To make pulled pork in a slow smoker takes 8-12 hours. But use a pressure cooker, and it takes at the most about 90 minutes. Of course, real barbeque aficionados will scoff at pressure cooker recipes, but in this busy world this is the next best thing, and good enough for me (until I can get out to eat).
Pulled pork is made from Boston Butt pork, which is actually part of the shoulder. It’s best to try to get pork meat from young hogs.
How do you tell? Look at the color of the meat at the butcher shop or market. Light pink colored pork means it came from a younger hog; it’s usually better tasting.
Deep pink or reddish color meat means either that it came off a bigger and older hog, or that it’s been in the meat case longer, exposed to air and isn’t quite as fresh. Go for the lightest color pink cut you can find.
This recipe calls for 3 pounds pork butt. Once you’ve got the pork home, trim off any excess fat and season it with some dry rub 24 hours before you plan on cooking it. (you can skip the dry rub if you are too busy, it’s not a requirement, just makes it a whole lot better, in my opinion)
Dry Rub Mix:
½ cup paprika
¼ cup kosher salt, fine ground
¼ cup sugar (leave out if you have to)
2 tablespoons mustard powder
¼ cup chili powder
¼ cup cumin
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
¼ cup granulated garlic
2 tablespoons cayenne
Mix in a bowl and keep in a covered container. Put some in a salt shaker for serving with the finished pulled pork.
Main Recipe
3 – 4 lbs pork butt (cut into chunks if needed)
1 cup Water
1 cup barbeque sauce of your choice (I recommend Carolina style bbq sauce)
6 hamburger buns
Cole slaw
Cut the pork butt in two if needed to fit in the pressure cooker. Place a wire rack in the bottom the cooker, so the meat doesn’t stick to the bottom of the cooker pot. Add the pork, 1 cup bbq sauce and 1 cup of water.
Lock the pressure cooker lid and bring it up to 15 PSI pressure. Bring the heat down to the minimum necessary to keep the pressure at 15 psi. Set your timer for 60 minutes.
After 60 minutes is up, remove the pressure cooker from heat. Release the pressure using the natural release method.
Remove the meat carefully, it will be ready to fall apart. Set it aside in a pan or on some tin foil.
Using two forks, pull the pork apart into shreds. Ladle any remaining liquid from the cooker onto the meat. Serve hot on hamburger buns with fresh Cole slaw on the side. Don’t forget the extra dry rub to sprinkle on for extra zing.
Photo thanks to Flickr user Girl Interrupted Eating