I love a good pulled pork. Not only is it tender and juicy meat, perfect for sliders, but it’s also such a breeze to cook. Food sitting in a slow cooker for hours without me having to do absolutely anything so I can work and go about my day? Now that’s my kind of cooking! This easy instant pot BBQ pulled pork recipe will leave you drooling for seconds.
Currently we’re located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and we have access to an instant pot! We jumped for joy getting to test it fresh out of the box and knew a bbq pulled pork recipe in the slow cooker function would be perfect for the task at hand.
Tools for cooking pulled pork
For this recipe we will be using an instant pot with the slow cooker setting to create our instant pot BBQ pulled pork. Don’t fret if you don’t have an instant pot in your arsenal just yet, I never had one before and simply used my tiny economic crock-pot. You may not be able to fit a 4-5 lbs. pork shoulder in there but if you’re cooking only for yourself a 2-3 lbs. piece should fit in just fine. You might have to cut it in half and throw in a little elbow grease to squeeze it in.
The best cut of pork for pulled pork
The best cut for pulled pork slow cooker recipes is the pork shoulder/Boston butt. Its got enough fat in there to give the meat an excellent flavor, the cut makes it easy to shred and best of all it’s typically at an affordable price.
Technically, any pork cut can be used for pulled pork, since it is sitting in a slow cooker for hours you can eventually extract flavor and shred any part of the pork. However, for the best results to get that perfect, tender and juicy melt off the bone meat I recommend the pork shoulder.
Do you leave the fat and bone on pulled pork?
I suggest getting the pork shoulder with the bone in since it really adds to the flavor while it is cooking. Since it gets removed anyway there’s no reason not to, plus it won’t be difficult to cut around or take off since by the time the pork is fully cooked it will slide right off.
I also recommend leaving the fat on the pulled pork while it cooks. Trust me I’m not a fan of fatty pieces when I’m eating pork so I do remove them during the shredding process. However, during the cooking stages keeping the fat on the pork helps in maintaining the flavor and tenderness.
Temperatures and cooking times for pulled pork
You can shred pulled pork once it has been cooking in your slow cooker for at least 5 hours on high. The more tender and juicy you want it, the longer you can leave it cooking for. However, you should switch it over to a low heat if you plan to leave it cooking for 8+ hours. The best temperature for pulled pork entirely varies on your timeline for having it ready.
My recipe had the pulled pork cook in the instant pot for 12 hours overnight on low heat and it was perfectly tender and completely melted right off the bone. The instant pot did an excellent job without drying out or burning any part of the pork!
On the other hand, I have times where I want it to be ready for dinnertime so I would throw it into the slow cooker in the morning, cook it on high for 6 hours and it was still delightfully soft and tender.
Pork gets tenderer the longer you cook it and this is the key to getting delicious pulled pork. The optimal cooking time and temperature are directly related.
Can you overcook pulled pork?
As long as you set your slow cooker to a low temperature setting and ensure there is enough liquid to maintain the meat moist you cannot overcook your pulled pork. Setting your slow cooker to high heat, leaving the pork unattended for hours and never replenishing the source of moisture could result in burning of the pork or having it taste dry.
How do you keep pulled pork moist?
You can keep your pulled pork moist by adding in more water, broth, in our recipe we use soda, or any other liquid you want to flavor with. The higher the temperature is set, the more likely your meat is to dry out. You want to keep an eye on it and make sure that your instant pot BBQ pulled pork is fully covered in liquid while cooking.
When should you shred pulled pork?
Once you open the instant pot to check on your pulled pork you can poke it with a fork and check the tenderness. If it is soft and falls apart when picking up a piece then you know it is ready for shredding. If it doesn’t pull apart extremely easily then it still needs to cook for longer.
I don’t wait to shred the pork until it is cold, instead doing it right when I open the instant pot since its nice, warm and soft at this moment. While you can wait until it cools down to begin the shredding process, I do find that doing it while hot makes the pieces fall apart much easier.
How do you shred pulled pork?
Shredding the pulled pork is pretty simple, cathartic almost. Once cooked, I use two forks to grab the pieces of pork out of the instant pot. Grab them using the same motion you would to grab salad from a bowl, since at this point they will be so soft they could easily crumble and fall apart. Spoons are also good for this step if you find the forks tear the pork apart before you can put them into a bowl. Tongs are another great option for picking up the meat pieces.
Next you want to use the forks to begin pulling the meat in opposite directions. No fancy tools needed, just using two forks to pull the pieces apart in opposing directions. At this point I also like to separate the fat out, however, if you prefer to leave it in for flavor that’s entirely up to you.
Why is my pulled pork not tender?
Oh the age old question of why my pork didn’t turn out nice and soft like the recipe. It could be related to a myriad of different reasons:
- The pork cooked on high temperature for too long without enough liquid to maintain moisture
- The cut or type of pork used required longer cooking times or is not ideal for a pulled pork recipe
- The pork dried out in the freezer and caused freezer burn
- The pork has not been cooking for long enough to allow it to soften sufficiently
What can I serve pulled pork with?
Pulled pork is a beauty of a dish, its easy, tasty and can be served with a variety of sides. You can eat it as a main dish with a side salad and mash potatoes, or turned into sliders. I actually made my sliders with Hawaiian bread rolls and threw in some homemade coleslaw.
Instant Pot BBQ Pulled Pork
Equipment
- Instant pot
Ingredients
Instant Pot Ingredients
- 4 lbs Pork shoulder or boston butt roast
- 1 Onion chopped
- 1/2 cup Brown sugar
- 1/4 cup White vinegar
- 1.5 liter Coca Cola
- 1/2 bottle Sweet Baby Rays Original BBQ Sauce
Pork Seasoning
- Paprika
- Salt
- Pepper
Instructions
- Season the pork shoulder with the salt, pepper and paprika rubbing it thoroughly all around the pork.
- Add the pork to the instant pot along with the onions, vinegar, sugar and coke. Turn on the instant pot to the slow cooker setting and let it cook on low heat for 12 hours. Alternatively, depending on how much time you have, you can leave it cooking for 5-6 hours on the high heat setting.
- Check on the pulled pork every 3-4 hours ensuring there is still enough liquid and moisture to ensure it does not dry out. If you need more liquid you can add in some water or a bit more coke if you have leftover.
- Once it is done cooking you can open the instant pot, take out the pieces of pork (which should be melting off) with forks and place them in a bowl. Begin to shred the pork by pulling small sections of meat in opposite directions. Continue until all the meat is shredded.
- Using a strainer drain the contents of the instant pot (soda, vinegar, onions, etc.). Mix the onions back in with the shredded pulled pork and put it all back into the instant pot.
- Turn the instant pot back on using the slow cooker function and set the temperature to low. Add the BBQ sauce to the shredded pork and onion mixture and stir it all together. Once the pulled pork is adequately coated in the sauce set the cook timer on the instant pot for 30 minutes.
- Once the pulled pork has cooked in the BBQ sauce for 30 minutes you can remove it from the instant pot and serve it on sliders with coleslaw.
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