Instant Pot BBQ Pulled Pork & Creamy Coleslaw

Here is a little something about me: I can’t pass up a good sale on groceries. It is a severe issue.  I do need a chest freezer.  In my opinion, a vacuum sealer is one of the best inventions known to man.  Of course, a good Sharpie rounds it all out.  

So when I saw pork shoulder-butt on sale, I had to get it.  The fact it was about six pounds of pork for one person did not phase me at all. The first thing I did was cut it in half, freeze it for an hour before vacuuming, sealing it for it to stay in the freezer. 

About a month later, the desire for pulled pork and carnitas hit all at once.  Even with about two and a half pounds of shoulder butt, I knew that was still too much for me.  So I did the most logical thing.  I cut it in half.  One side for BBQ pulled pork and the other for carnitas in this post.

Another thing I love doing is combining two recipes to make one, then tweaking it if need be to make it more like my own.  For this recipe, I took a little bit from here by Food Network and a little bit from here by The Kitchn.  I altered the quantities to fix the amount of pork I was using.  Honestly, aside from the brown sugar, I combined the two recipes. 

What was unique about this pulled pork is going to be low carb!  Recently I discovered G. Hughes sugar-free BBQ sauce. They are so good to me!   Currently, I am using the Hickory, but there are several other flavors and teriyaki sauce, and sweet chili.  I had hamburger buns by Sola from Meijer. For the low-carb coleslaw, I took some inspiration from Wholesome Yum.

Put it all together, and you have the picture above!  It was so delicious, and I didn’t even miss the sugar.  It was nice to enjoy such a wonderful treat. Why don’t you try Instant Pot BBQ pulled pork & creamy coleslaw this weekend?

Instant Pot Carnitas

Pork shoulder butt was on sale at Kroger. They can range from four to six pounds, which for me is a problem.  I live alone, and thanks to the gastric sleeve, I now have a tiny stomach.  As I stood in front of the meat case, contemplating my next move, I realized I wanted pulled pork and carnitas. Even if I cut it in half, it would still be too much for me to handle.  My only option was to reduce the half of the half. Yep, quarter it, and use my Instant Pot.

My adoration runs very deep for my Instant Pot; however, I still need help to make sure I am using the correct times.  I also need a good marinade, leading me to Gimme Some Oven recipe for Instant Pot Crispy Carnitas. The mojo sauce catches my eye. The ingredients include garlic, fresh-squeezed orange and lime juice, oregano, and cumin. I added my little spin by using half of it as a marinade and the other half as directed.

My little trick to shred pork, chicken, or beef uses a hand mixer on low speed. Once I had it pulled to my liking, I simmered it in the mojo sauce to get the consistency I wanted.  From there, they went under the broiler to get them crispy, using the leftover sauce to keep the meat moist, as stated in the recipe.

Talk about tender and delicious. I made nachos out of the, but the star of the show was the tacos! Instant Pot carnitas tacos were a fantastic success!

While I had the shoulder marinating, I decided to make some pickled onion.  After I found this recipe online, I got to work.  I knew the carnitas would be excellent on the tacos and with anything else I made from the carnitas. They were super simple to make.  A quick brine and a slicer to get the onions nice and thin before they went into a sixteen-ounce jar.

Lastly, I topped the taco with pickled onions, grated cotija cheese, cilantro, and poblano tomatillo salsa verde on top of a Maria & Ricardos Whole Wheat Low Carb 6 Inch tortilla. Do yourself a favor and try Instant Pot carnitas tacos!