Bbq pulled pork in the instant pot

Make this irresistible Pressure Cooker Pulled Pork Recipe with your own Dry Rub and BBQ Sauce. Tender, juicy pulled pork exploding with sweet & smoky flavors. Making BBQ Pulled Pork has never been this quick and easy! You gotta try it. 😀

We’ve first made some Pulled Pork Sandwich with our pressure cooker pulled pork.

A bite of slightly crisp toasted buns wrapped around the crunchy lettuce and a mouthful of tender pulled pork bursting with sweet & smoky BBQ sauce. Oh, it was just deliciously PERFECT!

Jacky & I couldn’t resist and chomped down 2 in a row within minutes. 😛

It usually takes hours to make slow cooker pulled pork, but it only took us roughly 1.5 hour using our pressure cooker.

This pressure cooker pulled pork is great with so many things: sandwiches, burgers, wraps, on rice, or on nachos. These are perfect as appetizers, snacks, lunch, dinner, treating guests at BBQ or parties.

You can make these pressure cooker pulled pork when you’re looking for something fulfilling, thrifty, bold in flavors. Also great for making ahead for parties or enough for a few meals. The possibilities are endless.

How else do you enjoy your BBQ pulled pork? Tell me!! 😀

Ingredients for Pressure Cooker Pulled Pork

• Pork shoulder picnic
• Olive oil
• Homemade Pulled Pork Dry Rub*
  • Brown sugar
  • Chili powder
  • Black pepper
  • Onion powder
  • Garlic powder
  • Cinnamon powder
  • Kosher salt
  • Cumin seed
  • Fennel seed
  • Cayenne pepper
• Homemade BBQ Sauce for Pulled Pork*
  • Medium onion
  • Garlic cloves
  • Ketchup
  • Water
  • Maple syrup
  • Honey
  • Apple cider vinegar
  • Dijon mustard
  • Brown sugar

*Substitutes: If you don’t want to make your own Dry Rub or BBQ Sauce for Pulled Pork, substitute them with your favorite store bought Dry Rub & BBQ Sauce. 😀

Tools for Pressure Cooker Pulled Pork

• Fat separator – This is such a handy tool! Instead of scooping the fatty oil with a ladle or spoon a little at a time, this fat separator will help you quickly separate the fat/oil from the BBQ sauce.

• BEAR PAWS Shredder Claws – If you want to feel like Wolverine from X-Men, get these claws to shred your meat!!! 😛 It saves you a lot of time and makes pulling pork so much easier and FUN. Some people use these claws to pick up hot food too. We’re still debating whether we should get the black one or pink one. Hehehe~ What do you think?

Tips for Pressure Cooker Pulled Pork

1. Browning the Pork Shoulder: It’s very easy to burn the dry rub on the pork shoulder, so be sure to flip frequently as you are browning the pork meat.

2. Skin on vs Skin off: Keeping the skin and fat cap on will keep the nearby meat very moist. Make sure to keep the skin side facing up when you put it into the pressure cooker. However, the BBQ sauce will be very oily if you leave the skin and fat cap on. Just be sure to use a fat separator to remove the oil from the BBQ sauce before serving.

3. Pressure Cooking Time: The best cooking time for pork shoulder depends on how thick you cut your pork shoulder pieces. It’s better to “undercook” the meat than overcooking as you can add additional cooking time later.Here are the pressure cooking times depending on the size you cut your 4 pounds pork shoulder picnic:

• If it’s cut into 8 pieces: roughly 55 – 60 minutes pressure cooking time.
• If it’s cut into 4 pieces: roughly 60 – 70 minutes pressure cooking time.
• If it’s cut into 2 pieces: roughly 75 – 80 minutes pressure cooking time.

4. Storage Duration: The pressure cooker pulled pork can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 – 5 days.

5. Got Leftover Pulled Pork? We seriously encourage you to try making our BBQ Pulled Pork Savory Waffles!!

Watch: How To Make Pressure Cooker Pulled Pork Video

Can’t see the cooking video? Watch it here.

Now it’s YOUR turn to take out your pressure cooker and make some truly irresistible Pressure Cooker Pulled Pork! 

• ▢ 4 pounds (~1.8 kg) pork shoulder picnic (cut into 4 – 8 pieces)
• ▢ 1 tablespoons (15ml) olive oil

Pulled Pork Dry Rub:

• ▢ 2 tablespoons (25g) brown sugar
• ▢ 2 teaspoons (5g) chili powder
• ▢ 2 teaspoons (4g) black pepper
• ▢ 1 teaspoon (2.4g) onion powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon (2.8g) garlic powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon (2.3g) cinnamon powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon (3g) kosher salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon (1g) cumin seed , ground
• ▢ ½ teaspoon (1g) fennel seed , ground
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon (0.5g) cayenne pepper

BBQ Sauce for Pulled Pork:

• ▢ 1 medium onion , minced
• ▢ 3 garlic cloves , minced
• ▢ 1 cup (250ml) ketchup
• ▢ ½ cup (125ml) water
• ▢ ⅛ cup (31ml) maple syrup
• ▢ ⅛ cup (31ml) honey
• ▢ 2 tablespoons (30ml) apple cider vinegar
• ▢ 2 tablespoons (30ml) Dijon mustard
• ▢ 1 tablespoon (12.5g) brown sugar

• ▢

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• Rub Pulled Pork Dry Rub: Mix all the dry rub ingredients and rub it all over the pork shoulder picnic pieces. Then, put the pork shoulder picnic in the fridge for 30 minutes to overnight.

• Heat up Pressure Cooker: Heat up your pressure cooker (Instant Pot: press Sauté button). Make sure your pot is as hot as it can be when you place the pork shoulder meat into the pot (Instant Pot: wait until the indicator says HOT).

• Optional Step - Brown Pork Shoulder (See Tips): Add 1 tbsp (15 ml) olive oil into the pot. Ensure to coat the oil over the whole bottom of the pot. Add the pork shoulder pieces into the pot. Brown the pork shoulder on all sides. Remove and set aside.

• Add BBQ Sauce and Deglaze: Pour in half of the Pulled Pork BBQ Sauce and deglaze the bottom of the pot. Then, add in the remaining BBQ sauce mixture.

• Pressure Cook Pork Shoulder (See Tips): Place all the pork shoulder pieces into the pot. If you left the skin on, make sure the skin side is facing up. Close lid and pressure cook at High Pressure for 60 minutes (see notes). Turn off the heat and fully Natural Release (roughly 15 minutes).

• Fork Tender Check: Open the lid carefully. Take one piece of pork shoulder out and see if you can shred through the meat easily with two forks. If it is not fork-tender, cook for an additional 10 to 20 minutes at High Pressure, fully Natural Release.

• Shred Pork & De-Fat the Sauce: Use some cool Pulled Pork Shredder Claws or two regular forks to shred the pork shoulder meat. Use a fat separator to separate the fat from the BBQ sauce.

• Season, Reduce, Serve: Reduce the BBQ sauce to your desired thickness. Taste the BBQ sauce and add in additional brown sugar or kosher salt if desired. Place the pulled pork back into the BBQ sauce. Mix well and serve!

Here are the pressure cooking times depending on the size of your pork shoulder pieces from a 4 pounds pork shoulder picnic:
If it's cut into 8 pieces: roughly 55 - 60 minutes pressure cooking time.
If it's cut into 4 pieces: roughly 60 - 70 minutes pressure cooking time.
If it's cut into 2 pieces: roughly 75 - 80 minutes pressure cooking time.

Storage Duration: The pressure cooker pulled pork can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 – 5 days.

Leftover Pulled Pork? We seriously encourage you to try making BBQ Pulled Pork Savory Waffles!!

*Total cooking time in recipe does not include inactive cooking time.

*Rate Recipe: If you've tried the recipe, don't forget to Rate the Recipe in the Comments Section. Thank you!

Calories: 428kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 37g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 124mg | Sodium: 965mg | Potassium: 844mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 449IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 64mg | Iron: 3mg

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