Our wife was returning from travels on a recent evening. She asked that we handle dinner and was very specific that she’d prefer it be ready upon her return. We tend to start cooking later, which means eating later. She gets hungry early—earlier than befits her age.
Having not pre-planned the meal, we had not shopped for it. And, by the time that we got going, a run to the grocery store was an impossibility. The good news: a pork shoulder sat in the refrigerator. The cut of pork shoulder is often called, “Boston butt” or “pork butt.” Don’t be fooled; this meat comes from nowhere near the rear. The name, instead, relates to how the cut was packed in colonial America.
Across the globe, a diversity of cultures revere pork shoulder. It’s used for carnitas in Mexico and bo ssam in Korea and pork ragu in Italy. Wherever you may find yourself, if the people there eat pork, look for a dish with pork shoulder. It guarantees to satisfy.
Feeling adventurous, we cooked the pork shoulder in the Instant Pot with Coconut Aminos Seasoning Sauce from Trader Joe’s, apple cider vinegar, orange juice, hot peppers, and spices. The result was a Filipino-style pulled pork adobo. It would’ve been excellent on rice or a sandwich. Cutting carbs, we ate it in corn tortillas. Are corn tortillas lower in carbs? If not, don’t tell us and spoil our ignorance.
Instant Pot Filipino-style Pulled Pork Adobo
Ingredients
- 3 lbs. of pork shoulder
- 6 cloves of garlic, pressed
- 1 onion, diced
- 1/3 cup of Coconut Aminos Seasoning Sauce from Trader Joe’s or soy sauce
- 1/3 cup of apple cider vinegar
- 1 orange, juiced
- 2 jalapenos, sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon of cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon of oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
- 6 bay leaves
Directions
Set Instant Pot to “sauté” function. Cut pork shoulder into about 6 equal pieces. When the Instant Pot is hot, brown pieces of pork shoulder for two to three minutes per side on all sides. Given the amount of pork shoulder, it likely will require two separate rounds.
Remove pork and set aside. Add onion and garlic to Instant Pot. Saute until onion becomes translucent, scraping any residue from bottom of bowl. Turn off Instant Pot.
Add Coconut Aminos Seasoning Sauce (or soy sauce), apple cider vinegar, orange juice, pork shoulder, jalapenos, cumin, oregano, and cinnamon, in that order. Place bay leaves on top.
Cook under high pressure for 75 minutes. Let pressure naturally release.
Remove and discard bay leaves.
Use a slotted spoon to retrieve chucks of pork. Shred pork with forks or shredder claws.
Serve in sandwiches or on rice or in tacos. We made tacos with cabbage, quick-pickled shallots, scallions, pickled jalapenos, and Trader Joe’s Sriracha Sauce.
17 Responses
6fm4v0
18280c
56autu
zz8em7
t3ih3v
fbw9lx
ydakgx
pdj5pl
sgypc5
tgvt4d
uu8q87
4gc696
47u6eg
7lurj9
zdhvay
9l8ym5
mi52z4