Instant Pot® Pulled Pork

  4.2 – 4 reviews  • Pulled Pork

Rich and creamy, this no-bake pie builds up in about an hour. There is a good amount of filling left over, so you can either spoon it into a 10-inch pie shell or individual serving cups.

Prep Time: 30 mins
Cook Time: 1 hr 45 mins
Additional Time: 8 hrs 5 mins
Total Time: 10 hrs 20 mins
Servings: 16
Yield: 16 servings

Ingredients

  1. ¼ cup brown sugar
  2. 1 tablespoon chili powder
  3. 1 tablespoon paprika
  4. 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  5. 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  6. 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  7. 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  8. 1 (4 pound) pork shoulder roast, trimmed, or more as desired
  9. 2 teaspoons olive oil
  10. 1 cup chicken stock
  11. 2 cups water
  12. ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
  13. 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  14. 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste, divided
  15. 1 large sweet onion, quartered, or more to taste
  16. ½ cup ketchup, divided
  17. ½ cup brown sugar

Instructions

  1. Combine brown sugar, chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, kosher salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper in a small bowl. Rub the dry rub mixture all over the trimmed shoulder roast. Pierce roast with a fork to help seasoning penetrate meat. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate, 8 hours to overnight.
  2. Turn on a multi-functional pressure cooker (such as Instant Pot®) and select Saute function. Add olive oil. Cut pork into 4 to 6 pieces and add to the hot oil. Cook a few pieces at a time until browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer cooked meat to a plate.
  3. Add chicken broth to the pot and deglaze the browned bits from the bottom by stirring constantly with a whisk until smooth. Turn Instant Pot® off.
  4. Add water, apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 2 tablespoons tomato paste, onion, and 2 tablespoons ketchup. Top with browned pork. Close and lock the lid, making sure the vent is closed. Select high pressure according to manufacturer’s instructions; set timer for 60 minutes. Allow 10 to 15 minutes for pressure to build.
  5. Release pressure carefully using the quick-release method according to manufacturer’s instructions, about 5 minutes. Unlock and remove the lid. Remove meat and onions and cover to keep warm.
  6. Set Instant Pot® to saute and add remaining tomato paste, remaining ketchup, and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Use a ladle to skim excess fat from the top of the liquid and discard it. Cook until sauce is reduced in volume by about 1/2, about 15 minutes.
  7. Meanwhile, use 2 forks to shred cooked pork into small chunks. Serve meat as desired, topped with the thickened sauce.

Nutrition Facts

Calories 316 kcal
Carbohydrate 18 g
Cholesterol 65 mg
Dietary Fiber 1 g
Protein 16 g
Saturated Fat 7 g
Sodium 1777 mg
Sugars 16 g
Fat 21 g
Unsaturated Fat 0 g

Reviews

Susan Villanueva
Too many steps for quality product. It was okay but didn’t compare to my Traeger smoker. I even purposely used a bone in pork butt for more flavor. Also smoked Paprika? Sauté method in InstaPot to brown meat was sort of a joke. Also reduce sauce by half another joke, put that on stove burner more efficient.
Jon Waters
I followed the recipe exactly, and it was quite good, but the final sauce was flat, one note, and would benefit from a couple tweaks to add depth and make it 5-star, in my opinion. First off, I added a few drops of liquid smoke, and that helped quite a bit. I like heat, too (the cayenne did not come through), so the next time I make this, I will add chipotle for smoke and heat. Second and perhaps more importantly, it definitely needs more tang to balance out the porky goodness. Maybe it just needs more apple cider vinegar, but next time, I’ll substitute sour juice for half the water (orange or perhaps pineapple). Those two additions I hope will make it more like barbeque sauce — smokey, spicy, tangy.
Sonia Allen
Succulent, tender shredded pork with excellent flavor. I cut a large pork shoulder into 6 pieces and marinated them in the rub mixture inside an extra large zipper bag for about 24 hours. I browned the meat very well on saute and then deglazed the pot, discarding the black bits from the pan before pressure cooking. Changes made: 1 whole can of chicken broth (about 2 cups broth), plus water to total 3 cups liquid; for final sauce, add only 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup ketchup, reduce on saute for 30 minutes.
Jasmine Braun MD
Made as written and this turned out pretty good but was too sweet for our tastes. I also felt like there were too many steps and too much hands on which took away from the ease the Instant Pot is supposed to provide. The pork was super tender though so I am giving this 4 stars. I would definitely make this again but would skip making the sauce and just use our favorite Kansas City style bottled sauce which would eliminate that extra step that I didn’t care for that resulted in an overly sweet sauce.

 

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