How to Cook Instant Pot Pork Shoulder

How to cook Instant Pot pork shoulder with barbecue sauce for pulled pork sandwiches in your pressure cooker. Fork tender meat takes less than a few hours to fall apart now. Forgotten to defrost your meat? We even have instructions for Instant Pot frozen pork shoulder too.

Ninja Foodi Pork Shoulder Recipe

This is such an inexpensive meal, and so yummy too! If you’re looking for a Ninja Foodi recipe that pot will work just as well, no worries. We have tried it in our Crockpot Express and Mealthy pots too and there isn’t any difference in timing. Even if it starts off rock hard frozen there isn’t a huge difference.

This is our go to every time we have a large group over. Reason being is that it is quite inexpensive to feed a lot of people to fill them up quickly with a lot of protein. There are tons of ways to serve it up too. With rolls, larger buns, toast, or over rice. Add a cool item like coleslaw on top for extra pretty and yum.

Instant Pot Pork Shoulder Ingredients

1. 4-5 lb. pork shoulder that is fatty = moist and lots of flavor
2. Apple cider vinegar gives it a pop of flavor
3. Ketchup will make your own bbq sauce basically
4. Worcestershire sauce gives it a rich taste

Dry rub

1. Brown sugar makes it sweet
2. Onion powder and garlic powder is great
3. Paprika we love
4. Chili powder, just a bit, not spicy
5. Seasoned salt, we used Lawry’s

Equipment needed

1. Small bowl
2. Pressure cooker
   1. if you have an Instant Pot I HIGHLY suggest you get a non stick pot
   2. it will help you avoid the false burn notice from appearing on any recipe

Variations

If you want a really quick way you can just use bottled barbecue sauce and a bottled already made rub. But I have an even better homemade recipe below that is super quick too.

I bet you have all the ingredients in your house already, other than the meat. So it’s really easy to throw together once you have that. This would take all day normally, and usually does when I make my boneless pork shoulder Crockpot recipe but not any longer.

Why I love cooking pork in a pressure cooker

Mix up a bit of sweet and savory rub for your pork shoulder and it is done, fall off the bone (if there is one) meat in just 90 minutes. This is why I love my pressure cooker so much.  

• It cuts the cooking time in at least half, usually less than that. To cook pork in a pressure cooker takes only about 90 minutes for a 5 lb. piece of meat cut in half.
• I’ve put it in whole too but cut in half comes out a bit more tender.
• You can use your Ninja Foodi to make this as well.
• Put some on a bun topped with cole slaw and it’s a fantastic meal.

Can you cook frozen pork in an Instant Pot?

Yes. You. Can. I linked at the top how to do this piece from rock hard, without defrosting. If you wanted a a smaller cut, this is how to cook a frozen pork loin in an Instant Pot instead. Good to feed about 4 vs. closer to 6 people or more depending on the size.

If you want to make these into handheld sandwiches you will want Hawaiian sweet rolls – we use these when making sliders, the best! Or serve with veggie muffins on the side.

What is the best cut of pork for pulled pork?

The best roast is the shoulder. High in fat and connective tissue, the shoulder is also the most flavorful part of the hog. Pork shoulder is typically cut into two parts, the Boston Butt, and the Picnic Roast. You may see them called this too.

You could also use beef roast shoulder since both of these cuts have quite a bit of connective tissues and needs to be broken down. This one has less fat though so it won’t be as moist. If you don’t have all day this is how to get it done quickly, but still the perfect texture.

Since this is a large piece of protein it will take longer than our Pressure cooker pork chop recipe. Here are the steps to follow, I recommend watching the video first though as it is a good example

How to cook Pork Shoulder Bone-in in Instant Pot

1. Mix together your dry seasonings and rub it all over your pork shoulder or pork butt, cut it in half so it becomes more tender when you pressure cook it.
2. Then mix together sauce ingredients and pour half inside your pot
3. Lay meat on top of that with remaining sauce poured on top
   • Some prefer to sear the outside of the meat first with some olive oil, I generally do not. If you do you MUST ensure that you deglaze your pot before continuing or you’ll get the burn notice.
4. Close lid and turn steam valve to sealing. 
5. Set to high pressure for 90 minutes followed by a 10 – 15 minute natural release.
   1. Quick release isn’t recommended as you want the meat to be as tender as possible.
6. Shred with fork, remove any chunks of fat, allow to sit in sauce while people serve themselves.

A cold dollop of mayo crunch is great to use for sliders, here’s an easy homemade recipe for Hawaiian cole slaw

Everyone in our family loves this. The flavorful cooking liquid you pour on the bottom of the pot permeates into each piece and makes it taste amazing. It is great during the summertime when you don’t want to heat up your oven or use your bbq. Instant Pot Hawaiian pulled pork makes for great sliders with easy rolls, or served over

Looking for more Instant Pot pork recipes?

• This Instant Pot pulled pork recipe has an Asian twist.
• We use a different sauce in our Ninja Foodi pulled pork recipe you can try too.

How can I eat pulled pork without bread?

1. Tacos are great with a sauce like Instant Pot carnitas filled with your meat, avocado, sour cream etc and enjoy on Tuesdays (or any day of the week)
2. Serve them on top of mashed potatoes with some gravy if you have it
   1. Polenta is also a good alternative
3. Added it inside of a batch of Instant Pot chili – great idea for leftover pulled pork
4. Some like to add it to poached eggs, kimchi, or inside the potato cakes mixture
5. Serve it inside a wrap with hummus 

What do you serve with pulled pork??

If I make something like this I will make vegetables to go with it if you want. I do have more than one pot so I have them both going near the end, that is if I don’t make the meat into sandwiches.

How long is leftover pulled pork good for?

Leftover pulled pork is the same as leftover ham or any other cooked meat. According to food safety guidelines, the safe storage life of these cooked meats is 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator if stored properly.

This means you need to either wrap leftover inside tinfoil, or I prefer to keep it inside a freezer bag with the air removed so it doesn’t dry out. You can make a whole new dish by using your leftover pork in a casserole!

Can you freeze leftover pulled pork?

Yes!! You can freeze the excess of a double or triple batch for future meals. This comes in handy if you are frequently short on time. Just store it properly inside airtight containers and you’ll have a quick and tasty meal for nights when you don’t have time to cook. Here’s the printable recipe to follow