A good pork roast makes for a great meal, but if they are not cooked properly, they can be tough, dry, and not very desirable or exciting. To defeat the “overdone and dry” situation, most people will cook their pork roasts low and slow on a grill or smoker, or in a slow cooker. This makes for an excellent roast, but it still isn’t foolproof and requires 8+ hours of cooking.
To save cooking time and ensure you have moist and tender meat you can use a pressure cooker. A pressure cooker will force the moisture deep into the meat while allowing it to cook much faster at higher temperatures, which is perfect for a large chunk of pork. This recipe is written for the “instant pot” style of pressure cookers, but can easily be adapted to work with any variety.
For this recipe, I generally use a boneless pork loin with the fat trimmed, though you can use just about any roast cut of pork. I have also had great results with Boston butts and shoulder roasts.
Pressure Cooker Pork Roast
Ingredients
- 3 pounds pork roast
- your favorite pork rub (I use Traeger Pork and Poultry Rub)
- 1 pound baby carrots
- 2 pounds yellow potatoes cut into chunks
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 cup water
- salt
- pepper
Instructions
- Add oil to a hot pan on the stove and brown all sides of your pork roast.
- Season the roast with the pork rub.
- Add the meat to the pressure cooker with 1 cup of water. Allow the roast to cook on high pressure for about 45 minutes.
- After 45 minutes, perform a quick release of the pressure then carefully open the lid. Toss in the carrots and potatoes. I usually toss some rub over my vegetables for extra flavor. Cook on high pressure for another 15 minutes.
- Perform another quick release and temp the roast to at least 145 degrees. Enjoy!
The roast will come out perfectly tender and falling apart. The vegetables will be soft and infused with flavor. This pairs well with some macaroni & cheese and some cornbread. It also pairs well with a bottle of sweet wine or a cold beer.
You can change up the style of rub that you use and completely change the flavor and dynamic of the entire meal. Lemon pepper and herbs one night and BBQ pork with sides the next. It makes this a very variable recipe.
If you decide to give this recipe a try, make sure and report back and let us know in the comments how it turned out!
Jessica Faidley is a stay-at-home, work-from-home, homeschooling mom who loves to teach her children how to live off the land.
Herbalism is another topic that Jessica has studied. Keeping herself and her family healthy through a natural approach is her way of doing things.