Pressure-Cooked Bachan's Pulled Pork

I’ve been trying to use the pressure cooker more (read: remember I own it) and the perfect use case for a pressure cooker, IMO, is pulled pork. Every Sunday we make a batch of something that can be repurposed for weeknight dinners, it’s the closest I come to meal prepping, and last Sunday it was this Bachan pulled pork recipe. This was a smash up of several random internet recipes plus my own personal experience, efficiently combined with ChatGPT.

Meet my pressure-braised pork shoulder finished with Bachan’s Japanese Barbecue Sauce. The sauce is thin, soy-forward, and punchy, so the trick is to keep the braise clean and sauce after shredding. That keeps the meat juicy (not soupy) and the sauce bright—an approach I cribbed from Kenji’s indoor pulled-pork method on Serious Eats.

Snapshot

• Implements: 16-cup (about 4-quart) electric pressure cooker; large bowl; tongs; cutting board; forks for shredding; sheet pan (for optional broil)
• Cooker setting: High Pressure 55 minutes, then 15-minute natural release
• Batch size (safety): About 3 to 3 1/2 pounds pork shoulder in a 4-quart cooker. Manufacturer guidance: keep total food plus liquid at or below 60% of the pot’s capacity and use at least 1/2 cup liquid (I use 1 cup).

Ingredients

Japanese-leaning dry rub (no sugar)

• 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt (or 1 1/4 teaspoons Morton’s)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon white or black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika (optional)

Pressure liquid

• 1 cup water or low-sodium chicken stock
• 1 to 2 tablespoons Bachan’s Japanese Barbecue Sauce (optional in-pot flavor boost)
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
• 1 small onion, finely minced (optional)
• 1 tablespoon neutral oil (only if searing)

To finish

• Bachan’s, warmed — start with 1/2 cup, add more to taste (often 3/4 to 1 1/4 cups total)
• Optional: a few drops toasted sesame oil for gloss
• Optional brightener: 1 to 2 teaspoons rice vinegar or a squeeze of lemon or yuzu

To serve (choose your lane)

• Toasted buns plus sesame slaw and pickles
• Steamed rice plus cucumbers, scallions, nori strips, and a dab of Kewpie
• Lettuce cups plus sesame seeds and chili crisp

Method

1. Season (and optionally sear). Pat pork dry; toss with the dry rub. For extra depth, set the cooker to Sauté, add oil, and quickly brown pork in two batches. Transfer pork out.
2. Build the base. If using onion, sauté 2 to 3 minutes. Add water or stock, 1 to 2 tablespoons Bachan’s, and rice vinegar; scrape up browned bits.
3. Cook. Return pork (and any juices) to the pot. Lock the lid and cook on High Pressure for 55 minutes.
4. Release. Let pressure naturally release 15 minutes, then quick-release the remainder.
5. Reduce and defat. Transfer pork to a bowl. Skim fat from the pot. Simmer the cooking liquid 5 to 10 minutes to reduce by about one-third.
6. Shred and sauce. Shred pork with forks. Moisten with a ladle of the reduced juices until glossy and juicy (usually 1/2 to 3/4 cup). Fold in warmed Bachan’s—start with 1/2 cup and add until it tastes right. For extra pop, add a little rice vinegar or a few drops of toasted sesame oil.
7. Optional bark. Spread sauced pork on a sheet pan and broil 5 to 8 minutes, stirring once, for crispy edges.

Notes, swaps, and guardrails

Why sauce after?

Indoor pulled pork stays texturally better when the meat and sauce are kept separate until serving. That is straight from Kenji’s playbook: braise, shred, then dress only what you will eat now. The rest stores cleaner and reheats juicier.

Batching safely in a small cooker

A 16-cup (about 4-quart) pot is happiest with roughly 3 to 3 1/2 pounds of shoulder, which keeps you under the 60% fill guideline and above the 1/2-cup minimum liquid. Thick, sugary sauces in the pot can scorch and interfere with pressurizing—use a thin braise and finish with bottled sauce after.

Flavor tuning for Bachan’s

• Want sweeter? Add a spoon of brown sugar to the finishing sauce.
• Want spicier? Stir in chili crisp or a splash of hot sauce.
• Want smokier? A few drops of liquid smoke in the reduced juices (not the bottle) does the trick.

Make-ahead, freeze, reheat

• Cool fast: Spread pork on a sheet pan 10 to 15 minutes.
• For best quality: Freeze pulled pork for 2 to 3 months; it stays safe longer but gradually dries out past that window.
• Pack smart: Freeze lightly sauced pork in zipper bags with 2 to 3 tablespoons reduced juices per 8-ounce portion; press flat.
• Reheat gently: Covered skillet with a splash of water (or sealed bag in simmering water), then add fresh Bachan’s to taste.

Serving ideas

Sesame-slaw sandwiches, rice bowls with cucumbers and scallions, or lettuce wraps with sesame seeds and chili crisp. If you prefer tangier, Carolina-style vibes on another day, toss a portion with a vinegar-and-pepper sauce instead of Bachan’s.

Hat tip: This pressure-cooker adaptation borrows the “sauce after shredding” logic from Serious Eats’ Easy Oven-Cooked Pulled Pork. Different appliance, same principle—better texture and brighter flavor.