Apple Butter Pulled Pork ~ Instant Pot or Not!
Nobody turns down Apple Butter Pulled Pork ~ whether you do it in the Instant Pot, oven, or crock pot, this easy braised pork shoulder is a favorite for family dinners, game days, or whenever there are hungry mouths to feed.
Servings: 6 servings
Equipment
- 6 qt Instant Pot, pressure cooker, slow cooker, or large braising pot
Ingredients
- 6 pounds bone-in pork shoulder, *See notes about choosing a pork shoulder
- salt and fresh cracked black pepper
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 medium onion, peeled and sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 1 cup hard cider, or apple cider
- 1 cup chicken stock, or broth
- 3 bay leaves
apple butter barbecue sauce
- 1 cup apple butter
- 1/4 cup barbecue sauce
Instructions
- Season your meat generously on both sides with salt and pepper. If your meat is too big to fit in one layer in your Instant Pot, then cut it into pieces so it will fit. You can trim off excess fat if necessary to get it to fit.
- Press the SAUTE button on the instant pot to its high setting (MORE) Add the butter to the pot and wait until the pot is hot. Brown the meat for 5-8 minutes on each side. Don't try to move the meat until it is nice and browned. Remove the meat to a plate.
- Lower the SAUTE button to normal and add the onions and garlic to the pot. Sauté for a couple of minutes, gently scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
- Add the hard cider and allow it to bubble for a minute more. Press CANCEL to turn the Instant Pot off.
- Add the meat back into the pot, along with the stock and bay leaves. Lock on the cover and set the vent to SEAL. Press PRESSURE COOK and set the timer to 60 minutes. When the machine signals that it is done, let it sit without touching for 15 minutes. Then turn the vent to VENTING and wait for the pressure to come down completely.
- Carefully remove the meat from the pot (it will be extremely tender) and put on a plate to rest.
- Meanwhile strain the juices from the pot and discard the solids. Let sit to allow the fat to rise to the surface. Skim off as much of the fat as you can. (It's ok to leave a little bit.) After straining and defatting you should be left with about 2 cups, more or less.
- When the meat has rested about 10 minutes, remove the bones and excess fat. Then shred the meat with two forks. Put back in the Instant Pot.
apple butter sauce
- Put the strained stock in a sauce pan and bring up to a boil over high heat. Boil for about 10 minutes to reduce it down a bit, then add the apple butter and barbecue sauce. Stir to combine, and then reduce heat and bring to a simmer. Continue to cook until it is a thick as you'd like. Keep in mind it doesn't have to get super thick, and you want enough to really drench your shredded meat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add enough sauce to thoroughly coat the meat in the Instant Pot, reserving any leftover to serve on the side. Press the SAUTE button to bring the meat up to a simmer, then press the KEEP WARM button to keep everything hot until you're ready to eat.
- Serve the shredded pork on soft buns, topped with homemade coleslaw.
Notes
To make pulled pork in the oven:
Follow the same steps substituting a large braising pan for the Instant Pot. Instead of pressure cooking in Step 5, cover the pot and put in a preheated 325F oven for 4 hours or until the pork falls away from the bone. Continue from step 6 in the recipe.To make pulled pork in the slow cooker
Do steps 1-4 on the stove, then transfer everything to the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Continue from step 6 in the recipe.Choosing pork shoulder
A bone in pork shoulder will lose up to half its weight once cooked and shredded, so a 6 pound piece will yield about 3 pounds of meat. Allowing 1/2 pound of meat per serving, that would feed 6. A boneless cut of meat will lose less. If unsure, ask your butcher.Nutrition
Serving: 1 serving · Calories: 557 kcal · Carbohydrates: 26 g · Protein: 56 g · Fat: 24 g · Saturated Fat: 9 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 2 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 10 g · Trans Fat: 0.2 g · Cholesterol: 197 mg · Sodium: 813 mg · Potassium: 1177 mg · Fiber: 3 g · Sugar: 20 g · Vitamin A: 200 IU · Vitamin C: 6 mg · Calcium: 65 mg · Iron: 4 mg
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although The View from Great Island attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
Did You Make This?We love seeing what you've made! Tag us on social media at @theviewfromgreatisland for a chance to be featured.