Recipe: Quick Pulled Pork Sandwiches

All the hardcore barbecue folks out there are no doubt going to shake their fingers at me and mouth, "Shame on you," for what I'm about to say.  You CAN make great pulled pork sandwiches without hours and hours of smoking over a fire.  And I'll bet you can probably guess where I'm going with this....  You got it.  The pressure cooker!

True pulled pork takes hours and hours in a dry heat environment to break-down the connective tissues in meat.  However, we can replicate the behavior quickly in a high-steam environment like the pressure cooker.  Here's how...

Incidentally, those are the homemade hamburger buns I raved about in this post.

Quick Pulled Pork Sandwiches

2 pounds pork butt, shoulder, country ribs, or even a piece of loin
2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning or your favorite BBQ dry rub
salt and pepper
BBQ sauce (bottled is just fine)

1) Cut the pork into two pieces if needed to fit in the pressure cooker.  Remove any large globs of fat or silver skin.

2) Season the pork with salt and pepper and generously coat with the dry rub or Cajun seasoning.  For best flavor, allow to sit in the fridge for an hour.

3) Place the steamer tray (if you have one) in the bottom of the pressure cooker.  Put the pork into the cooker.  Pour in enough water to cover the bottom by 1 inch.

4) Lid-up the pressure cooker and bring it up to 15psi (according to your user manual, of course).  Cook for 30 minutes.

5) Once the 30 minutes are up, remove the pan from the stove and perform a rapid release (again, consult your user manual as some pots have a "rapid release" button).

6) Remove the pork from the pot.  Using two forks, begin shredding the meat fibers and placing it into a bowl.

7) Coat the meat with BBQ sauce and pile high on rolls or toasted sandwich bread.  Enjoy!