Pulled Pork in the Instant Pot, oh my, what an idea! I was drawn to Pulled Pork for 3 reasons:
1. It seemed to be a perfect accompaniment for my Super Creamy Mac & Cheese and boy was it ever 😋!
2. I knew I had a busy week at work and pork always makes for delicious leftovers and easy work week meals!
3. Finally, if you’ve been following me, you have probably realized my recipes are inspired by food videos and research and this pulled pork is no different. It takes inspiration from meeting a friend at Aldi and she mentioned she was making Mokokuku Bo Ssäm Pork, which of course intrigued me because I love Korean cooking. David Chang is the mastermind behind bo ssäm, hence the Mokokuku (i.e. his restaurant group) in the name, and it is a common dish in Korean restaurants, including his own. Since Dover, New Hampshire doesn’t have any Korean restaurants, Korean inspired dishes are made at home by this home chef 👍!
However, Mokokuku Bo Ssäm Pork, is a labor of love and I was looking for a quick and easy Sunday meal. As a result, I decided to use some of the Korean ingredients from the Mokokuku Bo Ssäm Pork recipe and instead of roasting the pork, I would use my Instant Pot. The end product was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!
I found this pulled pork, very easy to make. I began by coating my bone-in pork shoulder with salt, white pepper and Korean red pepper (i.e. Gochugaru) and then I seared it in my Instant Pot.
Once the pork was seared on all sides, I removed it from my Instant Pot and sauteed a white onion, ginger and garlic in the pork fond, i.e. brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pot after sauteing the pork.
I then deglazed the Instant Pot with a light lager, soy sauce, hot pepper paste (i.e. Gochujang) and Mirin.
The pork was then added back to the Instant Pot and cooked on Manual for 105 minutes. Note: The key is 15 minutes for each pound of pork and I had a 7 pounder! After 105 minutes, I let the pressure release naturally and the end result was AMAZING falling off the bone deliciousness 😋!
You can be sure I’ll be making this again and I hope you enjoy this version of pulled pork, cheers 🍻!
Some Notes
- While this recipe contains Korean ingredients, I will add the caveat that it did not contain much heat and had a very subtle Korean flavor; however, ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS and safe for any pulled pork fan!
- I used a bone-in pork shoulder, which helped deliver the delicious flavors. Note: this recipe is made with a 7lb pork shoulder and if you have a smaller shoulder, you might need to modify some of the Korean pepper ingredients if you’re looking for a mild spiced pulled pork.
- The searing of the pork locked in the pork juices and the sauteing of the amonmics, helped to build flavor before the cover was added. However, if you are short for time, because it did add about 30 minutes to the prep time, you could probably skip those steps and simply add all the ingredients straight into the Instant Pot! Note: I can not attest to the deliciousness of adding everything straight into the Instant Pot.
- I used Dos Equis Amber, but any lager would probably work.
- The juices left in the Instant Pot after cooking the pork were insanely good and enhanced the flavor tremendously. I would suggest allowing the liquid to sit in the fridge overnight because that way you’re able to remove the solidified fat that developed once chilled.
As I mentioned early in this post (i.e. reason #2 for creating Pulled Pork), Pulled Pork makes incredible leftovers and this recipe absolutely delivered in creating some incredible work week meals! Below you will find some of the dishes featured with these leftovers, as well as some others:
- Pork Nachos – Pile on pulled pork, cheese and your favorite toppings!
- Korean Pork Tacos with Apple Kimchi Slaw – The slaw makes the taco with the crunch and freshness! Don’t forget to check out my Korean Short Rib Taco post for the Apple Kimchi Slaw recipe!
- Pulled Pork Spinach Salad with Apple Kimchi Slaw – Spinach salads are a stable in my work lunch routine and this salad was an extra treat with the pork and Apple Kimchi Slaw leftovers!
- Cuban Sandwiches – One of my absolute favorite sandwiches with the delicious pork, ham, swiss, mustard, pickles pressed between a soft roll 😋!
- Pork Enchiladas – These usually make a debut when we have pork leftovers, check out these yummy enchiladas here, Salsa Verde Pulled Pork Enchiladas.
- Spicy Peanut Pork Noodles – One of the first recipes I shared here and super delicious!
- Pork Hash Benedict – I mean what’s not to love ❤; a hash with pork, potato and onion, a poached egg and hollandaise? I made the hollandaise with the gravy from the Instant Pot and it was AMAZING!!!
- Salsa Verde Pork Chili – This chili is bright and fresh, check out my Verde Chicken Soup for some inspiration!
Instant Pot Pulled Pork
Ingredients
- 7 lb bone-in pork shoulder
- 1 white onion, quartered
- 2 TBS ginger, chopped
- 2 TBS garlic, chopped
- 2 cups light lager, I used Dos Equis Amber
- ½ cup light soy sauce
- 1 TBS hot pepper paste (i.e. Gochujang)
- 2 tsp mirin
Pork Rub
- 2 TBS salt
- 1 tsp white pepper
- ½ tsp korean red pepper (i.e. Gochugaru)
Instructions
- Begin by trimming off any large pieces of fat from the outside of the pork shoulder and scoring the fat cap with a sharp knife.
- Now rub the pork shoulder with salt, white pepper and Korean red pepper (i.e. Gochugaru).
- Set the Instant Pot to saute and sear each side of the pork shoulder.
- Remove the seared pork shoulder from the Instant Pot and add the onion, ginger and garlic to the pork fond and saute until aromatic. Be careful not to burn your garlic.
- Now deglazed the Instant Pot with a light lager, soy sauce, hot pepper paste (i.e. Gochujang) and Mirin.
- Add the pork shoulder (fat cap up) back to the Instant Pot. Cover and set to manual (15 -20 minutes for each pound of pork shoulder.
- Allow that pressure to build and get ready for those aromas 😋! After the cook time, allow the pressure to release naturally. Remove the cover and coat the top of the pork shoulder with the Instant Pot juices.
- Remove the pork shoulder from the Instant Pot and shred. Add some of the Instant Pot juices to the pulled pork.
- Serve warm, enjoy and cheers 🍻!
