Instant Pot Pulled Pork with Lexington-Style BBQ Sauce—pork shoulder is cooked until tender and then served up on a bun with a homemade tomato and vinegar BBQ sauce popular in North Carolina. Make in the Instant Pot or slow cooker.
Note: The slow cooker instructions are listed in the recipe card below.
Each week in 2020 I’m sharing a recipe inspired by one of the 50 states. So far I’ve covered…
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See all the state recipes in one place.
If you have an idea for a state I haven’t covered yet please email me [email protected] –remember it’s a recipe that has to be made (at least in part) in the Instant Pot.
Today’s recipe is inspired by the Tar Heel state, North Carolina. Most historians agree that the nickname came about because of the state’s long history as a producer of naval stores–tar, pitch, rosin and turpentine–all of which were culled from the State’s extensive pine forests.
When I think of North Carolina I think of “first in flight,” Michael Jordan, Duke and powder blue UNC, the Holderness Family, thirteen original colonies, the Great Smokies and Blue Ridge Mountains, Maya Angelou, James Taylor, the Biltmore House and tobacco.
It’s also known for great barbecue which is where today’s recipe comes from.
Instant Pot Pulled Pork with Lexington-Style BBQ Sauce
There are two different styles of barbecue in North Carolina. Eastern style uses the whole hog and has a vinegar and red pepper based sauce. Western style (also called Lexington style) uses a vinegar and tomato based sauce and only the pork shoulder.
Because I didn’t want to use a whole hog in my Instant Pot (not going to fit 😜) I tried the Lexington style. The result was ultra tender pork shoulder with a vinegar sauce that I loved. I am a huge fan of vinegar based sauces so it was totally my jam. Definitely not the pulled pork slathered in tomato based bbq sauce that I’m used to. But so good. Less sugar too. The leftovers were even better than the first day. We served our meat over buns and if I had thought about it I would have served it with coleslaw. Next time. Next time.
A culinary staple of North Carolina is pork barbecue. There are strong regional differences and rivalries over the sauces and methods used in making the barbecue. The common trend across Western North Carolina is the use of premium grade Boston butt. Western North Carolina pork barbecue uses a tomato-based sauce, and only the pork shoulder (dark meat) is used. Western North Carolina barbecue is commonly referred to as Lexington barbecue after the Piedmont Triad town of Lexington, home of the Lexington Barbecue Festival, which attracts more than 100,000 visitors each October. Eastern North Carolina pork barbecue uses a vinegar-and-red-pepper-based sauce and the “whole hog” is cooked, thus integrating both white and dark meat.
Wikipedia
Instant Pot Pulled Pork with Lexington-Style BBQ Sauce
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 90 minutes (plus full NPR)
- Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Yield: 10–15 servings 1x
Description
Pork shoulder is cooked until tender and then served up on a bun with a homemade tomato and vinegar BBQ sauce popular in North Carolina.
Ingredients
For the pork:
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 3–5 pound pork butt, trimmed of excess fat, bone-in or boneless
For the vinegar bbq sauce:
- 2 cups apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
Instructions
For the Instant Pot:
- In a small bowl mix the paprika, salt, sugars, cumin, chili powder, pepper and cayenne together. Rub the mixture over the pork butt. Add the pork to the Instant Pot.
- In a bowl whisk together vinegar, water, ketchup, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Pour 1 ½ cups of the mixture into the Instant Pot. Save the rest for later.
- Cover the Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 90 minutes. When the time is up let the pressure release naturally for up to 30 minutes and then remove the lid.
- Place meat on a cutting board and shred, discarding any fat. Place meat in a bowl and drizzle with remaining vinegar sauce.
- Use a slotted spoon to serve meat on buns. Coleslaw on top or on the side is a bonus!
For the Slow Cooker:
- In a small bowl mix the paprika, salt, sugars, cumin, chili powder, pepper and cayenne together. Rub the mixture over the pork butt. Add the pork to the slow cooker.
- In a bowl whisk together vinegar, water, ketchup, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Pour 1 ½ cups of the mixture into the slow cooker. Save the rest for later.
- Cover and cook on low for 8-12 hours, or until tender.
- Place meat on a cutting board and shred, discarding any fat. Place meat in a bowl and drizzle with remaining vinegar sauce.
- Use a slotted spoon to serve meat on buns. Coleslaw on top or on the side is a bonus!
Notes
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. Use an 8 quart pot with no changes. Halve the recipe for a 3 quart pot.
- Category: Pork
- Method: Instant Pot or Slow Cooker
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
This was the first recipe from here that I did not like. Is there a typo on the 2C of ACV? I used less and it still was unpalatable. I did all the other ingredients and all we could taste was vinegar. There was way too much liquid that wasn’t absorbed by the pork after shredding it. I’m used to using ACV with pulled pork, but never so much. Thanks.
★
Sorry you didn’t like it! Next time you could reduce the ACV down by half if you wanted. Maybe this style of BBQ isn’t for you though!
Can you use a pork shoulder instead?
yes pork shoulder, pork butt, boston butt…all the same thing
Hi Karen! I have a pork butt that is 7.26 lbs. I am assuming it won’t work in 6 qt. IP; how would I adjust slow cooker directions? Thank you!
If you can fit it in the IP you can use it in there. If not then use the slow cooker and cook on low for 12 hours.
My husband loves NC barbeque, but he needs to eat lean cuts of meat. Could I use 2 lb. of pork tenderloin to do this? (I’ve heard that it might not shred well, but I use it in my crock pot with good results.) If yes, what adjustments would I need to make in time, etc. Thank you! Love your site and all your good recipes and Instant Pot recipes!
So will you be cooking it in the Instant Pot? I would cook for 6 minutes. Check temp in middle of meat to make sure it is cooked through. Those skinny little pork tenderloins cook quickly.
In Lexington, we do not eat coleslaw on our BBQ sandwiches. We have BBQ slaw that is ketchup based instead of mayonnaise/mustard. You should definitely try it!
Yum! I’d love a recipe 😊
That sounds very interesting. I am a New England gal and have never heard of ketchup based slaw.