Barbecue is HANDS DOWN my favorite style of food – smoked meats, southern style veggies, corn bread, mac and cheese, it all tops my list. The best barbecue joints are the no-fuss ones that serve your meats wrapped in brown paper and your sides in styrofoam cups, all on a tray. You know your meal is going to be great.
I have known for a while that I needed to nail an at-home pulled pork recipe, but it’s taken some time to perfect. You have to have the right cut of meat, and it has to be cooked super low and slow with an amazing dry rub. Since I’d venture to guess that most people don’t have a smoker at home (me included), the rub has to be really flavorful to make up for it, but still not overpower the meat. Needless to say I’ve been testing variations for so long and I’ve finally got it down. It’s too good not to share, so if you are a barbecue lover, keep reading.
Tip #1: Buy the Right Cut of Meat:
The best cut of pork for a tender, juicy finished product is pork shoulder (sometimes referred to as pork butt or Boston butt, even though it is not technically from the butt). It has the right amount of fat marbled throughout and will shred easily once it’s cooked. You will want to look for a 3 1/2 – 4 lb shoulder depending on how many people you are feeding. I’ve tried this with pork roast which looks similar but is much more lean and comes out dry, shoulder is definitely the way to go. You should have no problem finding a pork shoulder in your local grocery store, and it’s actually a pretty affordable cut of meat.
Tip #2: Prep the Pork
Now, this is the most important part. You don’t want to just place the raw meat into your instant pot or slow cooker. Any good pulled pork has texture and flavor built into it in the form of the “bark” on the outside. This requires an additional step of searing the outside, but I assure you it’s essential and SO worth it.
First, you’ll want to trim any excess fat on the top of the pork. A majority of the fat will render out as it cooks, however you’ll want to remove some of the larger chunks so it’s not chewy. Also you’ll want the meat itself to receive the crusty flavor and not just the fat cap.
After you’ve trimmed, you will want to mix the ingredients for the spice rub together and rub it generously on EVERY surface of the meat, top, sides, edges. The sugar in the rub will caramelize to create an amazing crust and the flavors of the spices will be infused into the meat.
Tip #3: Cook Low & Slow, or Speed up the Process by Pressure Cooking!
The Instant Pot is my preferred way to cook this pulled pork because you get the effect of cooking the meat low & slow all day, but compressed down to an hour of cooking time. I also love that you can sear the meat right in the pot, so it’s one less dish to clean! I use my Instant Pot SO MUCH, it’s so versatile and is great for cooking during the summer because you don’t have to heat up your kitchen. Here’s a link to the model I own!
If you are using an Instant Pot, Set to saute mode on medium heat and let it fully heat up. Add a liberal coating of oil to the bottom of the pot, and place the pork right in, searing 4-5 minutes per side until a deep crust forms. You’ll also want to sear the edges for a couple minutes so that every side and edge has a chance to crisp up. PRO TIP: Once the pork is seared on all sides, remove it to a plate for a minute while you de-glaze the pot. Add 1 cup of water and use a wooden spoon to scrape up all the brown bits on the bottom. If you don’t do this – you’ll get a Burn alert and the pot will stop cooking, which is a hassle. Those brown bits have a ton of flavor so keep them in there for the pork to cook in!
Add the pork back into to the Instant Pot, add the Barbecue sauce (my all-time favorite is Stubbs) and Worcestershire sauce, and cook on manual high pressure for 1 hour, then let natural release fully before opening the cover!
If you are using a slow cooker, you should still sear the outside! You can use a separate cast iron or stainless steel pan over medium-high heat. Avoid using a nonstick pan because it won’t develop that deep sear if it’s moving around. Once all sides are nice and brown, add it into the slow cooker with the Barbecue and Worcestershire sauces and cook on low for at least 8 hours. You could do it on high for at least 4 hours but I always get better results doing the low & slow method.
Let’s Talk Sides!
You could serve this pulled pork with any of your favorite traditional BBQ sides. When I make this for dinner, I like to serve it with homemade cole slaw to balance out the richness of the pork and get in a good serving of veggies.
I am very picky about my cole slaw so this is also a recipe I’ve worked on for a while to get just right. The trick for me is nice big shreds of veggies and light on the dressing. You can use fresh heads of cabbage or you could use a pre-made mix, either way works great! I like to use Primal Kitchen’s Paleo mayo to keep it healthy (I have stopped buying regular mayo since I discovered this, it’s soo good and the ingredients are super clean!). The dressing is crazy simple with just mayo, apple cider vinegar, a touch of honey, salt and pepper. I just can’t do the bottled cole slaw dressing anymore, this is too easy and tastes infinitely better!
And there you have it! This is the base of a great meal that can be tailored to whatever you want to serve it with. It’s surprisingly easy and a great way to feed a crowd. What are you waiting for? Go get your BBQ on!
Instant Pot/Slow Cooker Pulled Pork With Cole Slaw
Ingredients
- 3.5-4lb Pork Shoulder (may also be referred to as Pork Butt or Boston Butt)
- 3 Tbsp Avocado Oil (or other light tasting high-heat oil)
- 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
- 1 Tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 Tsp Onion Powder
- 1/2 Tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1/2 Tsp Cumin
- 2 Tsp Chili Powder
- 1 Tsp Ground Mustard
- 1/4 Tsp Cinnamon
- 1/2 Tsp Salt
- 1/2 Tsp Black Pepper
- 1 Cup Water (reduce to 1/2 cup for slow cooker)
- 1/2 Cup Barbecue Sauce
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 3 Cups Shredded Green Cabbage
- 1 Cup Shredded Purple Cabbage
- 1 Cup Shredded Carrots
- 1/2 Cup Mayo
- 3 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1/2 Tbsp Honey
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, cumin, chili powder, ground mustard, cinnamon, salt and pepper to make the dry rub.
- Set instant pot to saute on medium heat (refer to recipe notes below for slow cooker instructions). While heating, trim any excess fat off of pork shoulder. Sprinkle dry rub onto all sides of pork and rub until fully covered. Place pork into pot and sear for 4-5 minutes per side or until all sides of pork have developed a deep brown crust.
- Remove pork from instant pot and set aside. De-glaze the instant pot with 1 cup of water and scrape all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan (leave these juices in the pot to cook the pork in). Add the pork back into the instant pot and cover with barbecue sauce. Add Worcestershire sauce to the liquid around the pork.
- Cover Instant Pot and set to Manual – high pressure for 1 hour. Once the cooking is finished, let naturally release fully until seal releases (this usually takes about 20 minutes).
- While the pork is cooking, combine mayo, apple cider vinegar, and honey in a medium sized bowl and mix well to combine. Add cabbage and carrots to the bowl and mix well with dressing until evenly coated. Season with salt & pepper to taste and refrigerate while pork finishes cooking.
- Shred pork with two forks right in the instant pot and serve with extra barbecue sauce if desired and a serving of cole slaw!
Notes
- SLOW COOKER INSTRUCTIONS: Follow instructions above up to step 2, and use a hot cast iron skillet or stainless steel pan over medium-high heat to sear the pork once the dry rub is applied, about 4-5 minutes per side. Place seared pork into slow cooker along with 1/2 cup of water (not as much is needed as for instant pot) barbeque sauce and worcestershire sauce and cook for at least 8 hours on low. You can do 4 hours on high but pork may not be as tender and fall-apart – i recommend the low and slow method! Continue with steps 5&6 above & enjoy!
- You can sub pre-shredded cole slaw mix instead of freshly shredded – I usually use 2 bags to get the same ratio of cabbage to dressing as listed above.