Pulled pork is a staple round our place. It’s one of the few ways I will eat pork (yes I know, I’m a strange person) and Grant loves any and all types of meat – bonus points if barbecue sauce is involved. Naturally, pulled pork WITH barbecue sauce is a hit.
Fun fact: Barbecue sauce + me were not friends until Grant got me hooked on it when we started dating. Now, we both love it.
Pulled pork is one of those miracle recipes.
Don’t know what to make for dinner? Make this.
Don’t have a lot of time to spend on dinner? Make this.
Feeding a small crowd? Make this. It can easily be turned into a sah-weett taco bar with minimal effort (think chips, salsa, cheese, veggies, tortillas, sour cream). Are you pickin’ up what I’m puttin’ down? Yes. Taco bar is always YES.
I would honestly just be happy snacking on this with some yellow corn chips – so simple, yet so amazing. See evidence below ??
But, when you have the opportunity to taco bar, always taco bar. It’s soooo easy to throw that together – thanks to the help of the Instant Pot. 40 minute set-it-and-forget it dinner? I’m in. Instant dinner (pun intended). This is one of those recipes you should always have up your sleeve.
If you don’t have an Instant Pot (affiliate link)
, never fear – you can make this in a crock pot too. (Directions below).
Did you make this recipe? Snap a photo and leave a comment below!
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Recipe:
- 2 lb pork butt, thawed
- 2 TBS molasses*
- 2 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 3/4 tsp thyme
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- pinch of pepper
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 cups of water
- 1 – 2 cups of your favorite barbecue sauce
Place the pork on a plate or in a shallow dish. Mix all ingredients together except the barbecue sauce and rub evenly over the pork. Place the pork in the Instant Pot (I used the trivet that comes with it but I don’t think you need to do that – it ended up half sitting in the liquid anyways). Pour the water into the bottom of the pot – don’t pour directly over the pork or you’ll wash off the seasonings. Cook for 40 minutes on manual and let the steam naturally release. Once the pin has dropped, take off the lid and remove the pork. Set it on a cutting board and shred using two forks. Transfer shredded pork to a serving bowl and mix the barbecue sauce in. Serve plain, with chips, in salad, or my personal favorite – taco style.
To make this in a crock pot – everything is the same except that you’ll cook it on low for 7-8 hours. If you’re crunched for time you can try cooking it on high for 4-5 hours, but I’ve had the pork come out a bit tough when I’ve cooked it on high in the crockpot.
Yield: 4-5 servings
*Note: You can substitute brown sugar if you don’t have molasses. Your cook time will need to be longer if you have a larger piece of pork.
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Tracy says
I’m going to give my Intant Pot one more shot at this and if it turns out not so great again I need to stick with my slow cooker on this one. It was more tender in the SC. This recipe sounds great!
bluebowl says
Sorry to hear it wasn’t great! What went wrong? Maybe I can help troubleshoot 🙂
Luci says
This looks so delicious. I love pulled pork. I will have to make this in my crock pot since I don’t have a Instant Pot.
bluebowl says
Thanks! It’s yummy either way 🙂
Tammy DelleCese says
Wondering what your favourite bbq sauce is to use in this recipe?
Thanks for sharing!
bluebowl says
We used Jack Daniels Hickory barbecue sauce – amazing! 🙂 You should be able to find it at any major grocery store or Walmart!
Cynthia says
Definitely making this in the slow cooker, and then make pulled pork tacos! I’ve been meaning to make something similar, but waiting for a nice recipe to give it a go! The photos are super appetizing!
bluebowl says
Thanks so much!! 🙂 Enjoy!
Amelie says
I’ve never tried making pulled pork myself, but you make it look so easy and tasty!
bluebowl says
Thank you!
April says
This looks great! I like to make pulled chicken or beef in my slow cooker. I need to add an instant-pot to my Christmas wish list because I would love to be able to cook certain foods faster!
Daniela says
Yum! This pork looks delicious and so easy to make! I would totally use the leftovers to make some killer oven nachos.
bluebowl says
Ooohh that’s such a good idea! 🙂
Melissa says
Mmmmmm we love pulled pork!!! I seriously need to get an Instant Pot too, I still do mine old school in the crockpot and sometimes I just don’t want to wait that long! Love how saucy it is too, nothing worse than dry pulled pork!
Azlin Bloor says
Oh you got me at instant! Who doesn’t love a delicious recipe that doesn’t take much to cook, love it!
Tiffany Alexandria says
hmm! never thought that pull pork is THIS EASY! and there’s so much you can do with it! This is awesome (and making me hungry)
Michelle Frank | Flipped-Out Food says
The pulled pork strategy is a favorite in my house. Do you use bone-in pork butt? That’s my preference: I think that the pork comes out with more flavor. And a taco bar with the leftovers is another favorite! I usually use the slow-cooker, but this Instant Pot thing is more and more tempting…
bluebowl says
I didn’t use a bone-in this time but you definitely can do that!
Elena says
This recipe looks delicious!!! I need to get an Instant Pot 🙂
Catherine Brown says
So far I haven’t succumbed to the instapot yet, but saving that much cooking time is quite tempting. Nice photos here too!
bluebowl says
Thanks so much! 🙂 Maybe keep an eye out on Black Friday if you’re thinking of getting one!