Ok if you’re a purist on pulled pork, you can back away right now because this is the cheater method. Yeah, yeah I’m a big cheater. But I will tell you this was super fast compared to traditional smoking, and stayed incredibly tender and flavorful.

I used a bone-in shoulder roast. This could be any fatty pork roast though.

Added to the Instant Pot with 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon each garlic powder and onion powder, 1 tablespoon Better Than Bullion Ham Base, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper.
I then cooked in the Instant Pot on max pressure for 1 1/2 hours. I use the Instant Pot Max, if you’re using an Instant Pot without the max pressure setting you’ll probably want to start at around 2 hours. I’d love to tell you that’s the absolute time you need, but all animals are different, and it will take different amounts of time to break down the collagen. After an hour and a half on max or 2 hours on high, check the meat. If it pulls apart it’s done, if not check at 1/2 hour intervals.

I then made a batch of King Arthur Flour Buttery Hot dog buns. But as you can see, I rolled them into slider buns and placed them in a disposable half pan.

After the pork is done cooking in the Instant Pot, I had my husband give it forty five minutes in the Masterbuilt smoker. Because the pork is already torn up, it takes less time to get a pow of smoke.

I then filled the slider buns, and topped the buns with some of the sauce from the pan.

And baked in a 300 degree oven (covered) for about 20 minutes until the buns were warmed through and brown.

I added my runny, tangy, spicy barbecue sauce (another cheater I use which is a half cup cider vinegar, quarter cup each Open Pit and Sweet Baby Ray’s, tablespoon onion powder and about 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper. It’s SPICY so go easy on the cayenne if you’re not a fan of the spice).

And cole slaw.
I had 3 sixteen year old boys at the house (my son and two of his friends) and they scarfed these down like they were air!
So what does the cheater method do for you? Well, of course it saves a bit of time, and babysitting on the smoker. The other advantage in my mind is that the meat retains more moisture. The texture and amount of moisture on these was really perfect.
If you like this recipe you will also like:
- Ham and Cheese Sliders With Zippy Sauce
- Instant Pot Chicken Bacon Ranch Beery Sliders
- Italian Bomber Sliders
- Mississippi Sin Sliders
- Instant Pot Beer Swiss Mushroom Sliders
- Instant Pot Italian Beef Sliders
- Cheeseburger Sliders
- Lobster Roll Sliders
Instant Pot Pulled Pork Sliders
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- Large pork roast fatty shoulder or butt
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon Better Than Bullion Ham Base
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Add ingredients to Instant Pot (meat fat side up). Cook on max pressure for 1 1/2 hours, or 2 hours on high pressure. Quick release and check the meat. If it’s falling apart, it’s done. If not add half hour intervals of pressure until meat pulls apart. Add pulled meat to a disposable pan and cook in smoker for 45 minutes (or add 1/8th teaspoon Liquid Smoke). Add meat to rolls split horizontally and add some sauce to the top. Cover and bake at 300 degrees for about 20 minutes until heated through.
- Add barbecue sauce and cole slaw.
Leave a Reply