Description
Instant Pot Shredded Pork Tostadas. Browned and crispy Mexican-style shredded pork, done in minutes thanks to pressure cooking.
Ingredients
Scale
- 3 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
Accompaniments
- At least a dozen tostadas (whole fried corn tortillas)
- Salsa
- Refried Beans
- Shredded cabbage or shredded lettuce
- Diced Onion
- Guacamole
- Shredded or crumbled cheese
- Minced cilantro
Instructions
- Season the pork: Sprinkle the pork cubes with the salt, then put the pork into the Instant Pot (or pressure cooker pot), pour the 1 cup of water into the pot, and stir.
- Pressure cook for 15 minutes with a natural pressure release: Lock the lid on the pressure cooker. Cook on high pressure for 15 minutes in an Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker (“Manual” or “Pressure Cook” mode in an Instant Pot), or for 12 minutes in a stovetop PC. Let the pressure come down naturally, about 15 minutes. (You can quick release any remaining pressure after 15 minutes)
- Shred the pork: Unlock the Instant Pot lid and open it away from you – the steam is hot. Scoop the pork to a platter with a slotted spoon, then shred the pork with a pair of forks. (It will be fall-apart tender, and this won’t take much work.)
- Crisp the pork (optional): In a 12-inch fry pan over medium-high heat, heat the vegetable oil until shimmering. Spread the shredded pork in the frypan in a single layer and cook until the bottom is browned and crispy, about 4 minutes. Move the shredded pork to a platter with a slotted spoon, leaving behind as much of the oil as possible. Serve the pork on the tostadas with your favorite Mexican accompaniments and toppings.
Notes
- You can crisp the pork in your instant pot, if you want to keep this as a one-pot meal. Before the “Crisp the pork” step, empty the inner pot and wipe it clean. Put it back in the pressure cooker base and set the pot to Sauté mode on high. In two batches, heat the oil and crisp the pork - you don’t want to crowd the pot too much.
- If you have a fat separator, you can crisp the pork in its own rendered lard. After scooping the pork out of the pressure cooker pot, pour the pot liquid into the fat separator and wait for the fat to float to the top. Pour off the pork juices and transfer the fat layer to the frypan. (Add vegetable oil if it doesn’t look like enough to crisp the pork.)
Tools
- 6 quart or larger pressure cooker (I love my Instant Pot electric pressure cooker)
- Slotted Spoon
- 12-inch fry pan
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Weeknight Dinner
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: Mexican