Instant Pot Pulled Pork with Quick BBQ Sauce

• Chunks instead of a whole roast. Three or four pieces of 1 pound each reach fork-tender in 60 minutes at high pressure; a whole 4-pound shoulder needs closer to 90, and the outside dries before the center gives.
• The rub goes on before the sear, so the brown sugar and paprika build a crust that ends up in the sauce. Deglazing with broth lifts that crust off the pot and stops the burn warning.
• The sauce is made in the same pot from the cooking juices, so nothing is thrown out and no second pan comes out.

Ingredient notes

• Pork shoulder (also sold as pork butt or Boston butt): boneless, about 4 pounds, cut into 3 or 4 chunks. The fat marbling is what makes the shreds moist; pork loin works but needs only 40 minutes and comes out drier.
• Dry rub: smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, brown sugar, kosher salt and black pepper. Measure them; the salt is doing real work on 4 pounds of meat.
• Broth: 1 cup is the minimum liquid the pot needs to come to pressure. Low-sodium chicken or beef broth both work. Water works too, with a little less depth.
• Apple cider vinegar: a small amount in the pot cuts the richness. It is not a Carolina-style vinegar sauce; it just keeps the sweet sauce from going flat.
• BBQ sauce: 1 1/2 cups of a store-bought sauce you already like, stirred into the shreds with some of the cooking juices. A quick homemade version is in the variations below.
• Buns and slaw: not in the card, but the pork needs something to sit on. Soft buns and a sharp coleslaw are the usual pairing.

1. 1Cut and rub the pork

   Trim the fat cap to about 1/4 inch and cut the shoulder into 3 or 4 even chunks. Stir the smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, brown sugar, salt and pepper together in a small bowl, then press the rub over every side of the pork. Let it sit while the pot heats.

2. 2Sear two pieces at a time

   Set the Instant Pot to Sauté and wait for it to read Hot. Add the oil, then brown the pork in two batches, about 2 minutes per side on two sides. Crowding the pot steams the meat instead of browning it, so leave space between the pieces. Move the seared pork to a plate.

3. 3Deglaze, then pressure cook

   Pour in half the broth and scrape every browned bit off the bottom with a wooden spoon; anything stuck there triggers the Burn warning. Add the rest of the broth, the vinegar and the onion, then return the pork and any juices. Lock the lid, set the valve to Sealing, and cook on Manual or Pressure Cook, High, for 60 minutes. Walk away: the pot takes about 10 minutes to come to pressure first.

   

4. 4Release naturally for 15 minutes

   When the timer ends, leave the pot alone for 15 minutes so the pressure drops on its own, then vent whatever is left. Opening early is the usual reason pressure-cooked pork comes out tough. Lift the pork into a large bowl; if a piece resists a fork, cook it 10 more minutes.

5. 5Shred and sauce in the pot

   Pour off all but about 1 cup of the cooking liquid, keeping the rest. Shred the pork with two forks, pulling out large pieces of fat. Return the shreds to the pot, add the BBQ sauce and toss on Sauté for 2 to 3 minutes until the sauce clings. If it looks tight, splash in reserved juices, 1/4 cup at a time.

• Even chunks finish together. Cut the big end smaller rather than leaving one 2-pound piece.
• Hot pot before the oil, oil before the pork. A cold sear glues the rub to the metal instead of the meat.
• Natural release is not optional here. 15 minutes of waiting is the difference between shreds and chunks.
• Reserve the juices before you pour them out. Shredded pork drinks sauce; the juices loosen it back.
• Taste the sauced pork before serving. A pinch of salt or a spoon of brown sugar fixes a flat batch.

Pile the pork onto soft buns with coleslaw on top or beside, and keep extra sauce on the table. It also works over rice, in tacos, or on a baked potato. The card makes 8 sandwich-size servings from 4 pounds raw; the meat loses about a third of its weight in cooking, so plan on 1/3 pound of finished pork per sandwich.