Sunday Gravy with yeah right: Carnitas! ¡todo el mundo fiesta!

Good morning fellow worshipers of the gravy. Welcome back.

Today we are going to get after week 3 of my tests and trials with the Instant Pot. I hope you’ve enjoyed this minor deviation from more traditional cooking, it’s been an eye-opener for myself as well. After the various samplings and tinkerings over the last few weeks I am even going to offer a verdict on whether or not you should invest your folding money and buy one of these kitchen gadgets.

The last couple of weeks I’ve focused on the pressure cooking aspect of the Instant Pot rather than all of the other miscellaneous functions. Hey! It’s a rice cooker, a steamer, a yogurt maker, a slow cooker, a dildo, it does every fucking thing! In all honesty the pressure cooking function was the main allure to investing in this little whoozis in the first fucking place. The idea of eliminating the extra hours of slow cooking is indeed an attractive one.

Here’s a related question for you: How many episodes of Sunday Gravy have used a slow cooker or crock pot?

Class?

Oh goddammit!

None!

None is the right answer. I own two slow cookers actually but rarely use them. I do use the smaller of the two as a warmer during the holidays and for Superb Owl parties. It holds and maintains a nice temperature for buffalo chicken dip as well as Rotel/queso dip.

Honestly? I am not that impressed by slow cookers. If you are a working stiff and you want to slow cook something that you can come home to, well shit, I guess that works. Since I don’t cook during the week I don’t have a need. Besides, I’ve always found that a slow cooker tends to produce a more bland and watery dish than traditional stove or stove-top methods do. Maybe it’s just me but I’m not a big fan.

Since I chose to focus on the pressure cooking aspect I think you can now understand why I made dishes that normally require prolonged prep time as a test for the Instant Pot.

Thus you had some Texas chile

and some pre-cooking for pork ribs.

I figured one more go at another dish that requires substantial slow cooking and we can render a verdict. Not to mention we can render some damn fat as well.

Dish number three was an easy choice.

Carnitas!

Yessir we have indeed done carnitas before. Way back in the primordial era of Sunday Gravy. It’s a dish that I’ve been making for decades so it made sense to me to try it using the Instant Pot.

One quick little aside before we venture forth to the recipe, all three of the recipes that I’ve cooked in the Instant Pot have been true yeah right original dishes. There are Instant Pot recipes all over the goddamn planet but the ones I’ve brought to you have been my very own.

You’re welcome.

You deserve it.

Now let’s get after this fucker like a beaver after a birch tree!

Instant Pot Carnitas!

You will need:

1 big slab o pork butt – that’s shoulder to you and me – cut into chunks.

1 medium onion cut into chunks.

7 cloves of garlic minced.

1 cup of chicken stock.

1 cup of orange juice.

1 tablespoon of cumin.

1 tablespoon of chili powder.

1 tablespoon of paprika.

1 tablespoon of salt.

1 tablespoon of black pepper.

1 tablespoon of ground coriander.

1 teaspoon of cayenne – you can add more or less to your liking.

Arrange your spices neatly on a plate.

Nah, I’m just fucking with ya! Just mix them all together in a big ass bowl.

Grab your big ol’ piece of swine…

And let’s get to hacking.

Do you enjoy this part? The hacking down of large chunks of flesh?

You do?

Thank Christ! I thought I was the only lunatic butcher.

Trim off SOME of the fat but not too much and cut the pork down into cubes/chunks. I hacked these down into chunks approximately 2″ x 2″.

Put the chunks of pig into the same bowl that you added the seasonings to. Wash your damn hands then toss the pig bits with the seasoning blend and make sure you get a nice even coating on all of the chunks.

Now before we get to the pressure cooking part I thought I would take a minute and get you a little more familiar with some of the pressure controls on the Instant Pot.

When you set the pot to “pressure” and input the time, you can also set the pot to the “keep warm” function, which will keep the meal warm while also slowly de-pressurizing after it’s done cooking. Remember the “natural” release versus “instant” release? Yeah, that is the natural release.

Just to familiarize you a bit more, here is the top of the lid for the Instant Pot.

These are the pressure controls. I will explain them as clearly as I can.

This little fucker is the steam release button. It is currently in the “down” or closed position. This will be the correct setting when you are pressure cooking. If you were to depress this button thus allowing it to pop up?

Big goddamn steam exhaust low pressure melt off part of your face type shit. If you wanted to use the “Instant” release function AFTER cooking this would be the action taken. I generally place a towel over that round bob looking thing located behind the steam release valve to reduce the amount of steam blasting towards my kitchen ceiling.

This bastard here:

Is the “pressurized” indicator. It is shown in the “up” or “pressurized” position. When you turn the pot to pressure cook like this,

you lock the lid into the “locked” position and wait until the pot pressurizes. This is after you’ve already added all of your to-be-cooked items to the pot obviously. When that little lever pops up, the pot has pressurized and it will soon begin cooking. When the cooking is over you will not be able to unlock the pot until this button:

drops into the down or “de-pressurized” position. This happens after about 10 minutes of “natural” steam release followed by 5-6 minutes of “instant” release. When the button drops down, you can unlock the lid and you are ready to FIESTA!

Does that make sense?

Jesus, I thought I was off rambling again.

Anyway back to the recipe.

Add about 1 cup of chicken stock to the bottom of the still turned off Instant Pot.

Next we will be adding in the seasoned piggy chunks. You don’t need to use the basket or “trivet” for this just put the chunks right in the pot.

Next add in the chopped onion and garlic and pour the cup of orange juice over the top of everything.

Set the pot to pressure cook high with the timer set for 40 minutes and the warming function turned on. Lock the top lid into place and hit start. Once it comes to temperature and is pressurized the cooking process begins.

When the meat has cooked, let the steam naturally release for 10 minutes, then place a towel over the steam bob and depress the “instant” release switch. When that little silver knob dealie…

drops down you can unlock the pot and remove the carnitas. They will be, obviously, steaming hot.

Place the pork into a baking dish, pre-heat your regular oven to 425 and put the carnitas into the oven just long enough to brown and crisp the outside of the pork.

There you go! You could eat the carnitas “as is” coming right out of the pressure cooker but we want that crispy exterior.

Serve along with some sides of choice. Here we have some refried beans, some of my famous chili tepin and a batch of fresh salsa. You can use corn or flour tortillas as you see fit.

Fucking hell! That is the real goddamn deal. The thing about this preparation of the carnitas is it allows the fat to render on the inside of the chunks of pork. The outside is perfectly well seasoned and then when you crisp them in the oven? Shit yeah, folks. The end result is a bit of perfectly cooked and seasoned pork that has a crisp edge on the outside but when you bite into it it has the melted down fatty goodness that we all love and enjoy.

Fucking epic. The orange juice gives the whole thing a solid citrusy dynamic and you can blow some fucking minds with this recipe. On a weeknight yet!

Final verdict time! Is the Instant Pot worth the investment to add to your collection of kitchen toys?

Fuck yes it is.

Buy this little monkey and enjoy.

I will be returning to more normal fare next time but I do promise to incorporate the Instant Pot into my meal preparations going forward.

This has been yeah right from the DFO test kitchens.

Thanks for being there dear readers.

Enjoy your long weekend.

PEACE!

 

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yeah right
yeah right is a fully vaccinated lifelong Vikings fan, food guru and LA Harbor resident with a black belt in profanity.
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Dolph Ucker

Happily, I am in a blue state. I am white, however, my eyes are quite red. Because green.

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

Let me know if you want any more info for your trip to ….. Big D.

Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

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Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

NO! I mean Denver.

ballsofsteelandfury

New Thread!

scotchnaut

I will new thread that thread so hard!

/what?

theeWeeBabySeamus

JoAnn Fabrics likes this +1

scotchnaut

“Jesus. That carpenter is really good!”

-John The Baptist, race announcer

theeWeeBabySeamus

“She doesn’t eat much, either. So she’s a cheap date.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woKKnEn8h9w

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

“That’s a nice turn.” – John, admiring Jesus’ lathe work

scotchnaut

“Goodbye Danica-your unrelenting adequacy made great copy.”

-Sportswriters

theeWeeBabySeamus

BTW…while I was in California for two weeks ingesting legal weed products, all of my “weedlings” died here at home.

*sigh*

scotchnaut

“Will no one think of the weedlings?”

theeWeeBabySeamus

I just planted more, fwiw.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVHUjzZZGQ4

scotchnaut

Will Power-

Biggest Strength: Never cheats on a diet

Biggest Weakness: Very stubborn

herodotus450

No one cuddles with Will Power!

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

Strap in and feel the G’s…yep, checks out.

Mr. Ayo

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theeWeeBabySeamus

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Mr. Ayo

Someone is ready for some hammering.

And drilling.

Wink, wink

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

Bryan Singer has that same shirt except with a “T”.

scotchnaut

You’d think that Spencer Pigot’s car would have unlimited horsepower.

scotchnaut

It’s a freakin’ Lester Piggot reference, you troglodytes!

herodotus450

Since countries don’t have mascots on which to blindly base my world cup picks on, I am going on a country’s allegiance in the Treaty of Fontainebleau.

scotchnaut

I think I’ve found vodkafellaslob’s alt account.

Mr. Ayo

I’m going with an advanced analytical method.

Using weighted values for each letter in the countries’ name, I’ll add them up, then divide by the population, then… Wait a minute. I’m not giving away my proprietary formula.

scotchnaut

You and your abacus think you’re so big. smgdh

ballsofsteelandfury

I’m going by average ass size. Shit, I think I just gave away my champion pick…

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

Um, we’ve already established that the United States isn’t participating.

herodotus450

But what happens Luis Suarez takes a bite out of someone’s ass? Do you have to recalculate on the fly?

ballsofsteelandfury

I’m hoping he’s a boob man.

herodotus450

Well he is a boob, man.

scotchnaut

Danica wipes out on lap 68. I guess she owes me one.

scotchnaut

Tony Kanaan-

Biggest Strength: Can turn left with the best of them

Biggest Weakness: Has a large collection of cat-drowning videos

ballsofsteelandfury

Rachel Bilson has a new series!!

theeWeeBabySeamus

Other tWBS: Did you just get an erection?
tWBS: Yes Other tWBS, yes you did.

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Mr. Ayo

lol Danica

scotchnaut

“Her back end got away from her.”*

*she isn’t a good driver

scotchnaut

You know what this race needs? Tits and ass! TITS AND ASS!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SjYwp_qIjk

ballsofsteelandfury

There goes Danica.

WHERE IS AARON RODGERS?!?

Mr. Ayo

We don’t make those jokes anymore

/preemptive strike

Mr. Ayo

In all seriousness, though, I hope she’s not injured.

ballsofsteelandfury

Editor’s Note: We have a World Cup Pool!! Please click the link below to sign up:

https://www.pooltracker.com/join.asp?poolid=149105

The pool password is “Balls”

As always, there will be a fabulous prize given to the winner. Join today!!

herodotus450

I think there’s some mistake, America is not listed in any of the matches?

scotchnaut

And Canada? We’ve been a world power for quite some time.

herodotus450

They probably just couldn’t find Canada on the map to spell it right; anybody can miss Canada, all tucked away down there.

Mr. Ayo

I’m in only to show my ignorance.

Even after reading all the previews here.

ballsofsteelandfury

WhooHoo!

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

Sigh. Have my stories taught you nothing?

scotchnaut

Did a little homework about this wheels thingy. Apparently it doesn’t apply to buses at all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8d8Vo72Kbrk

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

“+1” – Eli Manning

scotchnaut

Okay. So… the faster the wheels turn the faster the car goes, right?

ballsofsteelandfury

And Danica doesn’t win.

scotchnaut

But she does blame someone else though.

herodotus450

More like, Carnit-Yes, amirite?

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

I generally place a towel over that round bob looking thing located behind the steam release valve to reduce the amount of steam blasting towards my kitchen ceiling.

God I’m so stupid. Why didn’t I think of this?

scotchnaut

[takes off shirt, opens bag of cheetos, turns to the Indy 500]

“Now if you’ll excuse me, it’s time to get my Murica on.”

blaxabbath

Gonna bust out my IPot today. Might go your chili route.

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

tWBS said the exact same thing this morning minus a single letter.

blaxabbath

I had to hit the store. I am now waiting at the slowest burrito joint in the world BUT once I get home, I too will be blazing that green wolf.

theeWeeBabySeamus

Sadly, I’m back in a red state. But I’m with you in spirit.

blaxabbath

I’m in a red state. Memorial Day Protip: be white in a red state and you’ll never feel blue.

theeWeeBabySeamus

😛

BrettFavresColonoscopy

Unless it comes with a member of the yeahright family to operate it, I’m probably not buying the instant pot.

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

BFC (artist’s conception):

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montythisseemsstrangetome

I’d like more details on how the Instant Pot can be used as a dildo? Thanks, I’ll hang up and listen.

SonOfSpam

Good morning, executive chef. I’m giving my mother an instant pot for her birthday today.

If anything goes wrong, it’s on you. Just kidding – I expect disasters!

Enjoy your extended family and smoke some sort of blunt!

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

What a crazy coincidence, I’m going to be giving something to your mom today too!

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

Specifically,

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