My family loves pulled pork. It is that simple. Back in July of 2018, I shared a pulled pork recipe using a slow cooker and it was amazing. Up until now, I have always used a slow cooker. Recently, I received a new, larger Instant Pot. I have made several recipes in it and have enjoyed them. I thought that it would be interesting to try to make pulled pork in it instead of the slow cooker. I was pleasantly surprised at how moist and tender the pulled pork was from the Instant Pot. I will still use the slow cooker method when I have the time, but on those occasions that call for a quicker method, I will use my Instant Pot.
Pulled Pork Instant Pot Style
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon of packed brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons Paprika
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Cumin
- 1/4 to 1/8 Cayenne, optional
- 3 pound boneless pork roast, cut into cubes
- 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1/3 cup of Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 cups of Barbecue sauce, divided
- 1-1/4 cups chicken or beef broth
- 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce, optional
Directions:
- In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, cumin, and cayenne.
- Season the cube pork pieces with the spice mixture. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the apple cider vinegar, one cup of the barbecue sauce, the hot pepper sauce, and one cup of the broth.
- Turn your instant pot to the saute setting. Add the olive oil and let it get hot.
- Add half of the cube pork pieces to the hot oil and saute for 5 minutes, turning to brown all sides. Remove the browned pieces of pork to a plate and then repeat with the remaining half of cubed pork pieces.
- Turn off the instant pot. Use the remaining 1/4 cup of the broth and a wooden spoon to deglaze the bits from the bottom of the pot.
- Add all of the meat along with the barbecue sauce mixture to the instant pot.
- Close the lid and set to sealing.
- Cook on manual high pressure for 40 minutes. Once the cooking time is up, allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes, then do a quick release.
- Remove the meat from the instant pot and shred. Stir in the remaining cup of barbecue sauce to the pork and serve on buns if desired.
Author’s Notes:
- My pork roast was 5 pounds so I set the manual high pressure for 60 minutes.
- I used 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne and no hot pepper sauce and there was plenty of a kick.
- I used a long handle wooden spoon during the deglazing step because there is steam released when you add the broth. Be careful to not get burned by the steam.
- I used beef broth in this recipe.
- I did a natural release of pressure for 20 minutes.
- I discarded the juice in the instant pot after if removed the meat.
- The barbecue sauce is homemade and is easy to make. Check my blog for this recipe.