Instant Pot Pulled Pork !
Hi guys! This is the easiest pulled pork ever! It has been a crazy busy week with back to school. Evan starts 2nd grade! Instant Pot Pulled pork to the rescue!
One thing I have been trying to work on is meal planning to stay a little more organized. I am normally just terrible at it. There are nights it’s 5pm and I still don’t know what to make for dinner.
So for my family’s sake I am trying to be a little more intentional with meal planning so we are not eating at 8 o’clock at night or loaded up with junk. It will save some money too because most of those last-minute dinner thoughts end up with us going out and grabbing some unhealthy meal.
So for this week the first thing on my meal plan list was pulled pork. I have made it before, in the slow cooker and the instant pot and shredded it with a fork in the end, kind of messy but ok. I remember hearing people cook it with a can of soda, pop or what ever you call it. More specifically Dr. Pepper or even Rootbeer. So I decided to give it a try because we don’t drink Dr. Pepper and I have has a can sitting in my fridge forever from when we had company visit.
When ever I am ready to try something new I research the food subject, look at recipes and tweak them to my family’s liking. Well sometimes, my husband does not like any form of cheese so he usually loses out when it comes to recipes with cheese and it doesn’t stop there, no mayo, cream stuff..etc. I know crazy right? Please pray for me!
Now I have made pulled pork before the more traditional way with apple cider vinegar and water..etc. So I know I needed to cook it for at least 60 minutes but instead of the vinegar and water I just used the whole can of Dr. Pepper. Coca Cola or rootbeer would work just as fine too.
What you need:
So for this recipe all you need is a 3-4 lb boneless shoulder roast( they have ones packaged for the slow cooker which I love to use and are about $8, a perfect size but you can go larger), Liquid Smoke, a can of cola or Dr Pepper, a large onion, BBQ rub( I make my own( in recipe below) but when I am in a pinch like this time I use McCormick pulled Pork Seasoning Mix ). I also like Famous Daves rib rub too which I keep on hand as well. That’s It!
First rub your pork with a few drops of Liquid Smoke, this stuff is awesome and it will already smell like a BBQ join in your kitchen. It’s great to have on had for ribs and chicken too. It’s staple in my pantry.
At the bottom of the pot (no rack is used) quarter your onion and place the pork pieced on top of the onion then add your can of soda. How easy is that?
Once you lock your lid you press manual and set for 60 minutes. Once it beeps let it natural release for 15 minutes then give it a quick release.
Now here is the awesome part! Shredding your pork. No need to do it by hand with 2 forks. Just dust of your hand mixer add the pork,cooked onion with about a cup of pork/cola liquid to the bowl and do a few quick mixes starting on slow speed so it doesn’t go flying across the kitchen and in a couple of seconds its done! Save some of the liquid if you are planning to serve it another day , you can use it to reheat in your instant pot.
Now I made this day ahead and stored it in a container ready for Monday night’s dinner. Did you know you can reheat in the Instant Pot? So to do this just add your pork back in your Instant pot the day you are ready to serve. Add about 1-2 cups of the leftover pork/soda liquid( if you didn’t save any of the pork liquid its ok, just use some water) and set it for 2-3 minutes on manual with a quick release. So simple.
Serve it up on buns and top with BBQ sauce. You can also opt to mix in BBQ sauce as well. Our family likes it the other way. If you like spicy don’t be afraid to add some pepper flakes to your pork too!
Dinner Monday night was literally done under 20 minutes. I served it up with some Air fried brussels sprouts with bacon and chips. Serve it with my other instant pot recipes like 2 minute Instant pot corn on the cob and potato salad which can be found here.
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Instant Pot Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork
Ingredients
- 3-4 LB Pork Shoulder Bonless Look for slow cooker size
- 2-4 Drops Liquid Smoke
- 1/2-1 Packet McCormick Pulled Pork Seasoning or any rub
- 1 Large Onion
- 1 can Dr. Pepper, rootbeer or cola
Dry Rub ( if making your own)
- 3/4 cup Light brown sugar
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Smoked or regular Paprika
- 1 tbsp Garlic Powder
- 1/2 tsp Ground red pepper
Instructions
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Cut up onion in quarters and place in bottom of Instant pot
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Rub liquid smoke all over Pork roast
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Rub your seasoning packet or rub all over Pork roast. cut up roast into 3-4 large pieces and and place on top of onions in pot.
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Pour soda into pot not on top of roast because you don't want to wash off the rub on the pork. Do it on the side.
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Lock lid in place. Set to manual 60 minutes. Natural Release for 15 minutes then give it a quick release
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Remove pork, onions and 1-2 cup of liquid and place in bowl. With a hand mixer on slow speed slowly mix pork to your favorite shredding state.This only takes a few seconds if you like it like the one in the picture.
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Serve with your favorite BBQ sauce to top or mix in on hamburger buns.
Dry Rub- make your own
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Mix brown sugar, salt, paprika, garlic powder and red pepper together. Rub and massage in pork.
Recipe Notes
Its a great Make-a-Head meal- Make this ahead and store in air tight container. Keep about 2 cups of the cooking liquid in a separate container to reheat. If you forget it's ok, just add water. To reheat for make ahead meals place Pork in Instant pot, add 1-2 cups of liquid and set on manual for 2-3 minutes with a a quick release. Its great for parties!
