This 20 minute tomatillo pulled pork is easily one of the most delicious things I’ve made in a while, plus it’s super healthy, versatile, and easy to make! Traditional pulled pork takes hours to cook, and it’s usually made with pork shoulder or “pork butt” which is very fatty. Instead, I use a pork loin which is extremely lean. This makes it a really healthy option and cuts the cooking time down immensely.
The key to making pulled pork with pork loin is to use a pressure cooker, (I love my Instant Pot!) pack in the flavor with seasoning, and cook it just long enough so that it shreds easily without drying out the lean meat. This recipe only takes 15 minutes of cooking under pressure, but I wanted to factor in a few minutes to brown, prep, etc.
Note that this recipe calls for green tomatillo salsa. You can use a store bought version, or you can make it yourself (tomatillo salsa recipe linked here). I made it myself but either way works great!
20 Minute Tomatillo Pulled Pork Ingredients:
- 1 pork loin, 1.25-1.5lbs cleaned and cut into 3-4 inch pieces
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon ground or cracked coriander
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1/8 -1/4 teaspoon kosher salt depending on how salty your salsa is (if you’re using store bought salsa, use 1/8 teaspoon, homemade salsa will probably take ¼ teaspoon)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 1 cup of green tomatillo salsa, (store bought or homemade)
- ½ cup of chicken stock or water, depending on what you have on hand
Clean pork loin and remove any fat or silver skin, then cut the pork loin into 4-5 pieces depending on how long it is. I usually cut the loin into 3-4 inch pieces. Keep in mind that the pieces of pork will be the length of the meat when you shred it.
Season the pork with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, oregano, and coriander, then set aside.
Turn instant pot to “sauté”, let it get hot, then add the olive oil to the bottom of instant pot. Add the pork to the instant pot and brown it on all sides so the pork gets golden brown.
While the pork is browning, thinly slice the onion. Trust me, just let the pork sit and get brown on each side. This adds a ton of flavor and helps seal the juices in while cooking. Once all sides are brown, add the sliced onion, salsa, and chicken stock to deglaze the bottom of the instant pot. Use a wooden spoon and scrape up all the brown bits that have stuck to the bottom of the pot. Really make sure that you get all the browned bits off the bottom and into the liquid or else they will burn.
Note: If this does happen to you, your instant pot will simply shut off and say “burn” on it. Don’t worry! Just depressurize and open the pot, scrape up all the brown bits so the bottom of the pot has no crust on it, and add a little more liquid if needed. Then just put the lid back on and reset your instant pot.
Once you’ve deglazed the pork with the salsa and chicken stock/water. Press “cancel” on your instant pot. Put on the lid and make sure the tab is set to “sealing”, then press “pressure cook” and set the timer for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, press “cancel” and let the pressure come down to normal, or for a quick release just turn the tab on the lid to venting and once it has finished depressurizing, open the pot and shred the meat with two forks. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if needed.
This 20 minute tomatillo pulled pork can be eaten on its own, served over rice, or used for tacos (pictured) and burritos. I’ve also used it in soups, and every way I’ve used it has been great!
Happy cooking!