Instant Pot Pulled Pork BBQ starts with a delicious rub and comes out so tender! Make this easy pulled pork that is perfectly cooked in about an hour!
INSTANT POT PULLED PORK BBQ
Instant Pot Pulled Pork BBQ starts with a delicious rub seasoning and comes out so tender! Make this easy pulled pork using a pork butt or a pork loin and it is guaranteed to become your new favorite instant pot pork recipe. It's perfectly cooked, tender and shredded in less than an hour! Serve topped with my SOUTHERN COLE SLAW for a complete southern pork sandwich.
EASY AND SO FLAVORFUL
It is incredibly easy and the Instant pot does most of the work. Pulled pork recipes start with basic seasonings that are probably already in your cabinet at home. I like to use a mixture of brown sugar, salt, garlic and onion powder, paprika, chili powder and cayenne powder (don't worry, it's not spicy!) It's the same seasoning recipe I use for my GRILLED PORK RIBS. So good!
CREATING TENDER PULLED PORK - FAST!
Once you have rubbed in the seasoning onto your pork butt or pork loin, you will pour in some soda. I prefer to use soda instead of water for added flavor. Root Beer, Dr. Pepper or Coke are my favorites. You can use your favorite brand of barbecue sauce for this or make your own HOMEMADE BBQ SAUCE! Then add a bit of apple cider vinegar. That's my secret tip for getting super tender pulled pork. The acid from the vinegar helps to tenderize the meat as it cooks! No Instant Pot? No problem! I highly recommend that you try out my CROCK POT PULLED PORK BBQ.
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A PORK BUTT AND PORK SHOULDER?
Although pork shoulder and pork butt come from the same region of the pig, they are actually cut from opposing ends of the shoulder region. Pork shoulder is cut from thinner end of the shoulder and contains slightly less fat. Pork butt, on the other hand, is cut from the thicker end of the shoulder and is meant to be shredded. It is also typically cheaper in cost that the pork shoulder.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)
For the Seasoning Rub:
brown sugar
smoked paprika
coarse ground black pepper
kosher salt
chili powder
garlic powder
onion powder
cayenne
For the pulled pork:
boneless pork butt
soda (root beer, Dr. Pepper, Coca-Cola)
apple cider vinegar
BBQ sauce
Cook's Tip: When purchasing the pork butt, you'll need to find one that is nice and pink with a good marbling of fat (fat is flavor!). You'll also need to make sure that it fits into the size of the Instant Pot you own. For this recipe, I am using a 6.5 quart Instant Pot so I purchased a smaller 3 lb. pork butt to ensure it fit into my pressure cooker.
HOW TO MAKE INSTANT POT PULLED PORK:
First things first, don't start cooking the meat from cold. Pull the pork butt out of your refrigerator a few hours before you are going to cook it. Then remove any packaging (do this part over the sink since there will be a lot of liquid.) Then, using paper towels, dry off the pork butt. Set aside.
Mix up the seasoning rub. Cook's Note: This makes a lot of rub so you'll probably only need half. Just put the other half in a mason jar or Ziploc bag and save for later.
Sprinkle this rub all over your pork shoulder. Make sure to rub it in really well. Cook's Tip: Want even more flavor? Rub the pork butt, wrap in plastic wrap and stick in the refrigerator over night. Take out a few hours before cooking then continue with directions.
Into the bottom of your electric pressure cooker, pour in your can of soda and apple cider vinegar. Stir together. Then add your seasoned pork butt. If you are using, pour half the bottle of BBQ sauce over the pork butt.
Secure the pressure cooker lid and set the pressure release valve to "SEAL".
Set on manual high pressure for 60 minutes (you'll want to estimate abut 20 minutes per pound.) Once the cooking time is finished, allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes (most pressure cookers will switch to a keep warm setting and start counting down how long it is on that setting - this is actually naturally releasing the pressure as well.) After 10 minutes, do a quick release.
Remove the meat from the instant pot and shred using two forks (discarding any liquid left in the Instant Pot.) Remove any fatty bits. Add remaining barbecue sauce to the shredded pork and stir.
Serve on a soft hamburger bun, topped with SOUTHERN COLE SLAW.
CRAVING MORE PORK RECIPES? TRY THESE!
THE BEST PORK RIBS
INSTANT POT CRACK CHICKEN
INSTANT POT COUNTRY STYLE RIBS
CROCK POT BBQ PORK CHOPS
INSTANT POT PORK CHILI
3-INGREDIENT SAUSAGE ROLLS
INSTANT POT PULLED PORK BBQ
Ingredients
For the seasoning rub:
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon coarse ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne
For the pork:
- 3 lb. boneless pork butt
- 1 can soda root beer, Dr. Pepper, Coca-Cola
- ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce
Instructions
- Pull the pork butt out of your refrigerator a few hours before you are going to cook it. Then remove any packaging (do this part over the sink since there will be a lot of liquid.)
- Using paper towels, dry off the pork butt. Set aside.
- Mix up the seasoning rub. Sprinkle this rub all over your pork shoulder. Make sure to rub it in really well.
- Into the bottom of your electric pressure cooker, pour in your can of soda and apple cider vinegar. Stir together. Then add your seasoned pork butt. If you are using, pour half the bottle of BBQ sauce over the pork butt.
- Secure the pressure cooker lid and set the pressure release valve to "SEAL". Set on manual high pressure for 60 minutes. Note: you'll want to estimate abut 20 minutes per pound.
- Once the cooking time is finished, allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes (most pressure cookers will switch to a keep warm setting and start counting down how long it is on that setting - this is actually naturally releasing the pressure as well.)
- After 10 minutes, do a quick release.
- Remove the meat from the instant pot and shred using two forks (discarding any liquid left in the Instant Pot.) Remove any fatty bits.
- Add remaining barbecue sauce to the shredded pork and stir. Serve on a soft hamburger bun, topped with cole slaw.
I have only seen very large pork butts at my local grocery store. They are too big to fit in my instant pot. It's probably a silly question but do I just ask the butcher to cut a smaller portion? Thanks!
Hi Sara! You can go with a boneless pork butt or you can have your butcher trim it down for you. Let him know your dilemma and they can usually figure out a way to cut it down for you without losing all the flavor!
My husband loves loves loves pulled pork and I just recently found a recipe for root beer pulled pork and thought, that sounds fabulous! I just bought an Instant Pot and now, finding your recipe, which includes a root beer choice, I am thrilled! I love that the Instant Pot makes meat so tender in no time....thank you for sharing your recipe!
Woo hoo! Love hearing that!! Thanks so much!
Could you share your cold slaw recipe as well? It looks so good too. I really enjoy your website!
Would you up the time if using a bone-in pork butt?
This was really easy .. I did 4 lbs. In about an HR and a half...came out amazing..thank you..
I did this with a huge [6lb] bone-in shoulder roast in my 8 liter instant-pot. I did it with Dr.P and the only thing I added was a teaspoon of ground coriander to rub. It was one of the most delicious pork roasts I have ever had, no kidding...
Vey good and very easy. I used a 4 pound boston butt cut into 4 pieces. I didn't have the cayenne pepper or the onion powder but it was good without it. I am new to the Instant Pot having only boiled peanuts in it before, but the directions were easy to follow. This recipe is a keeper.