Instant Pot Pork Butt (Pulled Pork)

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Make absolutely perfect, fall-apart tender pork butt in your pressure cooker loaded with tangy bbq sauce! BBQ pulled pork has never been faster or more delicious when you use the Instant Pot.

Pork butt (also known as Boston butt) is the ideal choice to make perfect BBQ pulled pork. It’s a portion of an entire pork shoulder, so it’s full of fat and fibrous tendons. Typically, this type of meat is slow cooked for several hours, allowing the fat to render down and the meat to become tender and juicy.

But when you cook it in your Instant Pot, dinner is ready in half of the time! This easy pork shoulder recipe is so simple to make. It’s totally fool-proof and is always a crowd pleaser!

You’ll love the quick cooking method! Cooking a 4 pound pork butt in the Instant Pot takes just 90 minutes! It’s the best method for making shredded pork.

It’s an easy freezer meal to serve a crowd. If you need an easy way to serve a lot of people, this is a great recipe to turn to. This recipe makes 6 hearty servings. It is easy to double or triple the recipe, too. This gives you freezable leftovers, or servings for more people.

Make it for an easy weeknight dinner, for game day, or for an easy meal when you’re hosting a party. It’s the best recipe to use for pulled pork sandwiches or a carnitas salad!

Serve this dish with creamy dairy free mashed potatoes, turmeric carrots or your favorite slaw, and you’ve got a quick meal ready to go in no time!

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

These simple ingredients are all that you need to make the most flavorful Instant Pot pork butt recipe:

• Pork Butt – The name for this boneless cut is a bit misleading. Despite its name, the butt does not come from the back end of the animal. Rather, it’s a cut taken from the shoulder of the pig, just behind the neck. The weight of this cut is typically 3 to 4 pounds.
• BBQ sauce – You can make some delicious sugar free BBQ sauce or use your favorite store-bought sauce.
• Onion – Slice up a yellow onion or white onion to add loads of flavor to the dish.
• Freshly minced cloves of garlic add so much more flavor than dried garlic powder! If you do not have fresh garlic, substitute with 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder or 1 teaspoon of store-bought minced garlic.
• Oil – I recommend using a high smoke point oil to sear the roast, like avocado oil, canola, or olive oil.

How to Make Instant Pot Pork Butt

1. Prep the ingredients. Slice the onion, mince the garlic, and cut the pork shoulder into four pieces, each about 2-3 inches wide. Cutting the pork helps it fit into the inner pot for searing, and helps it to cook evenly and a little faster than if you were to cook one large piece.
2. Sear the meat, onion, and garlic. Set the Instant Pot to the sauté function and heat half of the oil in the inner pot. Working in batches so you don’t overcrowd the pot, add the pork pieces and sear them on all sides. This takes about 4-5 minutes per side. Once there is a nice crust, set the pork aside.

Add the rest of the oil and sauté the onions and garlic until softened, about 3-4 minutes. Then return the pork to the inner pot. Add the water and half of the bbq sauce. Carefully close and secure the lid.

3. Pressure cook the pork butt in the Instant Pot. Manually set the Instant Pot to cook on high pressure for 70 minutes.
4. Allow the pressure to release naturally. Once the time is up, perform a natural pressure release. When the steam release valve falls, carefully open the lid.

Shredding or Pulling the Pork

1. Transfer the cooked roast to a large bowl or cutting board. Using two forks, shred/pull it into bite sized pieces. Just set aside any large pieces of fat, then toss them in the trash.
2. Simmer the pulled pork in bbq sauce. Remove and discard about 1/2 of the liquid remaining in the Instant Pot. Add the shredded pork to the remaining cooking liquid, and stir in the rest of the bbq sauce. Set the Instant Pot to Sauté mode and bring the pork to a simmer for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Storing Instructions

Transfer leftovers to an airtight container or food storage bag. Keep them in the refrigerator, serving or freezing within 4 days.

To freeze pulled pork: First, allow the meat to cool completely. Then, transfer the meat and any liquid to an airtight, freezer-safe bag or silicone freezer mold.

Squeeze all the air out, then seal the bag and freeze. For best taste, use the pork within 3-4 months. To defrost, set the bag or container on a plate in the refrigerator overnight.

Instant Pot Pork Butt Recipe FAQ