I am a very busy person. I am an orchestra teacher by day, and a whatever I can get my hands into person by night. Be it dance lessons with my husband, playing with my dogs Treble and Mozart, running/walking with the Hogwarts Running Club, playing with essential oils, cleaning, dancing to Hamilton, or playing with my Instant Pot – there just never seem to be enough hours in the day. This is why Instant Pot Pulled Pork is one of my favorite recipes! I used to make this in my crock pot, but it would take EIGHT HOURS on the low setting. I could get away with four on high, but it was never the same.
The Notes
I’ve made this recipe on several occasions, and it’s also my goto for get togethers. I made two packs of 2lb boneless country ribs this past summer for my birthday, and it easily fed 8 people. We had SO much left over!
This recipe will leave a scent on the silicone sealing ring, so I use my “savory” one. I rotate two rings – one is for savory dishes, and one for sweet ones like cheesecake.
I have tried making this recipe with various times – 45 minutes and 60 minutes primarily. I’ve also tried it with at QR (quick release). QR is usually a bad move with meat, but I did that back in the day when I was an Instant Pot newbie (gotta learn somehow!! 🙂 ). Using a QR with most meats will generally produce a tough finished dish because the pressure releases rapidly and sucks all of the goodliness out of the meat – ick, blech, ain’t nobody got time for that! Part of the reason I use my Instant Pot so much is that meats are tender, moist, and absolutely delicious! Regarding the times – 60 minutes was okay, but 90 was definitely super duper fork tender and amazingly pull-apart-able. I come home from work anywhere between 3:30 and 4:30 depending on the day, so this is perfect for me. This recipe is also easy enough for my husband to toss everything together before I get home – winning!
The photo below also shows that I did a 52 minute natural release. It does NOT take 52 minutes. I was just ummm…. well… my husband and I left the house to play Pokémon Go for a little bit (it’s become a guilty pleasure). But when we got back we had a delicious dinner. The only thing that would have been better would have been if Treble and Mozart could have had it ready on the table for us!
The Recipe
Ingredients
- 2lb pork shoulder
- 3-4 slices of uncooked bacon
- 8 oz Not Your Father's Root Beer (non-alcoholic Root Beer could also be used)
- 1 cup Barbeque Sauce (more or less to taste)
- Toasted hamburger buns (optional)
Instructions
- Place pork in the Instant Pot insert.
- Lay 3-4 slices of uncooked bacon over the pork.
- Add approximately half a bottle of Not Your Father's Root Beer, or 8 oz of non-alcoholic root beer to the insert.
- Lock the lid, move valve to "sealing," select "Manual," and adjust time to 90 minutes.
- When finished, use a natural release (NR) to allow the pressure to come down on its own.
- After the pin has dropped (pressure has fully released), drain the pork and shred with a fork.
- Add your favorite barbeque sauce, and enjoy on a toasted hamburger bun, or dig right in!
Notes
Time to come up to pressure was only 7 minutes. A natural release should be anywhere from 10 minutes - 20 minutes which is factored into the total time.
www.sistersunderpressure.com
Happy nomming!
-Danielle
Can I do this with chicken breasts?
Hi Sandy! I think that would be delicious! 🙂 For chicken breasts – 20 minutes on high pressure with a natural release should make them shreddable, unless they are super thick (then try 25 minutes).
This is absolutely delicious! I could not find a small pork shoulder so I used a boneless Boston butt roast. Also, for the root beer, I ended up using a store brand, because I did not want a soda made with high fructose corn syrup so I used the store brand that was made with sugar. Super easy and so delicious! Will probably make it often, and freeze in single portions for a super quick sandwich. Thank you!
What could I substitute for the root beer? Can you taste/smell it at all? Bleh! 🙂
Hi Miranda! I don’t like root beer at all – it can’t be tasted in this recipe (I even just confirmed with my husband 🙂 ). You could likely replace it with any carbonated pop/soda (coke, Dr. Pepper, etc). Let us know how it turns out 🙂
When I make pulled pork, I will add about 1 tsp to 1 tbsp liquid smoke to the IP along with the other ingredients. A sliced onion also is nice in the bottom of the pot (sauteed of course)!
Hi Doug! I just did pork this week with the liquid smoke – what a great tip!!!!! I didn’t cook it long enough to make pulled pork, but we had some great boneless country ribs instead! 🙂
I have A pork tenderloin that i’d like to use…how should i adjust the timIng…im an instant pot newbie;) thanks!
Hi Cyndi! I’ve found the best results with 60-90 minutes of cook time. You can also cut the pork tenderloin into smaller chunks – that will GREATLY help you! 🙂
I’ve had pretty good luck running my instant pot rings through the instant pot with lemons when they start smelling like the food I’ve cooked. I put the other ring on, stick the smelly ring into the instant pot with a few cups of water, a little baking soda and a cut up lemon. Pressure cook it for 15 minutes. Once it’s done, it doesn’t really smell like anything, maybe a bit of lemon.
If i Needed to make a larGer portion…20 people!…Would i be able to do that in one pot? And how do i adjust the time for cooking more meat?
Hi Connie! I hope I’m not getting to you too late! You can do that in the same pot. The time doesn’t need to be adjusted – just make sure that the meat is cut up in smaller chunks instead of giant chunks. I’ve been erring on the side of longer (but it’s still less time than a slow cooker! 🙂 ). That will help. You’ll need to add a little more liquid, but it should work out splendidly 🙂