Easy Instant Pot Pulled Pork Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why is my pulled pork tough in the Instant Pot? ›

The slow release will keep the meat tender. An immediate release can be why your Instant Pot pulled pork is tough.

Transfer everything to a large slow cooker and add a splash of liquid — water is great, but so is broth, apple juice, or beer if you have them handy. Cover and cook on low until the meat is tender and pulls apart easily.

Slow cooking the meat means it never has the chance to toughen up and will be extra silky and tender. Pressure cooking is faster, though you may lose a little bit of the tenderness. If you're going for the pressure cook method, be sure to get a pork shoulder or pork butt, as opposed to a pork loin.

Additionally, spray chicken broth or apple juice on the meat to prevent it from losing more moisture in the crockpot. To add a strong flavor during the process, white wine can also be sprayed.

Can you overcook pork in the Instant Pot? Although it's possible to overcook pork and other meats when pressure cooking, usually if the meat isn't tender enough it's because it wasn't cooked long enough. 4-5 pounds of pork shoulder needs about 90 minutes of cooking time at pressure.

To achieve tender and flavorful pulled pork, it's best to cook it slowly for a long time until it's easy to shred. This makes it a great dish to prepare in advance and serve for dinner later.

The acid from the apple cider and apple cider vinegar help to tenderize the meat while also keeping it juicy and flavorful. The low and slow cooking method makes it fall apart as soon as your fork touches it and shreds beautifully.

This thin, vinegar-based finishing sauce, which differs from a BBQ sauce, is the secret ingredient to kick up my smoked pulled pork. After you've pulled your pork butt, drizzle over the meat and combine. The vinegar adds contrast to the smoky flavor and cuts through the fat in the meat.

We use brown sugar, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, smoked paprika, a good amount of salt & pepper, and a pinch of cayenne! Make sure you use all of the seasoning! Also, really rub it into the pulled pork, get all of the nooks and crannies!

Preparing the pork

I prefer to season the meat before adding it to the slow cooker with my favourite spices, along with salt and pepper. I also recommend browning the meat slightly prior to slow cooking which will help maximise the flavour. However, this is a step that can be left out if you don't have enough time.

Does pulled pork go fat side up in slow cooker? ›

Worgul recommends placing the pork in the slow-cooker fat side up. The fat will render thoroughly during the cooking process and by placing the meat fat side up, it makes it much easier to remove excess fat before serving. "The cooker will be nearly filled with fat and liquid after hours of cooking.

If you find it does need a little extra liquid, just add a little beef stock, a bit at a time. Can you leave Pulled Pork in the slow cooker too long? Like any dish, if you leave meat cooking for too long it will begin to dry out and toughen up.

Pour 1 1/2 cups liquid, such as low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth, tomato juice, light or amber beer, white or red wine, orange juice, or a mix of several liquids (and optional liquid smoke) over the pork. The pork should be only partially submerged, with some of the pork remaining above the surface of the liquid.

Namely, if you accidentally incorporate too much sauce, the flavor and texture of the pork are going to be completely overwhelmed by the sauce — meaning you'll have a soggy mess, including buns that are potentially too soaked to hold, that is also missing the complex flavors of the slow-roasted pork.

Wet rubs are fantastic when you are cooking low and slow – again, brisket and pulled pork. This allows your food to develop a unique bark and allows the sugars to caramelize instead of burn.

Typically, when you make pulled pork, you'll cook it in barbeque sauce or another acidic ingredient like vinegar, citrus, or Worcestershire sauce, which work to tenderize the pork.

Unfortunately, once you overcook a piece of meat in the pressure cooker, there's no going back. You'll be left with a pile of dry, crunchy, tasteless fibers and no amount of additional pressure cooking is going to put that moisture back into the meat. Earlier, I explained how ingredient size affects the cooking time.

Both slow cookers and pressure cookers do a good job of tenderizing tough meat, but each makes meat more edible in a different way.

Try a Marinade or Brine. A marinade or brine can introduce more moisture or lots of flavor into your meat before you cook it. A marinade is a sauce that introduces extra flavor to your pork, depending on the aromatics or herbs you choose to include. A brine pulls more moisture into the meat, which keeps your pork juicy ...