Pulled Pork (Instant Pot, Slow, Cooker, Or Oven)
A classic recipe that uses my famous coffee-spiced rub and a tangy homemade barbecue sauce for a smoky, sweet, sticky, irresistible pulled pork. You can use it for classic pulled pork sandwiches, or broil it and add it to tacos, burritos, rice or ramen bowls. This recipe is gluten, dairy, and refined sugar free!
Servings: 8 servings
Ingredients
Coffee Spice Rub:
- 1/4 cup chile powder
- 1/4 cup finely ground coffee beans I prefer dark roast, but use what you like
- 2 tbsp coconut sugar
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1-2 tsp chipotle chile powder 1 tsp for mild, 2 tsp for a kick
- 1 tbsp sea salt
- 1 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
Pork:
- 1 4 lb Pork shoulder roast cut into 4 pieces
- 1 tbsp coconut oil or any high smoke point oil
- 1 onion, diced
Sauce:
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup or honey
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp coconut aminos or soy sauce
- 1 tsp sriracha or pinch of red pepper flakes
- 3 cloves garlic, minced or 1 tsp garlic powder
Instructions
Rub meat and mix sauce:
- Combine all ingredients for the coffee spice rub in a jar. You will not use the whole mix for this recipe, keep it on hand as a rub for ribs, grilled meat, etc. Take care not to contaminate the remaining rub (i.e. do not dip into the jar with utensils/hands that have touched raw meat).
- Generously season the pork shoulder pieces with the rub on all sides. Massage the rub into the meat. Cover and refrigerate until ready to make your pulled pork (30 minutes, up to 24 hours ahead).
- Add all of the ingredients for the sauce to a jar or bowl and shake or whisk to combine. This can be stored, covered, in the fridge until ready to use (will keep up to a few days ahead in the fridge).
Instant Pot:
- *Turn your Instant Pot on to sauté mode. Add the coconut oil or oil of choice. Once the pot is hot, sear pork pieces until nicely browned on all sides. Sear the meat in batches so as not to crowd the pan (usually takes me two batches with two pieces at a time). Remove to a plate.
- Sauté the onions for a few minutes until translucent.
- Deglaze the pan by adding 1/2 cup of the barbecue sauce, scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Turn off sauté mode.
- Return the browned pork to the pot and top with the remaining sauce. Secure the lid with the pressure valve set to sealing. Pressure cook for 60 minutes high pressure. Allow for 15 minutes natural pressure release after the timer beeps, after which you can quick release the pressure, or allow it to fully release naturally.
- Carefully lift out the pork pieces to a bowl (they will be fall apart tender). Turn Instant Pot on to Sauté mode and simmer to reduce/thicken the sauce while you shred the meat. Discard any large pieces of fat and shred the remaining pork with two forks or with a hand/stand mixer. If you like your pork to have a crispy texture, spread the meat out on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper and broil in the oven until nicely browned on top (optional step).
- Once the sauce has reduced to your liking, taste and adjust seasoning as necessary - if you want it sweeter, add a touch more honey or maple syrup; add more salt or pepper as needed; add more apple cider vinegar or a squeeze of lemon for acidity; add more sriracha or red pepper flakes for spice.
- Add the pulled pork back to the pot with the sauce and serve with a slotted spoon. If you prefer, you can also serve the pork and sauce separately and allow people to add as much sauce as they prefer to their own portions. Pulled pork is fantastic served on buns or sourdough with tangy coleslaw, or dill pickle spears, oven fries, and chipotle aioli. You can also use the meat for tacos, burritos, ramen or rice bowls.
Slow Cooker:
- *In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the oil. Once the pan is hot, sear pork pieces until nicely browned on all sides. Sear the meat in batches so as not to crowd the pan (usually takes me two batches with two pieces at a time). Remove to a plate.
- Sauté the onions for a few minutes until translucent.
- Deglaze the pan by adding 1/2 cup of the barbecue sauce, scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat and add to the slow cooker.
- Add the browned pork to the slow cooker and top with the remaining sauce. Add the lid and slow cook for 4-5 hours on high, or 8-10 hours on low, until meat is fork tender.
- Carefully lift out the pork pieces to a bowl (they will be fall apart tender). Turn the slow cooker to its highest setting and simmer to reduce/thicken the sauce while you shred the meat (or simmer in a pot on the stovetop). Discard any large pieces of fat and shred the remaining pork with two forks or with a hand/stand mixer. If you like your pork to have a crispy texture, spread the meat out on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper and broil in the oven until nicely browned on top (optional step).
- Once the sauce has reduced to your liking, taste and adjust seasoning as necessary - if you want it sweeter, add a touch more honey or maple syrup; add more salt or pepper as needed; add more apple cider vinegar or a squeeze of lemon for acidity; add more sriracha or red pepper flakes for spice.
- Add the pulled pork back to the slow cooker/pot with the sauce and serve with a slotted spoon. If you prefer, you can also serve the pork and sauce separately and allow people to add as much sauce as they prefer to their own portions. Pulled pork is fantastic served on buns or sourdough with tangy coleslaw, or dill pickle spears, oven fries, and chipotle aioli. You can also use the meat for tacos, burritos, ramen or rice bowls.
Oven:
- Preheat oven to 300°F.
- *In a large dutch oven over medium heat, melt the oil. Once the pan is hot, sear pork pieces until nicely browned on all sides. Sear the meat in batches so as not to crowd the pan (usually takes me two batches with two pieces at a time). Remove to a plate.
- Sauté the onions for a few minutes until translucent.
- Deglaze the pan by adding 1/2 cup of the barbecue sauce, scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
- Add the browned pork to the slow cooker and top with the remaining sauce. Cover with lid and transfer to the oven to bake until fork tender (4-5 hours).
- Carefully lift out the pork pieces to a bowl (they will be fall apart tender). Simmer the remaining sauce over medium-low heat to reduce/thicken while you shred the meat. Discard any large pieces of fat and shred the remaining pork with two forks or with a hand/stand mixer. If you like your pork to have a crispy texture, spread the meat out on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper and broil in the oven until nicely browned on top (optional step).
- Once the sauce has reduced to your liking, taste and adjust seasoning as necessary - if you want it sweeter, add a touch more honey or maple syrup; add more salt or pepper as needed; add more apple cider vinegar or a squeeze of lemon for acidity; add more sriracha or red pepper flakes for spice.
- Add the pulled pork back to the pot with the sauce and serve with a slotted spoon. If you prefer, you can also serve the pork and sauce separately and allow people to add as much sauce as they prefer to their own portions. Pulled pork is fantastic served on buns or sourdough with tangy coleslaw, or dill pickle spears, oven fries, and chipotle aioli. You can also use the meat for tacos, burritos, ramen or rice bowls.
Notes
To make ahead and freeze, rub pork pieces with the dry rub and add to a large freezer bag. Combine sauce ingredients in a separate bag and freeze with the meat. When ready to cook, thaw overnight in the fridge and proceed with the recipe. To cook from frozen, simply add the frozen meat and sauce to the sautéed onions and cook according to your chosen method, adding an extra 15 minutes to the pressure cook time, and an extra hour or two for slow cooker and oven methods (until fork tender).
*While browning the meat adds a nice depth of flavour, you can also skip this step and add everything to the pot and cook as directed. To cook from frozen, see above modifications.