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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.
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. 😉
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…..
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.....
Place pork into the Instant Pot liner and add chicken stock.....
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…..
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.....
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 the 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.....
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:
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- 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
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
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.
Sally Moody says
These were the best tamales ever!!! My husband who is half Hispanic said he thinks they are the best he had ever had!!!
Lisa Johnson says
Wow, I am honored Sally! I am so glad you like them. 🙂
Valerie says
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!
Lisa Johnson says
I will have to try beef next time Valerie, that sounds delicious. I would call it a party as well, enjoy it!! 🙂
Nancy says
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?