Instant Pot Pulled Pork

Instant Pot Pulled Pork is pork shoulder cooked until it falls apart, then shredded and stirred back into a thick barbecue sauce. It comes out juicy and sticky and piles onto a bun exactly the way you want it to. And it’s done in an afternoon instead of all day.

Pulled pork used to be an all day job. Low heat, a lot of patience, and somebody keeping an eye on it.

The Instant Pot takes that part off your hands. You season the pork, brown it, and let the pot do the rest. Nothing to watch, nothing to baste, no getting up early.

The sauce cooks right along with the meat. Sweet, tangy, a bit of smoke. By the end it’s picked up everything the pork gave off, and you reduce it down until it’s thick and glossy.

Then you stir it back through the shredded pork. That’s the step that is important. Shredded pork on its own is just pork. Shredded pork stirred back into that sauce is pulled pork.

You want pork shoulder. It’s got enough fat and connective tissue to survive a long cook and come out tender instead of dry.

You’ll also see it labeled pork butt or Boston butt, which is confusing because it’s not the butt at all, it’s the upper part of the shoulder. Pork shoulder and pork butt are close enough that either one works here. Buy whichever your store has.

Get it boneless if you can. Bone in works fine, you’ll just pull the bone out before shredding and it slides out easily.

What you don’t want is pork loin or tenderloin. They’re lean, and lean meat cooked this long goes dry and stringy. There’s no saving it with sauce.

• Boneless pork shoulder (4 pounds): Cut into 2 inch pieces so it cooks evenly. Leave some fat on. It melts into the meat and you skim what’s left off the sauce.
• Olive oil (2 tablespoons): For browning the pork before it goes under pressure.
• Chili powder (2 teaspoons), smoked paprika (1 teaspoon), garlic powder (1 teaspoon), mustard powder (1 tablespoon), cayenne (¼ teaspoon), cumin (1½ teaspoons), black pepper (1 teaspoon), salt (2 teaspoons): This is the rub. Mix it in a bowl and get it all over the pork before it hits the pot.
• BBQ sauce (1 cup): Whatever you like. A sweeter sauce gives you a stickier finish, a vinegary one keeps it sharper.
• Ketchup (1 cup): A full cup sounds like a lot. It’s the base of the sauce and it’s what gives it body and that deep red color.
• Honey (¼ cup) and brown sugar (¼ cup, packed): The sweet side. Between them you get that glossy, sticky finish.
• Apple cider vinegar (1 tablespoon): The sharp side. Cuts through all that sugar and fat.
• Garlic (3 cloves, sliced): Goes in the sauce and softens completely.
• Liquid smoke (1 teaspoon): This is doing the job the smoker would. A teaspoon is plenty, it’s strong stuff.
• Worcestershire sauce (1 tablespoon): Savory depth. Nobody tastes it on its own and everybody notices when it’s gone.
• Low sodium chicken broth (½ cup): The liquid the pot needs to come up to pressure.

Cut and season the pork: Trim the big pieces of fat off the shoulder and cut it into 2 inch chunks. Mix all the rub ingredients in a bowl and rub it over every piece.

Brown it: Set the Instant Pot to sauté on high and add the olive oil. Brown the pork in batches, about 5 minutes each, and don’t crowd the pot. This step is worth the extra 15 minutes. It’s where a lot of the flavor comes from.

Mix the sauce: In a bowl, stir together the BBQ sauce, ketchup, honey, brown sugar, vinegar, garlic, liquid smoke, Worcestershire and chicken broth.

Pressure cook: Put all the pork back in, pour the sauce over, and give it a stir. Lid on, sealed, and cook on the Meat/Stew setting for 90 minutes.

Let it release naturally: About 15 minutes. Don’t rush it with a quick release. Meat that’s been under pressure needs to come down slowly or it seizes up and goes tough.

Reduce the sauce: Lift the pork out into a bowl. Turn the sauté function back on and let the sauce bubble down by about half. It’ll thicken as it goes.

Shred and mix: Pull the pork apart with 2 forks, then stir about 2 cups of that reduced sauce back through it. Add more if you like it saucier.

Serve: On buns, with coleslaw and extra sauce on the side.

This recipe runs 90 minutes on the Meat/Stew setting, plus about 15 minutes for the pot to come up to pressure and another 15 for the natural release.

So the pot is busy for roughly 2 hours, and the whole thing start to finish is closer to 3 once you count browning and reducing the sauce.

If it’s still tough when you go to shred it, that means it needs more time, not less. Put the lid back on and give it another 15 minutes under pressure. Tough pork is undercooked pork, every time.

• Brown the pork properly. In batches, not crowded. It’s 15 minutes and it’s the difference between rich and flat.
• Cut the pieces about the same size. Even pieces cook evenly. Uneven ones give you some perfect bits and some chewy ones.
• Natural release, not quick release. Quick release on meat makes it tighten up and go tough.
• Reduce the sauce. It comes out of the pot thin because the pork releases a lot of liquid. Five minutes on sauté fixes it.
• Skim the fat off the top of the sauce before you reduce it if there’s a lot. A spoon does the job.
• It’s better the next day. The pork keeps soaking up sauce overnight.

On a soft bun with coleslaw piled on top. That’s the classic and it’s the one I’d start with. My Easy Coleslaw is the one I make for this.

After that: tacos, nachos, loaded baked potatoes, quesadillas, or piled on top of Triple Cheese Mac and Cheese, which is exactly as good as it sounds.

For sides you want something sharp or crunchy against all that richness. Cowboy Baked Beans, Easy Potato Salad, corn on the cob, or a pile of pickles.

Slow cooker: I’ve got a whole post for that one. Same idea, different appliance, and it runs 6 to 8 hours on low. Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork

Oven: Brown the pork first, then into a covered Dutch oven at 300°F for about 4 hours, until it shreds easily.

Crispy edges: Spread the shredded pork on a sheet pan and broil for 3 to 5 minutes until the edges catch. Then toss it back in the sauce. Worth doing.

Pulled pork keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for 4 days, and it gets better for the first couple days.

Reheat it gently in a covered pan with a splash of broth or water, or in the microwave with a lid on.

It freezes well for 3 to 4 months. You can freeze it shredded and sauced, or freeze the cooked meat in a chunk and shred it when you thaw it. Thaw overnight in the fridge either way.