Pulled Pork-2

Instapot Pulled Pork Ragu over Spaghetti Squash 

(Serves 4-6)

First of all, let me start by singing the praises of my Instapot.  I realize I’m a little late to the game here, but I am so excited about this early Christmas present of mine.  It was heavily discounted on Black Friday 🙂  I’ve been playing with it all week, and it truly amazes me how quickly I can create a delicious, yet simple meal with this pressure cooker.  It also functions as a slow cooker, steamer, rice cooker, etc.  And the best part…it has a sauté function so that I don’t have to dirty a separate pan.  Woohoo!  And now, on to the recipe…

Ingredients:

  • 20 oz Pork Tenerloin
  • 1 Spaghetti Squash, roasted, strands pulled out…SEE BELOW FOR RECIPE
  • 1 medium Onion, diced
  • 5 cloves Garlic, minced
  • 1 (28 oz) can Crushed Tomatoes
  • 1 (12 oz) jar Roasted Peppers, drained
  • EVOO
  • S&P
  • 1 tsp. dried Thyme
  • 1 Tbsp fresh Parsley (separated)
  • 2 Bay Leaves

Directions:

  1. Turn on the Instapot’s Sauté function and add a little EVOO to the pot.  Season pork with S&P.  Sauté pork for 3-4 minutes on each side, until all sides are browned.  Remove meat and set aside.
  2. Add more EVOO to the pot if needed and sauté onions for several minutes, until translucent.
  3. Add garlic and 1/2 Tbsp of the parsley.  Sauté for just a minute, careful not to burn the garlic.
  4. Add tomatoes, peppers, thyme, and bay leaves.
  5. Secure lid on the Instapot and cook under high pressure for 45 minutes.
  6. When finished, allow the steam to release naturally (if possible time-wise, but not a deal-breaker), remove bay leaves, shred pork with two forks, and top with remaining 1/2 Tbsp of parsley.
  7. Serve over Spaghetti Squash (see below for recipe) or pasta, if that’s more your thing 😉

Of course, you can follow this same recipe in the slow cooker or in a Dutch oven on the stove…it will just take a few more hours for the meat to become pull-apart tender.  The benefit of this slower cooking method is that the flavors have a chance to marry for longer.  However, the Instapot is a fantastic option when you are pressed for time and need to get dinner cranked out quickly.  Enjoy!

Roasted Spaghetti Squash

  1. Preheat oven to 400.
  2. Cut spaghetti squash in half length-wise.
  3. Drizzle EVOO on flesh side of both halves and sprinkle them with S&P.
  4. Place halves cut-side down on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until squash is tender and you can use a fork to pull out strands like spaghetti.