Instant Pot Pulled Pork in Under 45 Minutes

I love making this Pulled Pork recipe in the Instant Pot because it is easy and ready in under 45 minutes. The meat falls apart...perfect for BBQ pulled pork sandwiches!

Sometimes you want pulled pork in a hurry and you're not interested in slaving over a grill or a smoker all day.  This Instant Pot Pulled Pork is finished in under an hour and makes the most amazing pulled pork BBQ sandwich!

Once again I am using my Instant Pot to make something super easy and delicious.  You may want to check out my guide for using your Instant Pot.  I have a list on that post of all of my Instant Pot recipes and some quick tips you should follow before using this amazing appliance!

HOW TO MAKE INSTANT POT PULLED PORK

To begin, I got my Instant Pot out and I set it to high saute.  While the pot was getting hot, I got out my pork roast.  I like to buy a boneless picnic shoulder roast that is about 2-3 pounds.  You could also use a pork butt.

I cut the roast into large chunks to give it more surface area for seasoning and browning, and to help it cook a lot quicker.

I then seasoned it with my favorite BBQ rub.

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My Instant Pot should be good and hot by now, so I added some oil and half of the pork pieces to start to brown.  If your pork shoulder was larger than 3 pounds, you will probably need to brown ⅓ at a time.  You could also brown a larger portion of meat in a skillet on the stove to get all of the pieces browned quicker.

Browning the meat isn't a crucial step, but it definitely results in more flavorful pulled pork.

After I got all of the meat browned, I was left with a lot of burnt stuff on the bottom of the pan.  If you don't get all of that scraped up, the Instant Pot will have trouble coming to pressure.

I just simply added my water to the hot Instant Pot and I scraped all of those browned bits from the bottom with a wooden spoon.

I then added the trivet to the pot.  This also isn't completely necessary, but I like to keep the meat up out of the juices.

I then added the meat to the pot, placed the lid, and set the cook time for 15 minutes high pressure.

After it was finished cooking, I did a 10 minute natural pressure release.

The Instant Pot pulled pork was so tender it didn't even need to be pulled.  I just gently squeezed the meat with my tongs and it fell apart.

Instant Pot Pulled Pork in under 45 minutes

Author: Jennifer Banz

5 from 1 vote

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Prep 10 minutes mins

Cook 15 minutes mins

Total 25 minutes mins

I love making Pulled Pork in the Instant Pot because it is ready in under 1 hour. The meat is juicy and falls apart...perfect for pulled pork sandwiches!

Servings 8

Course dinner

Cuisine American

Ingredients

1x2x3x

US CustomaryMetric

• ▢ 2 Tablespoons avocado oil
• ▢ 1 Boneless pork shoulder, pork butt, or picnic roast cut into large chunks
• ▢ ¼ Cup BBQ rub
• ▢ 1 Cup water
• ▢ Kosher salt and pepper to taste

Method

Prevent Sleep ModePrevent Sleep Mode

Brown the Pork Shoulder

1. Set your Instant Pot to high sauté.  Toss the chunks of roast in the BBQ rub.  When the Instant Pot is hot, add the oil, then ½ to ⅓ of the pork chunks.  Let the meat cook on each side for about 1 minute or until browned.  Continue with the rest of the meat.  Remove from the pot and set aside.

Deglaze the Instant Pot

1. Browned and burnt bits on the bottom of the pot will keep it from coming to pressure.  Add the water to the hot pot and scrape these bits from the bottom with a wooden spoon.

Pressure Cook the Pork

1. Add the trivet in with the water, then add the pork chunks on top of the trivet. Seal the lid, make sure it is on "sealing", and set the cook time for 15 minutes at high pressure.  Allow a 10 minute natural pressure release, then release the rest of the pressure.

Pull the Pork

1. Pull all of the meat out of the Instant Pot into a serving bowl and it will be fall apart tender.  I squeezed each chunk with tongs instead of pulling with 2 forks.  Taste for seasoning.

Serve

1. Serve with your favorite BBQ sauce in pulled pork sandwiches or as a pulled pork salad!  

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