Pressure Cooker Pulled Pork Recipe

Intro: Pressure Cooker Pulled Pork Recipe

This pressure cooker pulled pork is truly amazing - it's done in around an hour! My oven pulled pork recipe can take hours and hours to do, so this is a great fast version.

Plus, it makes its own sauce as it cooks, so you know it's going to be delicious.

Don't have a pressure cooker? Check out my slow and low oven version of pulled pork - it is one of the most amazing things you'll ever cook. Honestly. :D

I've also got recipes for a standard sweet/spicy BBQ sauce, and a mustard BBQ sauce if you want to make those yourself, too.

P.S. Don't have a pressure cooker? I have a buying/using guide up for pressure cookers!

STEP 1: Ingredients + Tools

• 2 to 2.5 pounds pork loin, butt or shoulder - make sure that's the boneless weight!
• 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1 1/3 cups water
• splash of liquid smoke
• burger buns for serving
• favorite BBQ sauce for serving (I'm using Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Chipotle today!)

I'm using a 2.2 pound pork loin here because it was on sale, but I much prefer the pork butt/shoulder. Pork loin doesn't have as much fat, so it will always be a little drier. :)

STEP 2: Cut the Pork and Cover It With the Spice Rub

Cut the pork into three equal pieces. Mix up the spice rub - use your hands so you break up all the brown sugar chunks!

Coat the pork liberally with the spice rub - use all of it!

(If you're using another spice rub, just be sure to coat them well.)

STEP 3: Combine the Liquid Ingredients and Add Everything to the Pot

In a 2 cup liquid measure, combine 1/4 cup ketchup, 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar and maybe 1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke. Add 1 1/3 cups waters, or enough to fill the cup up to the 2 cup line. :)

Stir well and pour into the pressure cooker.

Place the spice rubbed pork pieces gently into the liquid around the edges of the pot. (The middle will always be the hottest place, so this will help cook more evenly!)

Add in the excess spice rub, too!

STEP 4: Lock on the Lid and Bring to Pressure

Lock on the lid and turn the heat to medium-high.

In a few minutes, steam will begin to come out the valves. Keep this heat going until the pressure indicator pops up.

Once it's up, turn the heat down to medium-low and cook for 25 minutes. (30-35 minutes if you're using an electric pressure or at a high altitude!)

STEP 5: Turn Off the Heat and Naturally Release the Pressure

Turn off the heat and let the pressure release naturally. This can take 15-20 minutes.

(If you're using an electric pressure cooker, I recommend turning it completely off. Sometimes "warm" can be much hotter than you'd think!)

Once the pressure is released, open the top and pull out the pork. Is it starting to fall apart? If so, you're in good shape! If not, pop the lid back on and bring it to pressure again and cook for another five minutes.

When the pork is good, set it aside in a medium bowl to cool while you thicken the sauce. :)

STEP 6: Reduce the Sauce and Shred the Pork

If you're worried about the fat, pour out the sauce into a small bowl and shove it in the freezer for a 15-20 minutes - the fat should float up to the top and harden.

I never do that, though. Fat is yummy, and especially helpful if you're using pork loin. :D

Turn the heat up high and reduce the cooking liquid until you have 3/4 - 1 cup of it left. I stopped at 1 cup. At this point taste it and add whatever else you like - more salt, sugar, spices, or vinegar.

While the liquid is reducing, shred the pork with two forks or your hands.

STEP 7: Pour the Liquid Over the Pork and Enjoy!

I reduced my cooking liquid down to 1 cup and poured the whole thing over and mixed well. This sauce will keep the pork moist and add flavor, so it's okay if it pools in the bottom of the bowl.

Serve on buns with your favorite BBQ sauce and maybe some corn bread, mad and cheese and collard greens. That's my favorite way to eat it! I only had the collard greens this time but it was still perfect. :D

Comments

[Jesgachet]

We did it and it came out great! I just want to warn people that start to finish it took us about 2 hours with prep, getting up to pressure, cooking, depressurization and then reducing the sauce (don’t skip unless you have a sauce ready that you really like).

[Mittens42]

Mmmm looks like its is going to be great

[AllisonS68]

If I were to double this recipe what modifications would I need to make? Thanks!

[GANEYGURL]

Thank you so much for this recipe! I absolutely LOVE my electric pressure cooker and use it, probably, twice a week (on average). I've not cooked a "butt" in it so far, but I'm thinking that today will be the day! Feel free to post ANY electric pressure cooker recipes that you like. ;)

[FreckledR]

Yum!!

[darklotus]

Thank you for posting this yummy recipe! I'll definitiely be trying this one.

[mpwall]

I do venison, pork or beef this way. If you want a little smoke to give it some character either sear the meat on the grill (charcoal is best for flavor) or rub a little liquid smoke on the meat before cooking in the pressure cooker. For beef and venison I use about a half a bottle of red wine reduced in the cooker before putting in the meat.

[webweave]

Oh my I have the perfect venison in the freezer, I'm doing this tomorrow. Thanks guys I'll get back to you with the results!

[ElizabethC28]

Yummy! I do a very similar recipe in a crock pot. Cause that's what I have. But this is a wonderful dish.

[HollyHarken]

I often make pulled pork with the country boneless cuts of pork available in my area. Since tomato sauce of any kind will burn because of the sugar I use a trivet and a stainless steel bowl when I make pulled pork. I'm a diabetic and found a great tasting BBQ sauce in a local grocery store. It's made by Stubbs. I have 6 old fashioned pressure cookers/canners that I love!! My 4 quart is the most versatile. I made chili in it on Sunday and we finished the last of it last night. So yummy!

[VivianDinsmore]

I have become a real fan of your Instructables. This sounds so yummy and I love my pressure cooker. The time it saves is wonderful. I am going to try this. My question to you is can I use a bottled sauce instead of the spices? I am not good at spices. Should I use a bottled sauce, how do I figure the liquid? Any ideas would be appreciated. Once again you are amazing and I love your stuff.

[jessyratfink]

Thank you! :D

I would maybe try to do one cup of sauce and one cup of stock/water at first! Don't add in the ketchup or vinegar since most sauces have that covered. :) You'll probably want to add more salt, sugar or a bit of vinegar at the end depending on how the sauce tastes after the time in the cooker.

I think once you give that a try you'll know if you need more sauce or less depending on the flavor. It's just so hard to tell how intense a sauce will be during cooking as opposed to spices! But as long as you have two cups of liquid in there you should be fine. :)

[VivianDinsmore]

Thank you so much for your advice I can't wait to try it. Once again I love your instructables and I hope you continue to entertain and educate us for a long time.

[psargaco]

Wow, this is on my to-do list for next weekend. I'm thinking maybe doing it wrapped with a Mexican tortilla, salad and yogurt sauce.

[heavyweather]

That's exactly how I pull that off ;)
I do BBQ ribs exactly the same way only darken them under the grill in tge oven with some honey BBQ sauce afterwards.
Like to use a steamer insert though. The WMF is just a pot with very small holes in it and it drains great after cooking.
Try baguette instead of buns!

[rschneblin]

We have an InstantPot, and one very important trick we have discovered is that the difference between a tough meat or fall apart tender meat is all in the decompression. If you do a fast decompression, your meat will be tough... like a soggy rock. If you let it "naturally decompress"-- say 1/2 hour, it will be tender and can be cut with a fork. Very strange, but it works!!

[dix-huit]

"Butt or shoulder"? "Butt" is "shoulder" if your talking pulled pork and you're American.

[jessyratfink]

Yup, it's called different things depending on the store/area, so I always try to include both names. Beginning cooks won't know that!

[LittleMonkeyMojo]

Sure, but some grocers/butchers label it one way, others the other way. If you notice at the very bottom of the article the author does say "I much prefer the pork butt/shoulder".

[Mltiggr]

More pressure cooker recipes, please!