Instant Pot Pulled Pork
Make the most delicious Instant Pot Pulled Pork with this simple recipe! Using a pressure cooker makes it so easy to turn a pork butt, or pork shoulder, into juicy, tender, flavorful pulled pork in under an hour. This recipe is easy enough to make for weeknight dinners, but also perfect for a weekend bbq. The pulled pork makes the most delicious sandwiches, but is also great on it's own, stuffed in a baked potato or served as sliders at a party!
Video
Ingredients
- 3 pound pork shoulder or pork butt, cut into large pieces
- 3 tablespoons pulled pork rub, click link for recipe
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 ¼ cups beef broth, divided
- 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
- ½ cup apple juice
- 1 cup bbq sauce, optional
Instructions
- Cut the pork shoulder, or pork butt, into large pieces.
- Place the pieces of pork in a large bowl and sprinkle the pulled pork rub over the pork.
- Toss the pieces of pork with the pork rub until they're fully covered, then set the pork aside.
- Add the olive oil to an Instant Pot, turn on the “saute” function on the Instant Pot.
- Once the oil is hot, add half of the pieces of pork and brown them on all sides for 2-3 minutes.
- Remove the pork and place it on a large cutting board.
- Add the other half of the pieces of pork and brown for 2-3 minutes on all sides.
- Remove the pork from the Instant Pot and add to the cutting board with the remaining pork.
- Add ¼ cup beef broth to the Instant Pot and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
- Press the “keep warm/cancel” button on the Instant Pot.
- Place the pieces of pork back into the Instant Pot.
- Add the remaining cup of beef broth, worcestershire sauce and the apple juice.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot and set to “sealing”.
- Cook the pork on manual high heat for 40 minutes.
- Allow the Instant Pot to pressure down for 10 minutes, before releasing any remaining pressure and removing the lid.
- Use tongs to remove the pork from the Instant Pot, place it on a cutting board and shred.
- Add it back to the Instant Pot with the liquid and keep it warm until ready to serve, or toss it with the bbq sauce (if desired) and serve immediately. The pork can be served sauced, or without sauce.
- Serve as sandwiches, sliders, tacos, in baked potatoes, or baked sweet potatoes. See the blog post above for additional serving suggestions.
Notes
- The nutritional information provided does not include the optional bbq sauce. One serving equals approximately 3/4 cup of cooked pulled pork.
- I always recommend using a 3-4 pound pork shoulder, or pork butt, for this recipe. Anything larger than 4 pounds will be hard to fit in a standard 6 quart Instant Pot, which is what I use to make this recipe.
- One pound of boneless pork will give you approximately 2 cups of pulled pork. Using this measurement means you’ll end up with approximately 6 cups of pulled pork if you’re using a 3 pound boneless pork shoulder. I like to use about 3/4 cup of pulled pork on a sandwich. Using this measurement means that this recipe will make approximately 8 sandwiches.
- You can cook frozen pork in the Instant Pot. If you’re planning to make this recipe at a later date with frozen pork, be sure to cut the pork into large pieces before placing it in a freezer-safe bag and into the freezer. This way, you can still sear the outside of the pork before pressure cooking it to give it extra flavor. If using frozen pork for this recipe, increase the cook time from 40 minutes, up to 45 minutes.
- Cooked pulled pork will stay good in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can also freeze the pulled pork in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
- To reheat leftover pulled pork from the refrigerator, you can use the microwave, oven or stove.
Nutrition Facts
Calories 274kcal (14%)Carbohydrates 4g (1%)Protein 33g (66%)Fat 13g (20%)Saturated Fat 4g (20%)Polyunsaturated Fat 1gMonounsaturated Fat 7gTrans Fat 0.1gCholesterol 102mg (34%)Sodium 1216mg (51%)Potassium 667mg (19%)Fiber 1g (4%)Sugar 2g (2%)Vitamin A 148mg (3%)Vitamin C 1mg (1%)Calcium 41mg (4%)Iron 3mg (17%)
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