pork Ragu, Filipino Adobo Pulled Pork and Mexican Pulled Pork Carnita Tacos.
I got my hands on Melissa Clark’s new book Dinner in an Instant (affiliate link) which features 75 recipes for pressure cooker and slow cookers. Recipes like Duck Confit, Polenta, Risotto, etc. The recipes are decadent for sure, so I chose one I knew I could tweak to keep the calories down.
This is very similar to my Slow Cooker Pernil, in fact if you don’t have an Instant Pot (btw you should!) and wish to make this in the slow cooker, you can do so for 8 hours on low. It makes enough for several meals, it’s gluten free and kid-friendly.
Cubans don’t typically eat their pork with tortillas, instead they eat it with rice and beans like this easy Congri. Or try these quick and easy Cuban style black beans. Of course, there’s no rules when it comes to cooking. I have family in so many Latin countries, we wind up eating a fusion and making it our own.
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Instant Pot Garlicky Cuban Pork
Ingredients
- 3 lb boneless pork shoulder blade roast, lean, all fat removed
- 6 cloves garlic
- juice of 1 grapefruit, about 2/3 cup
- juice of 1 lime
- 1/2 tablespoon fresh oregano
- 1/2 tablespoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 bay leaf
- lime wedges, for serving
- chopped cilantro, for serving
- hot sauce, for serving
- tortillas, optional for serving
- salsa, optional for serving
Instructions
- PRESSURE COOKER: Cut the pork in 4 pieces and place in a bowl.
- In a small blender or mini food processor, combine garlic, grapefruit juice, lime juice, oregano, cumin and salt and blend until smooth.
- Pour the marinade over the pork and let it sit room temperature 1 hour or refrigerated as long as overnight.
- Transfer to the pressure cooker, add the bay leaf, cover and cook high pressure 80 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally.
- Remove pork and shred using two forks.
- Remove liquid from pressure cooker, reserving then place the pork back into pressure cooker. Add about 1 cup of the liquid (jus) back, adjust the salt as needed and keep warm until you're ready to eat.
- SLOW COOKER: Cut the pork in 4 pieces and place in a bowl.
- In a small blender or mini food processor, combine garlic, grapefruit juice, lime juice, oregano, cumin and salt and blend until smooth.
- Pour the marinade over the pork and let it sit room temperature 1 hour or refrigerated as long as overnight.
- Transfer to the slow cooker, add the bay leaf, cover and cook low 8 hours.
- Remove pork and shred using two forks.
- Remove liquid from slow cooker, reserving then place the pork back into slow cooker. Add about 1 cup of the liquid (jus) back, adjust the salt as needed and keep warm until you're ready to eat.
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A favorite, flavorful, and so msny ways to serve it. I used some cabbage blend salad kit, ( with out adding the dressig) added avocado, tomato, and had pork on top. That was wonderful. want to make black beans next.
Not bad but also not super flavorful. Impossible to trim all the fat as well. Would add more spices next time.
So good. We make garli la tostones for sliders, put clothe Cuban pork, ached Swiss, & mustard. Crazy good.Â
This is such an easy and delicious Cuban pork recipe! I have made it several times (both in the instant pot and slow cooker). My favorite way to serve it is with white rice and Skinnytaste Quick and Delicioso Cuban Style Black Beans.
It’s definitely worth it to marinate overnight if time permits! The only substitution I ever make is dried oregano when I’m unable to find fresh, and occasionally I’ll add a little extra garlic. But otherwise, I follow this recipe exactly and it has never let me down!