This Cochinita Pibil Instant Pot dish is made with pork shoulder, achiote paste, oranges, limes, pickled onion, cilantro and served on gorditas.
This is very traditional Mexican Food from the Yucatán area. Making the pickled onion for this pork dish is completely optional, but it is traditional to garnish Cochinita Pibil with them. You can serve the meat on a tortilla, but I decided to make it on a gordita. This is completely your choice how you want to serve it!
What you will need
Achiote Paste: There are many versions of achiote, or annatto seeds, that come in powder or liquid. You will need the achiote paste for this recipe.
Pork: For the meat, you will need pork shoulder or pork loin.
Orange: I would use juice from freshly squeezed orange instead of orange juice for best flavor.
Limes: I would use juice from fresh limes instead of lime juice for best flavor. If you don't have limes, ¼ cup white vinegar works as well.
How to make Cochinita Pibil Instant Pot
Cut the pork shoulder into 2 inch squares. Do not trim the fat as it gives it a TON of its flavor! You can always pick it off after. Place the cut pork in a large bowl.
Make the sauce. Place the achiote paste, orange juice and lime juice in a blender and blend until smooth. Add the sauce into the bowl with the pork. Marinate overnight for best results. You can also marinate for at least one hour if you are limited in time.
Instant Pot: Add the contents in the instant pot and pressure cook on high for 1 hour.
Slow Cooker: Place the marinated pork int he slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.
Oven: Bake in the oven for 3 to 4 hours. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a large baking dish with three sheets of aluminum foil. Pour in the pork with the marinade in it. Cover with three more sheets of aluminum foil and make sure it has a good seal.
Shred the pork. With a slotted spoon, place the pork into a bowl or baking dish. Shred the pork with 2 forks. It should be extremely soft at this point. Pour the sauce back into it.
Optional: Pickle the onions. Add onion, water, vinegar, coriander and bay leaves into a small pot and bring to a simmer for 2-3 minutes on medium heat. Then remove from heat and let it cool. Add into a bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Garnish with chopped cilantro, lime wedges and/or pickled onions.
Serve on gorditas or freshly made tortillas.
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Cochinita Pibil Instant Pot
- Total Time: 5 hours +
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
This Cochinita Pibil Instant Pot dish is made with pork shoulder, achiote paste, oranges, limes, pickled onion, cilantro and served on gorditas.
Ingredients
Pork
- 3-4 pounds of pork shoulder
- 4 oz of achiote paste
- 6 oranges, freshly squeezed or 1 cup of orange juice
- 5 limes, squeezed
Optional: Pickled onion
- ½ red onion, sliced
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon of coriander or cumin
- 2 bay leaves
Garnish
- Chopped cilantro
- Lime wedges
- Pickled onion
Instructions
- Make the sauce. Place the achiote paste, orange juice and lime juice in a blender and blend until smooth. Add the sauce into the bowl with the pork. Marinate overnight for best results. You can also marinate for at least one hour if you are limited in time.
- Instant pot Recipe: Cook in an Instant pot. Put all ingredients in an Instant pot and pressure cook on high for 1 hour.
- If making in Oven: Bake in the oven for 3 to 4 hours. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a large baking dish with three sheets of aluminum foil. Pour in the pork with the marinade in it. Cover with three more sheets of aluminum foil and make sure it has a good seal.
- If making in slow cooker. Put all ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-7 hours.
- Shred the pork. With a slotted spoon, place the pork into a bowl or baking dish. Shred the pork with 2 forks. It should be extremely soft at this point. Pour the sauce back into it.
- Optional: Pickle the onions. Add onion, water, vinegar, coriander and bay leaves into a small pot and bring to a simmer for 2-3 minutes on medium heat. Then remove from heat and let it cool. Add into a bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro, lime wedges and/or pickled onions.
- Serve on rice, tortilla or gorditas.
Notes
- Make sure to seal the pork well in aluminum foil if baking.
- I ended up topping with spicy mayo which was DELICIOUS. To make this mix 3 tablespoons of mayo and 1 teaspoon of sriracha for a delicious extra kick!
- Prep Time: 1 hour +
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Mexican
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 464.9
- Sugar: 3.6 g
- Sodium: 182.7 mg
- Fat: 32.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 12.0 g
- Carbohydrates: 8.0 g
- Fiber: 0.7 g
- Protein: 32.6 g
- Cholesterol: 127.8 mg
Emma Sawyer
Cochinita pibil tacos is one of my favorite meals. I put these on corn tortillas and they were phenomenal.
★★★★★