The best instant pot pulled pork recipe for tender, easily pull-apart meat. Seasoned with homemade dry rub and cooked in BBQ sauce. 50 minutes active cooking time!
This pressure cooker pulled pork recipe is perfect for those who need to feed a crowd but can’t wait hours for the pork being cooked.
How to make pulled pork in instant pot
Making pulled pork in your pressure cooker is very easy.
Pour chicken stock and BBQ sauce into the inner pot of your Instant Pot. Add brown sugar and mix well.
Then, season the meat with salt, pepper, paprika and cinnamon and place it into the pot. I like to coat the meat in sauce as well. When done, close the lid, turn the steam release valve to sealing position and cook on high pressure until ready.
The dry rub I use to season the pork is almost the same as the one I use when making Instant Pot Hoisin Ribs. It’s easy and gives the meat nice flavor.
Instant pot pulled pork cooking time
The larger the meat the longer the cooking time. A 2-pound (1kg) piece can take up to 2 hour in your pressure cooker.
However, to reduce the cooking time, I like to cut the pork shoulder into 4 similar-size pieces. This way, you only need about an hour to cook it! Which is a significant difference in my opinion, isn’t it?
What to serve pulled pork with?
- Mashed potatoes
- Make pulled pork sandwiches
- Salad
- Fries
- Turn it into burritos!
Small batch instant pot pulled pork
If you would like to make a small batch (feeding 3-4 people), then you absolutely can. Use 1 pound (1/2 kg) of meat (I don’t recommend using less pork). Half the seasoning and spices but do not half the liquid – you will have to use 1 cup of BBQ sauce as well as 1 cup of stock.
Using less liquid can have 2 effects on the cooking:
- Pot not coming to pressure (pin does not go up).
- The sauce might start burning and you can get the BURN message (because each BBQ sauce might have a different thickness, I recommend adding more stock, if you feel that it’s way too thick.
Tips for making Instant Pot pulled pork
- The number of servings can vary slightly. This will depend on how fat your pork shoulder is. A fatter piece will yield less meat at the end of cooking as the fat will melt away into the sauce.
- It will also depend on what you serve the pulled pork with.
- BBQ sauce – I highly recommend using your favorite brand.
- When the instant pot pulled pork is ready, I like to pour all the liquid into a sauce pan. Then I pull the meat using 2 forks. At this stage I pour some of the liquid back to the pulled pork and mix. Sometimes I simmer the rest of the sauce and thicken it with cornstarch before stirring it into the meat. What you do is entirely up to you.
If you are looking for more Easy Instant Pot Recipes, I have some ideas for you:
Instant Pot Pulled Pork
Ingredients
- 1 cup BBQ Sauce
- 1½ cup Chicken Stock
- 1 tablespoon brown Sugar
- 2 pounds Trimmed Pork Shoulder (1 kg)
- 2 teaspoons Salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Pour the BBQ sauce and chicken stock into the inner pot of your Instant pot. Add brown sugar and mix together.
- Cut the pork into 4 similar looking pieces.
- In a small bowl, mix salt, pepper, paprika and cinnamon. Coat each piece of meat in this mixture and place them into the instant pot. Turn them around so they are all coated in the sauce.
- Cover with lid and lock it into its position. Turn the steam release valve to SEALING and cook on high pressure for 50 minutes (see note 4).
- Either wait 10 minutes before manually releasing the pressure or wait until the pressure drops naturally before opening the lid.
- When ready, pour the liquid into a sauce pan. Pull the meat apart with 2 forks and pour some of the sauce (as much as you like) over the pork. Stir well.
- Serve warm in a bun/tacos/burritos, over mashed potatoes …
Notes
- The number of portions you get out of this recipe may vary. This will depend on how fatty your pork shoulder is.
- Use any BBQ sauce you like!
- This recipe can be easily doubled. To half the recipe, please check the post – section: Small Batch Instant Pot Pulled Pork.
- Make sure you cut the pork shoulder into 4 pieces. This will help reduce the cooking time. If you wanted to use a whole 2-pound piece of meat, you might need to cook it for almost 2 hours instead of 50 minutes.
Andrea Metlika says
the pictures are so fabulous that I can smell how good this is.
Jacqueline Debono says
This pulled pork looks amazing! I love the sound of your rub! I don’t have an IP but it’s on my wish list! Going to add this to my to-make list of recipes for when my hubby gets me an IP! (hopefully for my birthday in May!)
Monica says
This has the most amazing texture, and that flavorful rub! This is so good to keep on hand and repurpose throughout the week in multiple meals.
Veena Azmanov says
This is mouth melting and I want to grab it all. So tender, moist and juicy and flavorful. Love it all.
Dannii says
Pulled pork is one of the things we make most often in our instant pot. So good in tacos!
Donna says
Delicious!!
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Thanks so much for your feedback, Donna!
Rachel says
This recipe was delicious! Thanks for including the small batch cooking instructions. I had a pound of pork I wanted to use. I simmered down some of the sauce so it was thicker – perfect.
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Thanks for your feedback, Rachel.