Nothing says summer quite like a pulled pork sandwich. This dish, perfect for a cookout or any summer gathering, requires very little hands-on time, especially when using an Instant Pot, and packs a flavor punch. It’s sure to please both the crowd and the cook.
Nerdy note: I’ve finally jumped on the bandwagon and purchased an Instant Pot. The verdict: I honestly have no idea how I’ve gone this far in life without one. While I’m not sponsored by or working with Instant Pot (though I wouldn’t mind the opportunity!), I have to gush a bit about this amazing gadget.
Not only does this lovely little piece of equipment save so soo much time, but until trying this recipe in my Instant Pot, I had no idea how tender this pulled pork could be. A slow cooker is a great alternative if you don’t have an Instant Pot, but I have never been able to achieve the tenderness and ease of shredding as with pressure cooking. This naturally sent me on a journey to learn more about pressure cooking, finding this helpful America’s Test Kitchen video and this helpful Serious Eats article.
In short, the higher the pressure, the higher the temperature needs to be for the liquid boil. This is why the food cooks more quickly than in a slow cooker, oven or stovetop. Now why the meat is more tender in a pressure cooker than slow cooker is a bit mysterious to me. The best reasonings I’ve found are: 1) The strong seal of the pressure cooker prevents liquid from evaporating, retaining more moisture in the meat, and 2) The rate of collagen breakdown is faster in a pressure cooker. Now collagen will also breakdown when using a slow cooker / oven so I’m still exploring why point 2 results in more tender meat. Once I find a more satisfying answer though, I’ll be sure to update this post!
I love this recipe even if I don’t yet understand the full reasons for its tenderness. I hope you’ll love it too and can give it a try soon!
Pulled Pork (Instant Pot or Slow Cooker)
Author: Natalie Smith
Equipment
- 1 Instant Pot * See notes for slow cooker option
Ingredients
Spice Rub
- 3 Tbsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt * Adjust the amount of salt depending on the brand you're using
- 3 Tbsp Paprika
- 1 Tbsp Garlic powder
- ½ Tbsp Light brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp Mustard powder
- ½ tsp Red chili flakes
- ½ tsp Black pepper, coarsely ground
Cooking the pork
- 1.7 kg Pork shoulder, boneless, cut in to 4 inch pieces
- 1 12 ounce can Dr. Pepper
- ½ tsp Liquid smoke * Hickory is especially nice
Serving
- 1 bottle Sweet Baby Rays BBQ Sauce * Or your favourite BBQ sauce
- Optional additional toppings: pickles, red onion, cabbage or coleslaw, and more BBQ sauce
Instructions
- Remove large pieces of fat from the pork and cut it in to 4 inch pieces.
- Make the spice rub and rub it in to the pork pieces.
- Place the pork in a glass or metal bowl (plastic will retain the smell of the pork for pretty much the rest of your life), cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, up to overnight.
- After the pork has marinated, place the pieces in the Instant Pot along with the Dr. Pepper and liquid smoke.
- Pressure cook on high for 40 minutes with 15 minutes of natural slow release.
- Once the pork has finished cooking, remove it from the Instant Pot and lightly shred it in a bowl. When stirring in the bbq sauce later the pork will break down further so no need to shred the pork too finely in this step.
- I find there is enough moisture in the pork with the BBQ sauce that I do not need to save the cooking liquid. If you like very saucy pulled pork though, save 1/2 cup of the liquid to put back on the pulled pork at the end. I recommend refrigerating the liquid and skimming off the fat if you do this and can make the time.
- Can either refrigerate until ready to serve or add enough BBQ sauce for the pork to be covered and enjoy!
- To warm the pork back up, either if from the step above or leftovers, I recommend warming it up slowly, either on the stover or ideally in a slow cooker.
Notes
- Slow cooker option:
- Marinate the pork as described in the first 3 steps, but at step 4 place the pork and remaining ingredients (except the BBQ sauce) in a slow cooker rather than pressure cooker.
- Cook on Low for 8 – 10 hours, until the pork is very soft and able to be easily shredded.
- Follow the same remaining steps (steps 6 onward) and enjoy!
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