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    You are here: Home » Instant Pot Recipes » Best Damn Instant Pot Pulled Pork

    Best Damn Instant Pot Pulled Pork

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    Last Modified: August 3, 2021

    Recipe for the best damn Instant Pot pulled pork
    Recipe for Instant Pot electric pressure cooker pulled pork

    This is the best damn pulled pork recipe i’ve ever made. Yes, you read that correctly. And it’s made in an Instant Pot electric pressure cooker!

    Pulled pork is something you always see on those barbecue competition shows where people go to great lengths to prepare and cook with all kinds of methods. Most often, these methods require huge pieces of equipment, lots of space (outdoor space), and a ton of time and commitment to make. Now don’t get me wrong, you have an opportunity to sink you teeth into pork that’s been cooked this way, it’s an experience that’s simply a festival of flavor you’ll never forget. Many of the best real BBQ joints will start making their pulled pork days ahead of time and when it’s ready to eat, people line up. And when these places run out of food for the day, that’s it until next time.

    In the last couple of years, along comes electric pressure cookers such as the Instant Pot and people go crazy for these things! And there’s a reason for that – because they open up all new possibilities for making incredible food. Pulled pork is tops on my list of favorite foods to make with an Instant Pot. From start to finish, it can be done in under 2 hours. No kidding!

    We start with a pork butt roast. You can get either bone-in or boneless. If you find ones that are vacuum packed and the packaging indicates that the pork contains a 12% solution, this means that the roast is brined. Those are the best to use. Meat is brined this way to maintain tenderness and juiciness. You can always make your own brine, but that’s a topic for another day. Go with the brined meat if you can. If the meat has a noticeable fat layer on it, you’ll want to cut that off. I generally like to use a roast that’s 4lbs. I cut the meat into 4 pieces of equal size, cutting out the bone if it has one.

    Start with a good rub

    Our pulled pork will be getting it’s flavor start by applying a rub. We use simple ingredients that include brown sugar, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, ground mustard, salt, pepper and a dash of cayenne. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl and add the pieces of pork. Use your hands and toss it all together for a couple of minutes. Make sure that seasoning mixture is well incorporated into the meat.

    Sear the meat

    Barbecue flavors can be complex and one of the keys of great BBQ is the slow roasting/smoking of the meat. Since we can’t do that, we’ll create complex flavors of our own by searing the meat. We do this by adding 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the Instant Pot and setting it to the saute mode. Once it’s hot, we carefully add our chunks of pork. I generally like to do 2 chunks at a time. It’s just much easier to work with in batches like this. Use tongs and gently place the chunks into the hot oil. Let the meat sear for about 2 minutes and turn over to get the other side for another couple of minutes. Get the sides too if possible. After searing the meat, remove from Instant Pot and set aside on a plate. We then need to deglaze the pot. This is very important! After sauteing, press cancel and add ½ cup of chicken broth to the pot. Use a wooden spoon and scrape all the bits off the bottom of the pot. It should take about a minute or so. Make sure to get it all and do not discard anything! All this goodness is part of the flavor for our pulled pork.

    Pressure cook with Chicken Broth

    Chicken broth is the perfect liquid for pressure cooking pork. It adds flavor that you simply cannot get with water. To round out the flavors, we’ll be adding some Worcestershire sauce and liquid smoke. These flavors work together to bring about a boldness and savory aspect that you’d normally get from the smoking/slow roasting methods of traditional BBQ. Naturally we’re going to emulate those flavors and the combination of Worcestershire and Liquid Smoke in the pressure cooker works wonders.

    After you’ve deglazed the pot, add the rest of the wet ingredients and place the chunks of pork directly into the liquid. Don’t stack it, spread it out as best possible. Secure the lid, close the vent and pressure cook on high for 1 hour. After the hour is up, let the pressure release naturally for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes you can quick release any remaining pressure.

    Pull the Pork

    Carefully remove the chunks of pork from the Instant Pot to a large bowl. The pieces may fall apart and that’s just fine. Once all the pork pieces are in a bowl, use two forks to shred the pieces.

    Add favorite BBQ Sauce and Serve

    At this point, your pulled pork will already be full of flavor. Just try a piece and you will be amazed! You can serve just like this (with some of the juice from the pot drizzled in). Or, you can add your favorite BBQ sauce. Add the sauce in small amounts to start. You don’t want the pork swimming in the sauce, but rather the sauce complimenting the pork.

    One of my very favorite ways to enjoy pulled pork is with some BBQ sauce and heaped onto a good piece of white bread. Use a fork to enjoyed this open-faced sandwich approach. Add a little coleslaw on top too for added flavor and texture. Be sure to have some pickle slices on the side too.

    Want to try this recipe with chicken? Check out our recipe for The Best Damn Instant Pot Pulled Chicken!

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    Instant Pot pulled pork recipe

    Best Damn Instant Pot Pulled Pork


    ★★★★★

    5 from 342 reviews

    • Author: Recipe Teacher
    • Total Time: 1 hour 10 mins
    • Yield: 6-8 servings
    Print Recipe
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    Description

    The most amazing, tender, juicy and delicious Instant Pot pulled pork recipe.


    Ingredients

    • 4lb Pork Butt Roast, boneless or bone-in
    • 3 tbs light brown sugar
    • 2 tsp salt
    • 1 tsp ground mustard
    • 1 tsp black pepper
    • 1 tsp onion powder
    • 1 tsp paprika
    • ½ tsp garlic powder
    • ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
    • 1 ½ cups chicken broth
    • 1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
    • 1 tsp liquid smoke
    • 2 tbs olive oil
    • ½ – 1 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce.

    Instructions

    1. Trim fat from pork roast and cut into 4 same size chunks.
    2. Add all dry ingredients to a large bowl and whisk together. Add pork roast chunks to rub mix and coat well.
    3. Add 2 tbs olive oil to Instant Pot and set to saute. Once it indicates hot, add 2 pieces of the pork. Sear on each side for about 2 minutes each. Remove pork and set aside on a plate. Repeat with remaining pork pieces.
    4. Once pork is seared and removed from pot, press cancel and add ½ cup chicken broth. Use a wooden spoon and deglaze the bottom of the pot. Make sure to scrape up all the bits. Then add remaining chicken broth. Worcestershire sauce and liquid smoke.
    5. Place pork chunks directly into the liquid in the pot, spacing out as best possible. Secure lid and make sure vent is set to sealing. Pressure cook/manual on high pressure for 60 minutes.Then let pressure release naturally for 20 minutes or until pin drops.
    6. Remove pork to a large bowl and shred with 2 forks. Add your favorite BBQ sauce as desired. Or use the juice from the Instant Pot – it’s loaded with awesome flavor!
    • Prep Time: 10 mins
    • Cook Time: 60 mins
    • Category: Dinner
    • Method: Pressure cooker
    • Cuisine: American BBQ

    Keywords: instant pot, pulled pork

    Did you make this recipe?

    Be sure to leave a comment and rating below. I appreciate your feedback!

    Also, tag @recipe_teacher on Instagram and hashtag it #recipeteacher

    Recipe for Instant pot pulled pork

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    Comments

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      Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

    1. Mireille Delisle-Oldham

      January 09, 2023 at 3:15 pm

      Wow. Brilliant! I proceeded exactly as per the recipe, and as suggested by another reviewer used my KitchenAid to quickly separate the meat. Thanks SO MUCH!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    2. Kari

      January 08, 2023 at 5:55 pm

      Excellent pulled pork recipe for my instant pot! Love it. The only change (if you could call it) that I made… After release, I put the meat into my kitchenaid mixer & ran on low for about 30 seconds & it pulled the pork apart for me. Easy Breezy! Thank you.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    3. Sean

      January 07, 2023 at 9:53 pm

      Best pulled pork I’ve had in my life, and so easy. Thanks for the great recipe!

      Reply
    4. Sonja Springman

      January 06, 2023 at 6:59 am

      Very good flavor and easy to make. Ended up eating it plain, no bbq sauce needed my pork butt was 7lbs so I just doubled the ingredients and it turned out awesome! Thanks for sharing this recipe!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    5. MamaP

      January 02, 2023 at 9:47 pm

      This smelled SO good while it was cooking, definitely a recipe that makes you hungry! It tasted even better, I served it in tacos with coleslaw and BBQ on the side. When the pork came out I added a little of the juices to it even though it was super moist as is, just for extra flavor. Definitely sear it, it adds so much flavor!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    6. Emily

      January 01, 2023 at 12:00 pm

      If I don’t have liquid smoke, is there anything I can use to substitute? Apple cider vinegar? Also, how much of whatever you recommend? Thank you!

      Reply
      • RecipeTeacher

        January 01, 2023 at 1:00 pm

        Hi Emily. You can just leave it out. If you have some smoked paprika, add about 1 tsp to the rub. Other than that, it’s ok to just leave out.

        Reply
        • Emily

          January 01, 2023 at 8:59 pm

          Thank you!

          Reply
      • Mireille Delisle-Oldham

        January 09, 2023 at 10:20 am

        You can use smokey paprika

        Reply
    7. Debbie

      December 24, 2022 at 1:06 pm

      This looks so delicious. I havea 7lb. Pork butt what would the cook time be for the instant pot please? Also, would i double the broth amount n seasonings?

      Reply
      • RecipeTeacher

        December 24, 2022 at 4:57 pm

        Hi Debbie. So the time will probably be the same. Yes, double the seasonings. You do not need to double the liquid, but you can add an extra 1/2 cup of broth.

        Reply
    8. Annette Coleman

      December 24, 2022 at 9:59 am

      I have a large family, so we have an 8.5 lb roast would you double the dry ingredients or would there be enough to coat all four pieces of roast?

      Reply
      • RecipeTeacher

        December 24, 2022 at 4:58 pm

        Just make sure that it can all fit comfortably in the Instant Pot. Double the seasonings and add another 1/2 – 3/4 cup broth.

        Reply
    9. Tim Conde

      December 20, 2022 at 11:30 pm

      I shoot for a 4-5 pounder with the bone in. I follow the recipe pretty close but no cayenne pepper, liquid smoke, or garlic powder. I have a smoker if I need a smoky flavor for some reason. One big change that I do is to substitute a 12 ounce Pepsi for the liquid. I have eaten slow cooker pulled pork where the only addition to the cooker other than the butt was a 12 oz. can of Pepsi. But it lacked the complex flavors I was looking for. Now the fam and I are in Pulled Pork Heaven.

      Reply
    10. Sharon

      December 16, 2022 at 9:23 pm

      This was amazing! Best pulled pork I’ve ever had

      ★★★★★

      Reply
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