Recipe: Instant Pot Pulled Pork

I think I want to make a regular post (weekly?) about cooking that adds some value to my blog. I can complain into the void about the injustices in the world and post photos of my stupid artwork all day long and does anyone really want to come here to read only that or get a newsletter with that kind of content?

It’s not like I’m going to STOP doing that, but…. perhaps if I also occasionally post a delicious recipe, or some type of tip or trick, or a photo of what we ate, maybe that will be interesting to you, my two readers.

Yikes, listen to me, I sound like a (gasp!) CONTENT CREATOR.

And if I may go on a tangent (and I may, because this is my blog and I write the rules), here is my “old woman yelling at cloud” moment: I really despise the phrase “content creator” as a way of describing a creative person. It is demeaning, makes it all about the end product, and implies mindlessly following trends. “Content creation” totally ignores specialization, quality, and the heart and intent behind the work. If anyone were to describe me as a content creator in relation to my art or writing, I think I might shrivel up and die inside.

While we’re at it, I also can’t stand the words/phrases “influencer,” “journey,” and “feeling called to” when describing changes or processes in one’s life. I just automatically roll my eyes when I hear them. “I feel called to share my journey to becoming a tradwife Instagram influencer! I create content about my family’s private life including my eight kids that I homeschool, my husband whose direction I follow, and my seventeen chickens who each have their own Insta too!”

Those words just make whatever follows them sound like a plea for attention and like outside forces are controlling your life rather than you yourself. Why describe the process of simply living your life as some super-precious special “journey?” Thousands of people go about their lives without seeming to require praise for basic human functions. I am trying not to be judgy about it, because some days I do feel like I want a gold star for just getting out of bed in the morning, but I don’t go online asking for one, and so there’s a part of me that thinks that mindset makes people sound spoiled and entitled.

Perhaps it’s because I’ve known incredibly irritating people who seem convinced that the minutiae of their own lives are everyone else’s top concern.

But then again, here I am writing a public blog about the minutiae of my own life, so… Hmm.

Maybe in my mind, the difference is that I don’t expect that anyone is actually reading what I write. I write because I NEED to, for me. For instance, today over my lunch break I wrote more than 2,000 words across two blog posts. I’m not immune to the human desire for connection and validation, but I won’t feel like a failure of a content creator if no one but me ever reads them.

But I digress. This post was supposed to be about food. And I’m really good at writing about food! I’ve written two entire books about food, one of which was published and distributed to bookstores nationwide, and they were very well written if I do say so myself! (Okay, I will stop tooting my own horn now, lest I begin to sound like an influencing creator on some sort of journey)

I think today I will share two things I made yesterday for dinner that were both delicious and relatively easy to throw together.

Instant Pot Pulled Pork

I followed this general recipe, but made it way easier: After coating the pork with the dry rub, I put it directly into the Instant pot with some liquid (and didn’t bother searing it first), pressure cooked it on high for 40 minutes, let it release naturally for 5 minutes, then vented. Then I removed and shredded the meat, added salt and pepper, and voila. Instant deliciousness. We served it with buns and barbecue sauce.

The hardest part was cutting up a pork shoulder that had a bone in it and a lot of fat. That took forever. Maybe next time I can get the butcher at Kroger to do it for me. I don’t know if that’s something they would do, but it’s worth asking, I suppose.

This makes a lot of pork – I would say it probably easily serves eight. We’re having it two nights in a row and freezing any leftovers.

Print Recipe

Seriously Good Instant Pot Pulled Pork

Adapted from Recipe Teacher

Course: Main Course

Servings: 8

Ingredients 

Dry Rub:

• 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon ground mustard
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Pork:

• 3 to 4 pound pork butt roast, boneless or bone-in
• 1-1/2 cups water
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar

Instructions

• Add all the dry rub ingredients to a large bowl and whisk them together. (Or instead, you can use 4-5 tablespoons of a commercial pork rub mix of your choosing.)
• Trim the excess fat from the pork roast and cut it into 4 similar-size chunks. Add the pork roast chunks to the rub mix and coat them well.
• Place the pork chunks into the Instant Pot, spacing them out as best as possible. Pour the water and cider vinegar over them.
• Secure the lid and make sure the vent is set to the sealing position. Pressure cook on high pressure for 40 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes, then open the vent and let the rest of the pressure release.
• Remove the pork to a large bowl and shred it with 2 forks. Add your favorite BBQ sauce as desired. Or use the juice from the Instant Pot – it’s loaded with awesome flavor!

Cauliflower Shawarma With Spicy Tahini

I didn’t think I liked cauliflower until a few years ago when I tried it roasted with seasonings. Roasting makes it lose all its stinky sulfurous flavor.

Last night we had this as a side along with the pulled pork, but I could definitely eat this as a vegan main dish (and I could probably eat the entire pan myself, it was so good).

Print Recipe

Cauliflower Shawarma With Spicy Tahini

Adapted from the New York Times

Course: Main Course, Side Dish

Category: Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: 4 as a side dish, 2 as a main dish, or 1 if you’re me and really hungry

Ingredients 

Cauliflower:

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1-1/4 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1-1/4 teaspoons sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt, plus more as needed
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Pinch of ground cayenne
• 1 large head cauliflower, about 2 1/2 pounds, trimmed and cut into bite-size florets
• 1 large red onion, cut into 1/4-inch wedges
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped parsley

Tahini Sauce:

• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon harissa paste, gochujang, or other hot sauce
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup tahini
• 1/3 cup ice water

Instructions

• Heat oven to 425 degrees.

Prepare the cauliflower:

• In a large bowl, whisk together olive oil, cumin, paprika, salt, coriander, turmeric, black pepper and cayenne. Add cauliflower and onion, and toss until well coated. Spread mixture in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet — but don’t crowd the baking sheet or the veggies will steam instead of roast. Use two if your vegges are overlapping each other.
• Roast vegetables until they are golden brown, slightly crisp and tender, 30 to 40 minutes, stirring once or twice.

As they cook, prepare the tahini sauce:

• Whisk together lemon juice, harissa or gochujang, garlic and salt in a small bowl, and let sit for a minute or two to mellow the garlic. Whisk in tahini. Whisk in ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the sauce is smooth and thin enough to drizzle. You may not need all of the water or you may need to add a little more. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more harissa, lemon juice and salt if you like. The sauce should taste zippy and creamy.
• Scatter the parsley on top of the roasted vegetables and serve with the tahini sauce.