The Instant Pot might as well be called the miracle pot, because it’s simply amazing how dishes that typically take all day can turn out beautifully in mere minutes!
When you think about making pulled pork sandwiches, the idea of tending to a pork shoulder all day and hoping it’s juicy and tender at the end of your effort can seem utterly exhausting.
But thanks to the fast cooking and moist interior of an electric pressure cooker like the Instant Pot, you can have fork tender pulled pork sandwiches in a fraction of the time!
Even better? You probably have most of these ingredients on hand in your pantry. This is also a great way to feed a crowd at a low cost.
Bonus tip: buy your Boston Butt (pork shoulder) at your local club warehouse where they go for what seems like pennies per pound!
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 lbs boneless pork shoulder, trimmed of fat and cut into 3-inch pieces
1 tablespoon vegetable oil, divided
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup your favorite BBQ sauce
1/3 cup ketchup
1/4 cup chicken broth
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
2-3 dashes Holtkamp Heat Wave Hot Sauce (or more, if you like!)
8 sandwich rolls/buns
Bread and Butter pickle chips, for serving
Coleslaw, for serving
Directions:
Combine chili powder, salt and pepper in a small bowl and mix. Rub this mixture into all sides of the trimmed pork. This step can be done prior to cooking and left to marinade 1-2 hours.
Press Sauté ; heat oil in pressure cooker. Add pork in batches and cook about 8 minutes or until browned on all sides. Remove to plate.
Add onion, bbq sauce, ketchup, broth, honey, vinegar, mustard and hot sauce. Scrape up browned bits from bottom of pot and cook liquids for 2 minutes. Return pork to pot, stirring into sauce.
Secure lid and move your pressure release valve to sealed position. Cook at high pressure for 45 minutes.
When cooking is complete, use natural release for 10 minutes. After releasing remaining pressure, remove pork to clean plate.
Skim excess fat from sauce and press Sauté. Cook sauce about 10 minutes or until reduced by one third.
While sauce thickens, shred pork into bite-sized pieces using two large forks.
Combine pork and 1 cup of sauce in large bowl and toss to coat. Add additional sauce if necessary.
Serve on rolls, offering pickles, coleslaw and extra barbecue sauce for those that want to “dress up” their delicious BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches.
I hope you enjoy these delicious sandwiches and all the time you saved by using a pressure cooker!