Whole30 Instant Pot Adobo Pork

January 9, 2018

Holy moly, this past week was a real s-h-i- you know what show—like, literally and figuratively.

The amount of laundry I had to do for these sick kiddos every single day was record-breaking. Then, to cap the end of winter break off on just a beautiful note, I got the flu.

I know, this is why you come here, to hear me complain.

Seriously, this was the first year in which, on the last day of his winter break, Mike did not feel sad about going back to work.

I am sure he probably thought his chances of getting sick were about the same if he went to work with his 135 students as if he stayed in the sick house with us three.

Last night though…

I think, knock on all the wood in the world, we might have finally turned a corner.

Which means real food again! Yay! No more bland food.

Now that I think about it though, going back to making kid food and adult food every night sounds way harder than the plain rice, toast, and dry cereal we have been surviving off of the last week.

Since I have been amongst the sickos or sick for this month, it means I wasn’t able to join all you health-minded people on your diets and Whole 30 business.

So sad. I was really contemplating giving it a go, too.

I even made this totally Whole30 approved adobo pork. Now, before you get all up in my grill, there is no brown sugar in this recipe. So yeah, it won’t be exactly the same as the original. But the coconut aminos, the vinegar, and all the garlic totally balance out that missing hint of sweetness.

PS if you haven’t used coconut aminos, or even heard of them before, I like to sub it in for soy sauce. It has 73% less sodium and still brings that umami punch. It can be on the expensive side but if you use it sparingly, it lasts for a while.

I made lettuce wraps and taco salads out of this meat. It does have a little night before prep work, but it is still insanely easy and totally worth it. Your fridge and freezer will be stocked for weeks.

Whole30 Instant Pot Adobo Pork

A Whole30, sugar free version of classic adobo pork cooked in the Instant Pot/pressure cooker. You won't miss the brown sugar because of the slight sweetness from the apple cider vinegar and the coconut aminos.
Prep Time 12 hours
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 12 hours 45 minutes

Ingredients

For the Marinade:

  • 2 Cups Coconut Aminos
  • 10 Garlic Cloves peeled and smashed
  • 1 Tablespoon Whole Black Peppercorns
  • 3 Bay Leaves

For the Pork:

  • 3 Pounds Boneless Pork Shoulder fat trimmed and cut into chunks
  • 1 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 1 1/4 Cup Coconut Aminos
  • 2 Cups Water

Instructions

  1. Trim off the excess fat from the pork and cut the shoulder into handful size chunks of meat.
  2. Add the cut pork to a large bowl. Cover with the coconut aminos, garlic, peppercorns, and bay leaves. Toss to combine. Cover the lid with a bowl or plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
  3. The next day, remove the pork from the marinade. Discard the sauce but keep the garlic, bay leaves, and peppercorns.
  4. Transfer the pork, garlic, peppercorns, and bay leaves to the Instant Pot or Pressure cooker. Cover with coconut aminos, vinegar, and water.
  5. Secure the lid. Set the cooker to Meat/Stew, high pressure, for 45 minutes.
  6. After the time is up, quick release the pressure.
  7. Remove the meat using tongs and transfer to a large bowl. Look for any peppercorns and discard. It is easiest to pour all the sauce through a fine mesh strainer into the bowl with the pork, to make sure you remove all the peppercorns. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Add the garlic cloves back to the meat.
  8. Use two forks to shred the pork. Serve.

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