Some of you may remember that for Rachel and Miguel's wedding reception here in town, I made about 100 pounds of pulled pork. I was doing it all myself, so I did some in a crock pot (cooked all day while I was at school) and some in my Power Pressure Cooker XL (different brand of Instant Pot and one I highly recommend!) It was some of the best I have ever made, although there was a learning curve, as this was the first REAL food I ever made in the pressure cooker, and I didn't know to let it naturally release. I've learned.
It was a fabulous reception, with really good food, if I do say so myself. But...I don't have a picture of the food. I only have a picture of...
the beer. Go figure.
Over the course of the past four years, I have perfected my hamburger bun recipe. (My friends Julie and Kelly ordered me NOT to make the buns for the wedding reception....) Today, I think I can say, the pulled pork recipe is complete. I don't need to tweak it any more. Rachel is not a BBQ fan, so I had to make pulled pork with no BBQ, but served that on the side for those normal American's who like BBQ. Here is the recipe that I have come up with.
Best EVER Pulled Pork
- 1 Pork Roast (shoulder/butt) I go as big as possible. Today's was 7 1/2 pounds
- Dry Rub
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 T. cumin
- 1 T. onion powder
- 1 T. garlic powder
- 1 T. chili powder
- 1 T. cayenne pepper (really, this doesn't make it too spicy, but if you are worried, cut it down to 1/2 T. or less.)
- 1 T. paprika
- 1 T. coarse ground black pepper
- 1/4 -1/2 T/ Kosher salt (can go up to 1 T. but I find that to be a bit much)
- Brine
- 1/2 c. brown sugar
- 1/2 c. salt
- 3-4 Bay leaves
- 3 T Dry rub mix
- 2 quarts water (Depending on the size of the roast, and the size of your container, you might need to make the brine 1 1/2 or 2 times the recipe, to make sure the pork is covered.)
- 1 1/2 - 2 c. chicken broth (depends on the size of your Instant Pot)
- Liquid smoke
Make the dry rub mix. This is EXTREMELY customizable. Add more or less of any of the spices that you like. You can also add dried minced onion or dried minced garlic. You can add or take out anything. I don't like it super salty, so I go with a little less salt. We like heat, so I also sometimes add crushed pepper flakes or more cayenne pepper.
Make the brine. Find a container that will hold your pork roast (may I suggest doing this BEFORE you are ready to brine it? I dirtied 3 containers today, before finding one that would hold the roast and have the liquid completely cover the roast!) Put the roast in a container (I ended up using my biggest stock pot, and making 1 1/2 x the brine to get it to cover). Pour the brine over the top. I usually put a dinner plate on top of the roast, to make sure it is completely submerged in the brine. Cover it and put in the fridge, for a minimum of 8 hours, but I usually do it overnight.
The next day, cut the roast into 3-4 equal sized hunks (plus the bone). Pat each piece dry, and coat with the dry rub. Rub it into the meat well. (It is ok, GOOD even, if you have a little of the rub left! You will use it later!) Preheat your Instant Pot/Power Pressure Cooker on Saute mode. When it is hot, add some olive oil. When that is hot, add a couple of the hunks of pork and brown on all sides til they are nicely brown and a little crisp. Repeat til all the pieces are browned. Add 2 c. chicken broth to an 8 quart, or 1 1/2 cups chicken broth to a 6 quart instant pot, and deglaze the bottom thoroughly (that just means make sure that all the flavorful bits are scraped up off the bottom after you browned the meat).
Add all of the pork, including the piece with the big bone. Put the lid on, and cook under pressure for 90 minutes. Let naturally release for 20 minutes.
When it is done, manually release the pressure, and good luck getting the meat out of the pot without it falling completely apart. If I have any of the dry rub mix left over (and I do try to save some) sprinkle that on top, along with a few dashes of liquid smoke.
These make fabulous pulled pork sandwiches, (served with BBQ sauce on the side,), but the pork is also so yummy on pulled pork nachos, or pulled pork mac and cheese.
I based this recipe on this one from Kevin and Amanda . Follow their method if you don't have an Instant Pot!
