Island Pulled Pork (Instant Pot and Crockpot)

Island Pulled Pork

We have a local restaurant that serves a Cuban pulled pork that is so delicious. My husband LOVES it. I tried to recreate it at home. I landed pretty, darned close. This is delicious, can be used in a variety of recipes and freezes nicely.

This makes a great deal of pork. We had it in Island Pork Tacos, which I served with Tostones and Mango Salsa. For breakfast, we replaced the Canadian bacon with the pork for Island Eggs Benedict. We froze the rest of the leftovers in serving sized portions.

This recipe is foolproof. Exact measures don’t matter. If you slightly over cook the pork, it won’t really matter. I know not everyone has an Instant Pot®, so I have included the times for a crockpot, too. The active time includes separating the fat after the pork is done.

You can find Sour Orange in the Hispanic food section of the grocery store.

Servings: 10-12

Hardware: A cutting board and knives, measuring spoons, an Instant Pot® or crockpot, silicone tipped tongs, an airtight container large enough to hold the pork, (I used a 2-gallon plastic bag,) a large bowl, another container to hold the rest of the marinade, food safe gloves

Instant Pot Time: Active time: 20 minutes; Marinate over night; Cook: 70 minutes; bringing up to pressure and natural release: 30 minutes

Crockpot Time: Active time: 20 minutes; Marinate over night; Cook: 6-8 hours;

Ingredients:

• 3 ½ pound pork butt or shoulder
• 2-20-ounce bottles of Sour Orange (I used Badia)
• 1 cup olive oil
• 1 cup water
• 12 cloves garlic
• 4 tablespoons dried oregano or a huge bunch fresh
• Juice and zest of one lime
• 3 green onions
• An orange
• 1 large onion (1 cup chopped)
• Salt & pepper

1. Slice the green onions, keeping the white and green parts. Zest and juice the lime. Mince the garlic. Mince about 3 tablespoons of the oregano if you are using fresh.
2. Mix the Sour Orange, olive oil, water, lime juice, lime zest, garlic, oregano, green onions and a teaspoon salt together. Pour 1 cup of the marinade into a container and place it in the fridge. Make sure to get some garlic and oregano in the reserve.
3. Generously sprinkle black pepper over the meat. Place it in the airtight container and pour the rest of the marinade over it. Seal it and place it in the fridge overnight. If you think about it, turn the meat over a few times or give the container a shake so that the marinade is evenly distributed.
4. When you are ready, discard the used marinade. Chop the onion and juice the orange, save the orange.
5. For the Instant Pot: Generously salt the pork and place it into the Instant Pot on top of the trivet. Add in the onion, leftover orange, orange juice, and reserved marinade. Close the lid and make sure it is on ‘sealing.’ Pressure cook on high for 70 minutes. Allow the steam to naturally release. That means that you just leave it alone until the metal float falls.
6. For the crockpot: Put the onion, leftover orange, orange juice, and reserved marinade into the crockpot. Generously salt the pork and place it on top of the onions and orange. Cook on high for 6-8 hours.
7. Remove the pork allow it to rest until it is cool enough to touch. Wearing the food safe gloves, shred the pork and remove any fat or gristle. Taste and adjust the salt.
8. Then pile it on tacos or over rice or on eggs or sneak mouthfuls when no one is watching!