Instant Pot Pulled Pork
Instant Pot Pulled Pork is unbelievably flavorful, tender, and easy to make! I've included a recipe for a homemade BBQ sauce that goes perfectly together.
- Using Instant Pot is my favorite method to cook meats that usually take a long time, like pork butt. Pork comes out so tender and so flavorful every time.
- The best part is the flavor of the the pork and the homemade BBQ sauce. That it why I made sure to include a recipe for my BBQ sauce in the recipe card!
- I also created the perfect seasoning coating the pork shoulder. This helps infuse the meat with delicious flavor as it cooks.
- And just to take the flavor to the next level, I use apple cider vinegar and apple juice to cook the pork along with the chicken broth. All of these flavors cooked into the meat juices is also what gives the BBQ sauce its flavor.
Featured Comment
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My favorite pulled pork recipe!! A winner every time.” ~Tracy
What Pork To Use?
Pork Butt or Pork Shoulder– Pork shoulder and pork butt actually both come from the shoulder part of the pig. The name “pork butt” can be confusing since it does not actually come from the rear of the animal. Both cuts are shoulder but one is the top part and the other is the bottom part. The best cut for making pulled pork is Boston butt. It has less fat on the outside and the fat is spread more throughout the muscle, making the meat more tender and juicy when slow cooked.
Tips To Make Instant Pot Pulled Pork
- Pork tip: Pork shoulder often comes pre-cut and tied together. If your pork is not cut, cut it in half. I find it easier to sear pork in an Instant pot as one piece tied together because of the smaller space. Just untie it after searing, before cooking.
- Combine all the seasoning ingredients in a bowl and spread it in a rimmed baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Place pork shoulder on a sheet of parchment paper and season it generously on all sides. (This helps with even coating and not making a mess!)
- Don’t skip the searing step! Sear seasoned pork on all sides until browned. Use metal tongs to turn the meat.
- (Always consult your pressure cooker’s manual.) Close the lid and make sure it’s latched. Turn the valve to “seal” and cook on high pressure cook mode.
- Release the pressure slowly. Let it naturally release for 10-15 minutes. You can carefully do manual release after that. (To make you feel safer, you can wrap a towel around your hand when turning the pressure valve.)
- SAVE the cooking juices to make the BBQ sauce! Pour the cooking juice through a fine mesh strainer before using.
- You can use the same Instant Pot to make BBQ sauce. Combine the ingredients and bring it to simmer and slowly stir while it simmers for a few minutes.
- Pull pork apart once it’s cooled enough to be handled. As you’re working through it, discard excess fat and membrane.
How to Make Pulled Pork in the Crockpot
- To make this in a slow cooker, sear the pork in the pan or in a skillet first. Transfer seared pork into the slow cooker, pour in the apple juice mixture, and cook on LOW for about 8 hours.
- Make the BBQ sauce on your stovetop. Use a sauce pot and bring it to simmer over medium heat.
Freezing Instructions
- You can easily freeze this pulled pork with or without sauce. Make sure to cool the pork to room temperature before freezing. Portion pulled pork into several zip-top freezer bags, let all the air out, seal and label.
- Freeze for up to 6 months. Thaw slowly, in the refrigerator, overnight.
Serving Suggestions
- Appetizers – Use pulled pork to stuff potato skins, taquitos, and quesadillas.
- Tacos – Top off pulled pork tacos with some coleslaw and use either corn or flour tortillas.
- Sandwiches – The most classic way to serve BBQ pulled pork is on a roll with some pickles and coleslaw. You can also add some on top of burgers.
- Baked Potatoes – Add some pulled pork and shredded cheddar on top of baked potatoes.
- Pasta Casserole – Use pulled pork in pasta casseroles with cheese, BBQ ranch and veggies.
- Also try some of my favorite pulled pork recipes like BBQ Pulled Pork Loaded Fries and The Best Pulled Pork Nachos.
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BBQ Pulled Pork Recipe
Instant Pot Pulled Pork is unbelievably flavorful, tender, and easy to make! I've included a recipe for a homemade BBQ sauce that goes perfectly together.
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Servings: 6 6-8 servings
Calories: 521kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4.5 lb pork shoulder or pork butt*
- 2 tbsp canola oil
- 1 cup apple juice
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
Seasoning:
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 1/2 tbsp paprika
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp cracked black pepper
BBQ Sauce:
- 1 1/2 cups juices from cooking the pork
- 1 1/2 cups ketchup
- 2 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp cracked black pepper
- Salt
Instructions
- Mix apple juice, apple cider vinegar, and broth in a bowl and set aside.
- Pork shoulder often comes pre-cut and tied together. If your pork is not cut, cut it in half. I find it easier to sear pork in an Instant pot as one piece tied together because of the smaller space. Just untie it after searing, before cooking.
- Combine all the seasoning ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Place pork shoulder on a sheet of parchment paper and season it generously on all sides.
- Preheat Instant Pot on "saute" setting and add some oil. Sear seasoned pork on all sides until browned. Use metal tongs to turn the meat. Turn saute setting off when pork is browned.
- Pour apple juice mixture into the pot.
- Close the lid and make sure it’s latched. Turn the valve to “seal” and set the Instant Pot to cook on high pressure cook mode for 70 minutes.
- Turn off the Instant Pot when it’s done and let it naturally release for 10 minutes. You can carefully do manual release after that.
- Take all the meat out into a mixing bowl and let it cool.
BBQ Sauce:
- Pour the juices from cooking meat out of the Instant Pot into a separate container. Pour it through a fine mesh strainer.
- Set the Instant Pot to "saute" and combine the ingredients for BBQ sauce in the pot. Bring it to simmer and slowly stir while it simmers for a few minutes. Turn off the Instant Pot and set sauce aside, off the heat. (Leftover juices can be used to make gravy.)
- Pull pork apart once it's cooled enough to be handled. As you're working through it, discard excess fat and membrane.
- Combine pulled pork meat and BBQ sauce until thoroughly mixed together.
Video
Notes
- Want to use bone-in pork butt? You can! Just a couple of things to remember when using bone-in pork butt. Remember to account for the weight of the bone. So either get a larger piece or know that you won’t get as much meat out of the piece. You will also want to let it cook a little longer. So for Instant Pot, give it an additional 5-10 minutes and for the Crock Pot, cook it for 8-10 hours on low.
- Make this pork in a Slow Cooker: To make this in a slow cooker, sear the pork in the pan or in a skillet first. Transfer seared pork into the slow cooker, pour in the apple juice mixture, and cook on LOW for about 8 hours. Make the BBQ sauce on your stovetop. Use a sauce pot and bring it to simmer over medium heat.
Nutrition
Calories: 521kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 42g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 139mg | Sodium: 2003mg | Potassium: 1144mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 32g | Vitamin A: 1535IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 78mg | Iron: 4mg
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More Easy Instant Pot Recipes
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in March 2021.
All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
This was my first pulled pork roast ever. Yum!!! Definitely saving the recipe.
I am so glad you liked it!
I found this recipe very good and not difficult at all. There was a comment about it being too spicy, I didn’t find it spicy at all! In fact my husband doesn’t like anything spicy so he asked me not to mix the bbq sauce and the meat together. We ladled on the bbq sauce until he tasted it and then said it’s not spicy at all add the sauce to the meat. I did and it was fine. Maybe too much sauce so I did keep some on the side so it could be added if someone wanted more sauce and this way the pork wasn’t swimming in sauce. Besides I have found that after pulled pork is refrigerated and then heated back up you need more sauce, so I already have it set aside. Thank you!
My favorite pulled pork recipe!! A winner every time.
Omgoodness 🤤 This is an amazing recipe! I used a small boneless pork roast since there is just 3 of us and it turned out so tender! I did add a touch of cayenne and a few drops of liquid smoke to the sauce and then a slurry made with about 1 Tbsp of corn starch and juice from the meat to make it slightly thicker and let me just tell you, it is DELICIOUS! This will be my go to for my BBQ from now on! Thank you for sharing 💖
So glad you liked it, Shana!
Do you know how long it should cook in a regular crockpot? Thank you.
To make this in a slow cooker, sear the pork in the pan or in a skillet first. Transfer seared pork into the slow cooker, pour in the apple juice mixture, and cook on LOW for about 8 hours. You can make the BBQ sauce on stove-top. Use a sauce pot and bring it to simmer over medium heat.
This was a great recipe! I am making it again because it was such a hit with my family. Pretty easy to make (a plus for me). I don’t make the BBQ sauce because my hubby only likes KC Masterpiece. (multiple attempts to get him to switch have failed).
Thank you, Mimi! I am so glad your family enjoyed it!
It is way too spicy!
Hi Kara,
I am sorry it was too spicy for you. It really shouldn’t have been as there isn’t anything spicy in it. Did you put cayenne instead of paprika by mistake? If not the only other thing you can do is cut down the black pepper to 1 tsp in the seasoning and 1/2 tsp in the bbq sauce.
This looks very good and doesn’t take long to make. This recipe is perfect for a weekday meal.