Instant Pot Pulled Pork

Every now and then, I get a craving for BBQ. Now, since I don’t have a smoker, I’ve had to learn how to improvise and make a BBQ style meal in my own kitchen.

For example, we have a slow cooker pork sandwich recipe that works pretty well for us. Notice I said it works, not that it’s the perfect substitution for slow smoked meat.

Let me be the first to say, nothing replaces the low and slow process of smoking bbq pulled pork. With that being said, if you live a place that doesn’t allow grills or smokers, then a kitchen method might be your only option.

For today’s post, Kim decided to adapt that recipe for preparation in her Instant Pot. The main concern for me was the pork drying out and being tough.

While pressure cookers create meals quickly, if not used properly, you can end up eating well-seasoned shoe leather. Fortunately, Kim has gained a lot of experience working with our pressure cooker and has discovered an important aspect to creating pressure cooker recipes.

Natural release seems to be vital in keeping meat tender and juicy. For that reason, she allowed the Instant Pot to complete a full natural release. Hence the long cooking time.

I’ll say this though, it was worth the wait. You can chose to do a quick release after 20-minutes, but do so at your own risk.

With that little bit of information out of the way, how about we get started making this shredded pork.

Instant Pot Pulled Pork Instructions:

First, gather up all the ingredients you need. Trust me, there are a lot of them for this pressure cooker pulled pork.

After that, go ahead and grab a small bowl and combine all of the dry rub spices. Use a fork or a whisk to break down all the clumps.

Set the dry rub aside and start prepping your pork roast. Next, remove the netting the from the butt or shoulder.

At this point, you can either trim away some of the large pieces of fat or leave them in place like we did. I leave that option up to you.

Personally, I like to keep all the fat on my pork, then remove it during the shredding process. Much like a burger, fat equals flavor so, I tend to leave it place when cooking any meat.

After you’ve prepped the pressure cooker pork shoulder, it’s time to apply the rub. Make sure to coat the roast entirely with the seasonings.

Also, massage the dry rub into the meat with your hands. You can use latex or kitchen gloves if you don’t like touching raw pork.

The point is, the spices need to be pressed into the butt or shoulder and allowed to rest so they’re properly absorbed. Once the dry rub is in place, put the meat into your fridge to rest for at least 30-minutes.

Overnight is best, but 30-minutes will suffice.

Instructions Continued:

Then, while the roast is resting, get your BBQ sauce ready. In a medium to large mixing bowl, combine all of the BBQ sauce ingredients.

Once again, use a fork or whisk to mix everything together and break down any large clumps. Pour the sauce directly into your Instant Pot liner.

Afterward, once the roast has rested, place it into the liner and submerge it into the sauce. Close the lid, seal the valve, and set the manual/high pressure button to cook, using the following formula (3lbs. x 15-minutes =45-minutes, using the 12 psi tab).

Pork needs to cook for 15-minutes per pound. Our roast, with fat, was between 3-3.5 lbs, hence the 50-minute cooking time.

When the timer goes off, you will need to let the pressure cooker complete a natural release for at least 20-minutes. Otherwise, the meat will most likely be dry and tough.

As stated above, Kim let ours go for 40-minutes for a full release. Again, it was definitely worth the wait. Consider serving it with coleslaw, French fries, or home fries.

Last, use tongs to shred the pork and remove any excess fat pieces, if desired. That’s it you’re all done.

You can serve this pork as a sandwich, or a main course. The Instant Pot pulled pork can be stored in your fridge for up to 3-days in a sealed container.

On a side note, I enjoy using the leftovers on a BBQ hot dog or having it with a side of Instant Pot potato salad.

In closing, Kim and I hope you like this adaptation. Hopefully, it will help you enjoy a BBQ flavored dish when you either don’t have access to a smoker or just don’t feel like waiting 12 hours for a low and slow meal.

Pulled Pork Recipe Tips:

The consistency of our BBQ sauce is closer to a North Carolina thickness, meaning it’s thin. If you like thick BBQ sauce, you have two options: cook it down using the sauté function on your cooker, or use a corn starch slurry as a thickening agent.

Another way to lock in juices when working with large cuts of meat is to saute it first. Once you add the rub, you could saute the meat for a minute or so on each side just seal in all the juices.

Apple cider vinegar is usually the vinegar of choice when it comes to BBQ. However, feel free to experiment with a different type of vinegar.

I’m sure sherry vinegar or white wine vinegar would add a unique flavor to the dish.

All out of brown sugar, then try mixing molasses and white cane sugar together to make your own homemade brown sugar.

Can’t get enough BBQ? Then take a look at our grilled BBQ chicken breast. It can be made on a gas or charcoal grill or on a stove-top griddle pan.