Instant Pot Dr. Pepper Chipotle Pulled Pork

Hello, friends! Welcome to Sunday Supper. Today’s Instant Pot Dr. Pepper Chipotle Pulled Pork is a great summertime Sunday Supper. With the Instant Pot, there’s no oven heating up your kitchen for 6 hours. Speaking of 6 hours, the other great thing about the pressure cooker is you will have delicious, tender pulled pork in about 1 hour. This recipe is super simple, so let’s get right to it.

I learned how to cook pork with soda pop way back when I was a line cook. One of my co-workers used to make this once a week for our family meal. Sometimes he used Dr. Pepper, sometimes a combination of Coca Cola and Orange Soda. The sugars and flavors in the soda do magical things to slow-cooked pork shoulder. We are speeding it up with the pressure cooker, but it still works just as well.

Prep the Pork

This is a 4 pound pork shoulder. I have trimmed the excess fat and sliced it in half to make it easier for me to manage in and out of the pot. You can use a bone in or boneless pork butt. Mine has the bone. Generously salt all sides with kosher salt. Let the pork shoulder shake off the chill from the fridge for about 20 minutes.

Otherwise we have a large white onion, 2 tablespoons of dark brown sugar, 2 small cans of chipotle in adobo, and 4 small cans of Dr. Pepper. You can certainly reduce the chipotle in adobo by half, to cut down on the spiciness, or omit it altogether if you want zero heat.

Brown the Pork

Set the Instant Pot to sauté and add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Add the pork to the Instant Pot and brown the pork shoulder on all sides.

Once browned on all sides, transfer the pork shoulder to a sheet tray and turn the Instant Pot off. Slice the white onion into quarters and add it to the pot. Then transfer the pork back to pot on top of the onion slices.

Season the pork with cracked black pepper. Then add the chipotles and the adobo sauce from each can (if using). Now pour in the Dr. Pepper.

Ready to Instant Pot!

Close and lock the Instant Pot lid, Set the pressure to high and set the timer for 1 hour.

After 1 hour and the 20 minute steam venting , it’s time to check the tenderness of the Instant Pot Dr. Pepper Chipotle Pulled Pork.

Use a fork to test the tenderness of the pork shoulder. It should pull apart very easily.

I wanted to reduce a bit of the cooking liquid, so at this point, I left the Instant Pot uncovered and set the Pot to sauté and let it bubble and boil for 30 minutes. This isn’t necessary, but I wanted to do it.

Instant Pot Dr. Pepper Chipotle Pulled Pork

Transfer the pork shoulder to a sheet pan and pull the meat apart with two forks. Use a ladle to ladle on some of the cooking liquid and onions.

So you can serve this any way you like. On buns with slaw; or go for tacos. I went with tacos. Because the meat is spicy and has the smoky flavors of the chipotle, I did a kind of tacos al pastor with pineapple, onions and cilantro.

The pork shoulder is so flavorful and tender. It is quite spicy, but it has the smoky, fruity flavor of the chipotle in adobo to temper the heat. if you’re worried about it being too spicy, definitely cut the chipotle in adobo by half. Because the leftovers will just get more spicy as it sits overnight in the fridge!

I had quite a bit of cooking liquid left in the pot so I strained it into a jar to freeze. It will be great to add to chili or soup for a little extra kick of heat and flavor.

Thank you all so much for joining me today for this quick and easy Instant Pot Dr. Pepper Chipotle Pulled Pork. I do hope you give it a try. If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can do this in a slow cooker, just plan on a 6-7 hour cook time. Same deal if you do it in a Dutch oven in your kitchen oven. Looking for another great Instant Pot recipe? Try Black Vinegar Braised Beef. Take care and be well, xo Kelly

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Instant Pot Dr. Pepper Chipotle Pulled Pork

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Dinner, Main Course – American

By Kelly Djalali – Serves: 12-16

Prep Time: 10 Minutes – Cooking Time: 1 Hour, 20 Minutes – Total Time: ~1 Hour, 30 Minutes

Deeply, yet simply, flavored with Dr. Pepper and Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce, this pork shoulder is perfect for tacos, or sandwiches.

Ingredients

• 4-6 lb. Pork Shoulder, excess fat trimmed
• Kosher Salt
• 2 tbsp. Vegetable Oil
• Black Pepper
• 2 tbsp. Brown Sugar
• 1-2 7-oz. Cans of Chipotle in Adobo Sauce, optional
• ~24 oz. Dr. Pepper

Instructions

1

Generously salt all sides with kosher salt. Let the pork shoulder shake off the chill from the fridge for about 20 minutes.

2

Set the Instant Pot to sauté and add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Add the pork to the Instant Pot and brown the pork shoulder on all sides.

3

Once browned on all sides, transfer the pork shoulder to a sheet tray and turn the Instant Pot off. Slice the white onion into quarters and add it to the pot. Then transfer the pork back to pot on top of the onion slices.

4

Season the pork with cracked black pepper. Then add the chipotles and the adobo sauce from each can (if using). Now pour in the Dr. Pepper.

5

Close and lock the Instant Pot lid, Set the pressure to high and set the timer for 1 hour.

6

After 1 hour and the 20 minute steam venting, use a fork to test the tenderness of the pork shoulder. It should pull apart very easily.

7

If you want to reduce the cooking liquid, leave the Instant Pot uncovered and set the Pot to sauté and let it bubble and boil for 30 minutes.

8

Transfer the pork shoulder to a sheet pan and pull the meat apart with two forks. Use a ladle to ladle on some of the cooking liquid and onions.

9

So you can serve this any way you like. On buns with slaw; or go for tacos. I went with tacos. Because the meat is spicy and has the smoky flavors of the chipotle, I did a kind of tacos al pastor with pineapple, onions and cilantro.

Notes

I had quite a bit of cooking liquid left in the pot so I strained it into a jar to freeze. It will be great to add to chili or soup for a little extra kick of heat and flavor. To make in the oven or slow cooker, plan on a 6-7 hour cooking time. Turn the pork shoulder once halfway through the 6-7 hour cooking time.

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