Instant Pot BBQ Pulled Pork
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The easiest + BEST pulled pork ever! Serve with your favorite BBQ sauce. So smoky, so flavorful, so juicy, and SO SO GOOD.
Hello, summer. Please don’t leave us just yet. I’m not ready for the Chiberia snow. (FACTS ONLY – it snowed Halloween day in 2019.)
No, but really, let’s get back to the best part of summer days: Pool parties. COVID honeymoon boat trips. And now, BBQ pulled pork sandwiches.
That’s right. PULLED PORK SAMMIES. Smothered with your favorite BBQ sauce ever.
The instant pot takes care of all the hard work and all the time, infusing all the flavors into the most tender, juicy shredded pork in less than 90 minutes.
When ready, drizzle with desired BBQ sauce (we recommend Stubb’s!) and serve with slaw, pickles and brioche buns. The pork also keeps VERY WELL so these can easily be prepared ahead of time for all the socially-distanced-get-togethers.
Stay safe and stay cool, friends. And eat some pulled pork sammies immediately.
Instant Pot BBQ Pulled Pork
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 4 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 tablespoons paprika
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ground mustard
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 pounds pork shoulder, excess fat trimmed and cut into 3-inch chunks
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 6 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, divided
- 1 (18-ounce) bottle favorite bbq sauce, we love Stubb's
Instructions
- Set a 6-qt Instant Pot® to the high saute setting.
- In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, salt, paprika, chili powder, oregano, garlic powder, mustard, cayenne pepper, cumin and pepper. Season pork with brown sugar mixture.
- Heat canola oil; working in two batches, add pork and cook until evenly browned, about 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in chicken stock and 4 tablespoons vinegar, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Select manual setting; adjust pressure to high, and set time for 40 minutes. When finished cooking, quick-release pressure according to manufacturer’s directions.
- Remove pork shoulder from the Instant Pot® and shred the meat using two forks; stir in remaining 2 tablespoons vinegar and season with salt and pepper, to taste, if needed.
- Serve immediately with your favorite bbq sauce.
Did you make this recipe?
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Delicious! Whole family beloved it!
If I’m making this in a crock pot, at which heat setting, and for how long do I cook,it?
Can this pulled pork recipe be made in a crock pot?
This is so delicious!! The pork came out so incredibly tender and moist. It makes a big portion, and we froze the excess pulled pork, and that worked very well too heating up perfectly in a pan! I also froze all of the excess juice/broth and we’ve used it for ramen, which was delicious! We’re keeping this recipe in rotation
Just made this last weekend and it was a huge hit! So easy and flavorful. Thanks for another amazing recipe!
The flavors in the rub are great and the pork turns out so tender. This is a recipe on repeat at my house
I’d sure love to now the conversion for slow cooker for this recipie!
I love this recipe, it is delicious.
Best pulled pork I have made and I have tried 4 different recipes. This one is the best and I will be sharing the recipe.
Very good recipe. So easy to make and gives great results.
This is now a go-to for an easy and delicious casual meal for company (usually using a 7-8lb cut of meat and doubling the recipe.) I make it the day before and then just rewarm it in the slow cooker for serving. Then all the mess is out of the way! I have taken it to picnics this way as well (stays warm in the slow cooker for a long time.)
I serve it with BBQ sauce, slaw, fried onions, sliced pickles, pickled onions, sriracha, etc. Everyone loves making up their own sandwich(es).
Thank you for sharing your IP recipe for Pulled Pork! It was easy, fast and super flavourful! The recipe was precise and accurate. We enjoyed a really good meal last night.
This turned out so good!! I halfed the recipe and used a boneless pork tenderloin. Still used a full cup of broth with it. Used my mini instant pot and only did 20 minutes and then quick release. Turned out perfect!!
Love it
Can you double this and what would be the cool time?
This is always a hit. I do half paprika and half smoked paprika.
I don’t like pulled pork. I have made it the long and slow way with the many many steps, I have made it quicker ways, I have eaten it in restaurants. I have never liked it even though I want to, lol. But yours looked really good … so I tried it. We really liked it !! It had flavour. It was tender, moist, and oh so easy to make. We added a little Diana’s BBQ sauce on the sandwiches and it was perfect. Thanks for a recipe that finally lets me like pulled pork !!
I make this all the time. Thank you for this recipe! I don’t mix it all with BBQ sauce- each person puts on how much they want. Then, another night, I broil the leftovers for a couple minutes and we have carnitas tacos. We love it!
wonderful seasoned pork great flavor one point do not use CANOLA oil it is a GMO. created by Monsanto makers of round up. corn oil flax peanut oil even olive oil a much much better choice
Could this be cooked in a crockpot all day ??
Delicious and easy to make
Absolutely delicious! I was out of chili powder and only had smoked paprika on hand and it turned out fabulous. Was planning to run out and get bbq sauce but decided against it after tasting. Separated out the fat in the juice then added it back in. Will be making this again.
Loved this ! First time I’ve made pulled pork and it was easy and delicious. Lots of liquid left in the pot which I reduced down a bit and poured all over it, extra moist 🙂 served with rice , black beans and cabbage and will have it in burgers tomorrow.
thank you!
Great recipe thanks so much! The sliders were a huge hit!
Incredibly flavorful- very rich and balanced flavors. Meat is tender and juicy. Highly recommend!
One of the best IP recipes out there, it’s super easy and fast, tastes amaaaaazing every time. My only problem as a single person is that there’s too many leftovers for me to eat, ha. I usually have it as sandwiches with coleslaw and pickles, like the pictures and it’s delicious. Definitely worth making again and again.
This pulled pork also freezes well if itt makes more than you can use in a few days. It’s also delicious as a topping for baked sweet potatoes!
I have made this a couple of times and it is a crowd pleaser!! Love firecracker chicken recipe too.
So good! The flavor of the pork was great. I just cooked it down some to thicken the juices. Someone said that they were bland, I certainly did not find that so. I did rub the rub into the meat before I browned it, so maybe that helped? I will definitely keep this recipe. I have found great recipes on this site.
I doubled the recipe and it came out too salty. May have been my mistake not to cut back on the salt.
OMG the best pork, the whole family loved it. I put the bbq on the sandwich’s when made. We used left over pork for nachos and quesadilla’s. The flavor was great.
Served this pulled pork to my daughter and son in-law. We ALL agreed it is absolutely the best pulled pork we have ever tasted. I didn’t even put a sauce on it! Tender, flavorful, and damn delicious.
Made this for our family bday party for my son and Everyone Loved it!!! Tasted sooo good. Thank you!! Will use this again in the future.
The best pulled pork ever! I’ve made it twice for my boyfriend and I and the second time substituted smoked paprika and added a little liquid smoke and it was phenomenal! So tender it just fell apart, topped if off with crunchy slaw and its an all time favorite!!
Stubbs is the best
Fifth/6th? time making this recipe in my 8-QT Duo (once in the crock-pot after searing), it’s always delicious and 5 stars. However, we are really not great fans of the vinegary/Carolina style, so this time I tweaked it to suit us, and it was sublime!
I used a 7lb pork butt, cut into 6 chunks, dry-rubbed overnight with doubled-ingredients: subbed smoked paprika, added 1t chipotle pepper, doubled cracked black pepper- but no oregano.
Seared pork in grapeseed oil, deglazed with a 2-Cup mix of chicken/beef/veg stock (used up what I had in fridge). Used only 1T Apple Cider vinegar and 1T Apple balsamic vinegar for this part to help with tenderizing. Added 1/2t of South African Smoke spice and about 1/2t. liquid Hickory smoke.
Nestled those seared lumps of love down in the liquid, set on High Pressure for 60 min; Natural release for 15 min, then quick-release. Man, I tore that tender pork up! While doing so, I added a generous 2T local, real honey and about 1/2 C Stubbs BBQ sauce to the liquid. Simmered that on low for ~15 min & spooned it over the pulled pork in the serving dish. MMMMM! We love this less-vinegar version. 10 stars! It’s not so saucy (unless one wants to add BBQ sauce) and most of us prefer the no-added sauce version after these tweaks. Thanks so much for your recipe, I had meant to leave a comment a couple years ago <3
Best pulled pork yet! That was Damn Delicious. I used a 2 lb roast and the whole seasoning recipe . We like lots of flavour and it gave it a nice little kick. I made tacos and topped the beef with a little bbw sauce and a red cabbage and carrots slaw that I seasoned with salt,lime, and cilantro. A jalapeño is nice in the slaw if you have it too. So tender, and not dry like the slow cooker makes. The seasoning tho. It’s the best. I want to try more of your recipes. Thank you for this one!
Dynamite recipe! The pork is great with bbq sauce but really it’s great by itself. I’ve already made this a second time. Give it a shot.
All I can say is that this really is best damn pork I have EVER EATEN…and I am almost 60!!!I will never eat pork a different way..ever!!!It is phenomenal..I make broccoli slaw to go with it!!!Thank you for this recipe!!I’ve been telling everyone about it. Even a stranger at the market!
Living in the southeastern U.S., I’ve gotten kinda particular about pulled pork, but I decided to give this recipe a try. Not a fan of NC styled pulled pork (heavy on the vinegar), I was hesitant with the vinegar and held back 1T at the end, The result was an AWESOME pulled pork with a slight tang from the vinegar. That was before adding BBQ sauce. Adding the sauce was just “icing on the cake”.
Excellent flavours! Pork was super tasty , moist and great on tacos.
I made this with 2 pieces of pork tenderloin & once it was cooked, I removed the pork & turned the instant pot on sauté & used cornstarch slurry to make a gravy. I shredded the pork & returned it to the gravy. I served this over homemade potato wedges & made it into a pulled pork poutine! Delicious
This is amazing. Your review has made me want to try this instead of the recipe!
I actually haven’t tried this yet, but am going to make it today. I may have missed it, but I wonder if you have a recipe for the slaw that’s on the sandwich in your photo? Or is it just a mixture of cabbage and carrots with out dressing? It looks great and I’m sure it would be a tasty addition to the pulled pork!
Did it in a crockpot on low for 7.5 hours my whole family loved it!
Pork was tender but found it to be bland after it was cooked. Used the leftover juices to make a BBQ sauce which helped it. Might make more rub next time and less to none chicken broth.
So easy to make, flavorful and tender! Great recipe!
Yummm
Incredibly TASTY! SO fast and simple to make too. Very much enjoy every recipe I’ve made from your site. One question on this recipe please. The Cook Time at the top is noted as 60 minutes, yet, step 4 indicates 40 minutes. I started with 40 minutes and it wasn’t done yet. Added another 20 minutes. It indeed fell apart at that point.
You nailed this recipe. I am a Southerner and a connoisseur of good food; southern food especially. So many times you see a recipe for pulled pork and it is laden with sweet pickle relish or without bar-b-que. This one is perfect.
It was delicious. Question: Was I suppose to save the cooking liquid? I through it out and mixed meat with Stubbs. I really loved the flavor of the liquid, so I thought if I skimmed it, it would have been a good addition. Wondered what you thought.
I’ve made several of your recipes and have never been disappointed. Love your style – simple but delicious. I didn’t realize how late it was so I have a butt in the fridge covered in seasoning until tomorrow afternoon late so 2 questions:. Will a butt cook the same as a shoulder and will it be alright to sit in seasoning for the next 18 hours or so?
The best recipe for pulled pork! Delicious! I cooked it on the stove in a dutch oven pot.
how long did you cook in dutch oven?
Question…is the Kosher salt measure for the Morton salt or the other type? Thanks
Thank you very much for making me a cook! Your recipes are so easy and delicious. I have never really considered myself good at cooking but your recipes have made me love being in the kitchen.
can this be made in a slow cooker?
I am stockpiling a whole list of your recipes I need to try thanks to you!
Hi Chungah, this looks amazing. I’ve never made this before. I see that you tossed pickles, green onions, and shredded cabbage and carrots. Am I missing anything? Thanks!
Absolute perfection! As good as my favorite BBQ place and so much cheaper and easier thanks to this recipe. It’s my go-to and has never disappointed. Thank you for posting Instant Pot recipes!!
easy to follow. just learning to use my instapot amd loved the food I made today.
This was OUTSTANDING! Best shredded pork I’ve made. I didn’t even use BBQ sauce on some of it because the flavor was so good with just the rub. Will definitely be making it again.
Great recipe! I have made it 2 times. Everyone I share it with love it.
This is the best pulled pork recipe I’ve tried. So flavorful it didn’t even need the BBQ sauce! It just fell right apart and was so moist. Thanks for the great recipe!
pretty good. but not the best pulled pork in the world.
I ate it in a sandwich and later in the week made nachos using cheddar cheese+black beans + pineapple + bbq pork
I made your Instant pot BBQ Pulled pork for my family to have for dinner after the Mardi Gras parade last night. It was delicious. Everybody loved it, even the picky children! I will be having it again real soon! Thank you for a great recipe.
The BOMB DIGGY! FOR REAL! Thank you. I addes 1 up of freshly blended pineapple juice to the acv and chicken stock. Next time i will use half the chicken stock. My family from 2 to 43 ate it up. We all agreed that it doesn’t need sauce but it is added bonus.
You have made a fan out of me!
Hi, new to instant Pot. So…
At step 3, all is done in the Instant Pot or a separate pan and than transferred to IP?
Thank you
You can just do step 3 in the instapot, save having to clean up another pot!
Question — if I only have 1 pound of pork, how much chicken stock should I use?
Is it possible to also list the crock pot version on your recipes?? I’m sure I’m not the only one that still likes using a crock pot. There are so many recipes lately on this website that look so good and then I go to click on them and it says “Instant Pot” so I have to pass on it.
Yes to this!! I want to make this so bad, but I only have a crock pot as well!
I would just use the ingredients to this recipe and follow the instructions on a slow cooker recipe.
Excellent!! Honestly, the best I’ve ever had. I used fresh pressed Fuji apple juice instead of chicken broth. The pork fell apart and was absolutely perfect. I used a barbecue sauce called Sweet Bay Barbecue by Schlotterbeck and Foss (S&F) sold at whole foods. But, I also love it with Stubbs sweet heat. Make this!
These were so simple and so good! I made two batches for a gathering and they were all gone.
This came out great for us. We used pork tenderloin instead of pork shoulder because it was what I had on hand; the pulled pork came out quite well still.
The base rub for the pork is excellent, and adding the barbecue sauce just before I serve (or reheat and serve since this makes great leftovers) is a great way to change the taste of the meal a bit, too.
Just made this recipe in the crockpot and it was delicious! I only did the dry rub on the pork shoulder. No vinegar or additional liquid. Cooked on low 8 hours and it turned out so tender. Cayenne does add a bit of a kick, which I love. Served it on potato rolls with cole slaw. Sooooo good…thanks for the great recipe!
This recipe looks delicious! Are their other types/cuts of meat that can be substituted if you don’t want pork?
yes I’d love to know as well, pork is hard to come by where I live.
This was outstanding! I’ve made pulled pork before but it usually gets its flavor from the bbq sauce. This one is excellent even without the sauce. It far exceeded my expectations!
This was excellent! I agree about the choice of Stubb’s too. I’d sure like a version of this recipe for beef if you can manage it.
We made the exact same recipe, only with beef and I liked it even better than pork. Came out PERFECT!
Do you have a recipe for the slaw?
would love the slaw recipe too!
This is our go to recipe and the family loves it! My family raves about it!
Is there a recipe for the slaw?
Thanks!!!
This sounds great. Question: ingredients list says 1/2 cayenne pepper. Is that supposed to be 1/2 tsp? Thanks! Can’t wait to make this.
This recipe sounds delightful! Unfortunately, I don’t have an Instant Pot but I do have a crockpot. Do you have an recommended cooking times for the pork in a crockpot? Thanks!
Hi Kitty! We don’t have an exact slow cooker version but we have these Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas that you can adapt from.
As always, please use your best judgment when making substitutions and modifications. Hope that helps!
I haven’t tried this yet. But I intend to very soon. This is the first recipe I’ve seen that doesn’t require cooking the pork in the bbq sauce. Can’t wait to try.
Just curious as to what the slaw is and if there is a recipe for that too.