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    Home » Instant Pot Pork » Instant Pot Red Chile Pork

    Published: Apr 21, 2018 · Modified: Feb 2, 2021 by Lisa Johnson

    Instant Pot Red Chile Pork

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    This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more information, please visit my disclosure page.

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    Instant Pot Red Chile Pork is tender, spicy, and packed with flavor! © COOKING WITH CURLS

    Instant Pot Red Chile Pork is a rich, tender, and slightly spicy filling for your soft tacos and tamales that will have your family begging for more! It is made with a pork shoulder roast, aka Boston butt, that is cooked to perfection in a pressure cooker until it falls apart with ease. It will be the perfect addition to your Cinco de Mayo celebrations.

    For even more delicious pressure cooker recipes, check out the Instant Pot Recipes page.

    Instant Pot Red Chile Pork is a rich and tender filling for your soft tacos and tamales that will have your family asking for more! © COOKING WITH CURLS

    This Instant Pot Red Chile Pork is also known as Pork Chile Rojo or Pulled Red Chile Pork, and would traditionally be roasted in the oven for several hours. I did not like that idea, so I let my Instant Pot cut the cooking time in half for me. Now you will still need to pull out a skillet and a blender, but more on that in a minute. 😉

    Delicious soft tacos made with Instant Pot Red Chile Pork and your favorite toppings! © COOKING WITH CURLS

    How to make Instant Pot Red Chile Pork with Step-by-Step Instructions:

    Remove the bone from pork butt/shoulder and cut pork into large chunks…..

    Instant Pot Kalua Pork roast cookingwithcurls.com

    The bones are different sizes in each pork butt, but run top to bottom. This is an 8 pound pork butt/shoulder that became 5 pounds of pork chunks once the bone and most of the huge fat cap on the backside were removed.

    Sprinkle with chipotle pepper and salt mixture and rub to thoroughly coat.....

    Chunks of pork butt rubbed with chipotle pepper and salt © COOKING WITH CURLS

    Place pork into the Instant Pot liner and add chicken stock.....

    Chunks of spice rubbed pork placed in an Instant Pot © COOKING WITH CURLS

    You do not need to use the trivet, I put it in out of habit.

    Secure the lid, select Manual and adjust time to 90 minutes…..

    Instant Pot Kalua Pork cook cookingwithcurls.com

    When the pot beeps, allow the pressure to release naturally for 20 minutes then press the pressure knob to release any remaining pressure.

    While the pork is cooking:

    Place chile pieces in a skillet over medium-heat to toast them, about 3 to 6 minutes, stirring frequently to keep them from burning.....

    Chunks of dried chilies roasting in a non-stick pan © COOKING WITH CURLS

    Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl. Set aside.

    Heat oil in the skillet and add the onion. Cook until softened, about 5 to 7 minutes.....

    Saute onions in a pan © COOKING WITH CURLS

    Add the garlic and cumin, cook for one minute.....

    Stir the cumin and garlic into the sauted onions in the pan © COOKING WITH CURLS

    Pour in the chicken stock and return the toasted chilies to the skillet.....

    Add chicken stock to the pan of sauted vegetables © COOKING WITH CURLS

    Simmer for about 10 minutes, until slightly reduced.....

    Simmer until slightly reduced © COOKING WITH CURLS

    Transfer the chile mixture to a blender.....

    Blend the red chile sauce until smooth © COOKING WITH CURLS

    Add the vinegar and blend until smooth. Set aside.....

    Red Chile sauce in the blender © COOKING WITH CURLS

    Place the pork in a large bowl and shred with two forks.....

    Shred the Red Chile Pork in a large bowl © COOKING WITH CURLS

    Pour the red chile sauce over the pulled pork.....

    Mix the Red Chile sauce into the pulled pork in a large bowl © COOKING WITH CURLS

    and mix to combine.....

    Instant Pot Red Chile Pork is tender, spicy, and packed with flavor! © COOKING WITH CURLS

    You are now ready to fill your Instant Pot Red Chile Pork Tamales or use as a filling for soft tacos as I did above.

    Recipe Notes:

    (contains affiliate links)

    • The pork filling has a "dry" chile flavor with deep notes and a good bit of heat. The heat is coming from the chipotle pepper. To reduce the heat, substitute regular chili powder for part of the chipotle pepper. It's not 5-alarm hot, but most 4 years old would probably run screaming from the table!
    • If you cannot find guajillo chiles, use all New Mexican chile instead or substitute ancho chile.
    • Yes, you could make the entire recipe in your Instant Pot, I just find it easier to cook some things in a larger skillet rather than the liner. The choice is yours.

    Additional Instant Pot Mexican recipes

    • Pork Carnitas
    • Adobo Chicken
    • Mexican Style Shredded Beef - perfect for tacos, burritos, enchiladas, and chimichangas
    • Mexican Casserole
    • Spanish Rice

    Enjoy!!

    Instant Pot Red Chile Pork is a rich and tender filling for your soft tacos and tamales that will have your family asking for more! © COOKING WITH CURLS

    Instant Pot Red Chile Pork

    Instant Pot Red Chile Pork is a rich and tender filling for your soft tacos and tamales that will have your family begging for more! 
    4.56 from 9 votes
    Print Rate
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: Mexican
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
    Pressure Release: 20 minutes
    Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
    Servings: 24 Servings
    Calories: 121kcal
    Author: Lisa Johnson

    Ingredients

    For the Pork

    • 5 pounds Pork shoulder/butt (deboned and cut into large chunks)
    • 2 Tablespoons sea salt
    • 2 Tablespoons chipotle powder
    • 1 cup chicken stock

    For the Red Chile Sauce

    • 4 dried guarjillo pepper pods (stemmed and seeded - broken into 1/2" pieces)
    • 4 dried New Mexican chile pods (stemmed and seeded - broken into 1/2" pieces)
    • 3 Tablespoons olive oil
    • 1 large yellow onion (chopped)
    • 6 large cloves garlic (minced)
    • 1 teaspoon cumin
    • 3 cups chicken stock
    • 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
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    Instructions

    For the Pork

    • Remove the bone from pork butt/shoulder and cut pork into large chunks.
    • Sprinkle with chipotle pepper and salt mixture and rub to thoroughly coat.
    • Place pork into the Instant Pot liner and add chicken stock.
    • Secure the lid, select Manual and adjust time to 90 minutes.
    • When the pot beeps, allow the pressure to release naturally for 20 minutes then press the pressure knob to release any remaining pressure.

    For the Red Chile Sauce

    • Place chile pieces in a skillet over medium-heat to toast them, about 3 to 6 minutes, stirring frequently to keep them from burning. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl. Set aside.
    • Heat oil in the skillet and add the onion. Cook until softened, about 5 to 7 minutes.
    • Add the garlic and cumin, cook for one minute. 
    • Pour in the chicken stock and return the toasted chilies to the skillet. Simmer for about 10 minutes, until slightly reduced.
    • Transfer the chile mixture to a blender. Add he vinegar and blend until smooth. Set aside.
    • Place the pork in a large bowl and shred with two forks.
    • Pour the red chile sauce over the pulled pork and mix to combine.

    Notes

    • The pork filling has a “dry” chile flavor with deep notes and a good bit of heat. The heat is coming from the chipotle pepper. To reduce the heat, substitute regular chili powder for part of the chipotle pepper. It’s not 5-alarm hot, but most 4 years old would probably run screaming from the table!
    • If you cannot find guajillo chiles, use all New Mexican chile instead or substitute ancho chile.
    • Yes, you could make the entire recipe in your Instant Pot, I just find it easier to cook some things in a larger skillet rather than the liner. The choice is yours.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 121kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 39mg | Sodium: 694mg | Potassium: 268mg | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 290IU | Vitamin C: 1.2mg | Calcium: 14mg | Iron: 1mg
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    Instant Pot Red Chile Pork Tamales »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Sally Moody says

      July 22, 2019 at 12:02 pm

      5 stars
      These were the best tamales ever!!! My husband who is half Hispanic said he thinks they are the best he had ever had!!!

      Reply
      • Lisa Johnson says

        July 22, 2019 at 9:38 pm

        Wow, I am honored Sally! I am so glad you like them. 🙂

        Reply
    2. Valerie says

      December 16, 2019 at 9:00 am

      Beef chuck works very well, too, with the red chile sauce. We actually prefer it, along with pork chile verde and jalapeno + white cheese to fill our tamales. Busting out the big pot next weekend for our tamal party! I call it a party, but it's really just me in the kitchen. {wink} I love making tamales!

      Reply
      • Lisa Johnson says

        December 17, 2019 at 10:03 am

        I will have to try beef next time Valerie, that sounds delicious. I would call it a party as well, enjoy it!! 🙂

        Reply
    3. Nancy says

      January 04, 2020 at 8:45 am

      This is on my list to try, soon! As a native New Mexican transplant living in Wyoming I learned to make tamales many years ago but haven’t tried them in the instant pot yet. Thanks for a yummy looking recipe. Is there a reason you don’t add the bone in with the meat to cook?

      Reply

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