The Ultimate Pulled Pork

I call this The Ultimate Pulled Pork not to be pretentious but because using the right roast and a pressure cooker makes all the difference

What you want for pulled pork is a pork butt

What did he just say?

Pork Butt?

That’s right… but not that butt!

It is a Boston Butt or the upper part of the front shoulder, this cut of pork has a flat bone it it and yields a lot of meat

It is also very marbled with fat which helps keep it juicy

A Boston Butt really needs time to cook to get the rich tender meat your looking for, whether on the grill, in the smoker, the oven or even the Crock Pot, your’re going to need hours and hours

That’s why we are going into the pressure cooker and in about 1  1/2 hours we are going to have a delicious meal!!!

I started here with about an 11 pound butt

Sprinkle the butt generously with kosher salt, ground black pepper, garlic powder and onion powder

Start by seasoning the fat cap, that is the thick strip of fat you will find on one side

Heat about 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in the pressure cooker on medium heat

Place the butt in the pot fat cap side down and let sear for 6-8 minutes

Season the back side while it sears

Flip and sear the other side for another 6-8 minutes

Remove the meat from the pot and set aside

Next up, we will need 1 large onion, 1 fennel bulb and 3 cloves of garlic

I remove the whispy fronds from the fennel and give everyone a nice chop

Put the onion, fennel and garlic in the pot, season with a little salt and pepper. Cook  about 6-8 minutes

Next we will need 2 apples

You can leave the skin on the apples just discard the core

I like a mixture of flavor from the apples so here I’m using 1 granny smith and 1 McIntosh

Next put in the apples and stir everybody up

Cook another 5-6 minutes

Next we will need 2 cups of apple cider, 1 cup of dry white wine (like a Chardonnay), 1 cup of chicken stock and 2 tablespoons of Gravy Master

 Add in the white wine to deglaze the pan, that is break up the great brown bits left on the bottom from the searing of your meat

Let this come to a boil and cook about 5 minutes

Then add in the stock, apple cider, Gravy Master and a pinch of kosher salt and ground black pepper

Place the meat back in the pot, fat cap side up

As the fat renders and cooks down it will penetrate the meat helping it to stay moist

Cover and seal and follow the pressure cookers instructions to bring it up to full pressure

Once at full pressure, start a timer for 1 1/2 hours (you may need more or less time depending on how many pounds the meat is)

Once the timer goes off, remove the cooker from heat and follow the cool down instructions to relieve the pressure so you can safely open it

Oh man, that looks and smells great!!!

Remove the meat, set aside and let rest while you make the gravy

Place a colander over a sauce pot and strain, keeping the liquid

Once strained you can discard the fruit and veggies

Get the gravy on the stove and bring to a boil

In another pot melt 2 tablespoons of butter over low heat and whisk in a 1/4 cup of flour

This flour and butter mixture is called a roux (pronounced rue)

Cook this mixture until it is light brown in color

Pour the roux into your gravy and whisk to incorporate, this will help it to thicken

You can cut the pork into chunks or shred using 2 forks or your hands

We chose to shred it

At this point there are options

We can go the BBQ route by adding some Simply Sunday’s Barbecue Sauce

Or we can use that delicious gravy

We are going to get multiple meals out of this much pork

For our first use over the weekend we are serving this over some pasta with fresh parsley and crushed red pepper

It will also make some great sandwiches on a busy weeknight!

All I can say here is YUM!

Enjoy!!!

Tools used to make this recipe

Presto 16-Quart pressure Canner

Pyrex 3-Piece Glass Measuring Cup Set

Simply Bamboo Cutting Board

Wilton Recipe Right 3 Piece Cookie Pan Set

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